Where Can Feminist Bloggers Go from Here?
The blogosphere provides various challenges to feminist bloggers—some old and some new. However, we need to recognize the numerous benefits of feminist blogs and blogging and put ourselves in a position to reap the rewards. Above all, we need to recognize how blogs can—and already do—facilitate a new generation of virtual consciousness-raising. But how can feminists better utilize this tool? Most feminist bloggers already have a group of blogs they visit regularly. I encourage feminists to make their blogrolls public and to feature new feminist blogs in their posts. And above all, keep blogging. Blogging increases the likelihood of expanding your feminist network. Readers are key to the success of blogging, and the Web is central to building new and more diverse virtual communities of feminist activists.
Conclusion
Blogs are undeniably a new and valuable site for feminist consciousness-raising. In the twenty-first century, there has been considerable feminist-backlash, antifeminist sentiment, and talk about feminism being dead. By simply looking at the presence of feminists on the Web, we know that this assertion is false. What is evident is that feminism has indeed changed. In an Internet-saturated culture, feminists need to take on these “master’s tools” of technology and embrace the Web, making it our own.
I started my Netwoman blog1 in August 2003 mostly because I wanted a place to talk about my research interests concerning gender, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and technology—particularly Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). I thought it was a useful place to reflect and share my viewpoints with others both locally and globally. In some ways, I had hoped that by talking on my blog about women’s issues within the context of ICTs I could initiate a virtual consciousness-raising platform. I wanted to tell people, “Hey, this is what I think,” encourage them to reflect on my commentary, and engage them in discussion. The ubiquity of the Internet in our increasingly impersonal world offers feminist advocates a more convenient venue to enact social change, even with all of its inherent challenges.
I have consistently been involved in feminist activism, yet the complexities of my own personal and work schedules have led me to spend less time in my geographical community. Now it seems that I am working within the “global virtual community” for my activist work. Some might say this is “Third Wave” or “cyber” feminism, but regardless of the name, using virtual spaces to transcend physical borders with the goal of inciting collective action and social change can build bridges between women globally. From our homes, offices, or schools, the Internet permits us to do what feminist consciousness-raising groups did in the 1960s and 1970s—cross boundaries and make connections among and between diverse feminists, diverse women.
- See http://netwomen.ca/Blog. [↩]
