Feminist Pride Day 2012

Feminist Bloggers Convene at Harvard | The Harvard Crimson

Last night’s “Activism & the Feminist Blogosphere” panel (in honor of Feminist Coming Out Day) led to great discussions about the rewards and pitfalls of feminist blogging. Some takeaways:

• Blogging is much more democratic than mainstream media, since it allows marginalized groups and those without the power of capital (like the teenage contributors to The FBomb) to establish a platform for their ideas.
• However, the feminist blogosphere can replicate the same power structures that exist in the “real world” and in mainstream feminist activism, giving a privileged few a louder voice while silencing less powerful/mainstream-friendly groups.
• As Lori Adelman from the International Women’s Health Coalition notes, the feminist blogosphere is also very US-centric, though blogs like the IWHC’s Akimbo seek to leverage the Internet’s global reach to bring attention to how gender inequality affects the lives of women beyond American borders
• Social media is not a replacement for traditional activism, but it has great potential for mobilizing people who might not otherwise hear of or become involved in progressive causes. (For examples, see Sistersong’s protest of an anti-choice billboard suggesting that abortion constitutes African American genocide and Tiger Beatdown’s #mooreandme Twitter campaign against Michael Moore.)
• As Feministing’s Chloe says from personal experience, few writers can rely on blogging as a full-time career. (Jezebel’s Anna North was the only panelist present to do so.) Many bloggers supplement their income by freelancing, taking speaking gigs, or working day jobs at women’s non-profits.
• Feminist media generally has a harder time being profitable because the publications reject most women-targeted advertising, which tends to come from the beauty/fashion industries
• Nearly all the blogs represented by the panelists have had men or transmen as guest contributors, though not typically as part of the staff. (Two exceptions include Racialicious and Tiger Beatdown.)
• The feminist blogosphere is very geographically concentrated, meaning those who live in cities like New York with major media industries are better connected.

Check out this piece from The Harvard Crimson covering our event, and stay tuned for event photos from Harvard University and the rest of our campus partners.

Photo via Vivien Wu

• Question: Are there going to be "This is what a feminist looks like" tshirts on sale at the event at Harvard Thursday night? That would be awesome! - Anonymous
• Answer:

  We can definitely make that happen at the “Activism and the Feminist Blogosphere” panel being hosted at Harvard. They’re cheaper* in person because we don’t have to pay shipping and handling, but if you’re not local to the Boston area, you can order a shirt for $20 online through IndieGoGo. Just make sure to read our sizing guide and email us with your size at feministcomingoutday@gmail.com.

  * $10 for Harvard students/$15 for non-students. The Harvard College Women’s Center is subsidizing part of the cost for discounted shirts.

Yonatan Kogan, coordinator of the Queer Resource Center at Harvard University.

Want to set up a campus page for your school or organization? Email feministcomingoutday@gmail.com!

Jason Elliot, a Massachusetts General Hospital researcher and student at Harvard University.

This photo comes from the Harvard University Feminist Portrait Project. To view the full exhibition, attend on the opening reception on campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts on tonight at 7:30pm.

Emma Wang, co-chair of the Queer Students and Allies, one of the founding student groups behind Feminist Coming Out Day, which got started in 2010 at Harvard University.

Want to set up a campus page for your school or organization? Email feministcomingoutday@gmail.com!

Tiger Beatdown | HAS MY MOTHER’S GENERATION TAUGHT US NOTHING: In Which I Justify Feminist Coming-Out Day

I told her, “I got invited to speak at the Feminist Coming Out Day panel at Harvard.”

And my Mom gasped. I was ready to be praised. I was ready for my Mother to be impressed! “Clearly, you are doing something good with your life,” is what I wanted my mother to say. Here is what she said instead:

“There has to be a Feminist Coming Out Day???”

Check out this piece by Tiger Beatdown founder Sady Doyle, who will be speaking on Thursday at Harvard for Feminist Coming Out Day’s panel about activism in the blogosphere.

Amanda Morejon, co-director of the Athena Program at Harvard University. The Athena Program is co-sponsoring the Feminist Coming Out Day campaign at Harvard!

Want to set up a campus page for your school or organization? Email feministcomingoutday@gmail.com!

Gina Helfrich, Assistant Director at the Harvard College Women’s Center at Harvard University.

This photo comes from the Harvard University Feminist Portrait Project. To view the full exhibition, attend on the opening reception on campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts on March 8 at 7:30pm.

Chris Barrett, teaching fellow, from Harvard University

Want to set up a campus page for your school or organization? Email feministcomingoutday@gmail.com!

Casey Thomson, board member of the Women’s Leadership Conference at Harvard University.

This photo comes from the Harvard University Feminist Portrait Project. To view the full exhibition, attend on the opening reception on campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts on March 8 at 7:30pm.