Once upon a time (long ago) I used to post regularly - daily - here on The F.U. And then I got a full-time job. A job that pays in dollars rather than hits and links. A job that has nothing to do with either writing or feminism. And this life, my blogging life, faded away - making way for the life that pays the bills.
But the need to pay the bills wasn't the only reason I stopped writing. I stopped writing because I became confused about who I was writing for, and who I should be writing to.
You see, as a blogger, I found I was mainly 'preaching to the choir' or fighting trolls. Both are fun, really, in their own ways - but they were things I was doing for myself. And right now it seems as though perhaps we should be trying to communicate, and to sway, those in our country who are still undecided about many of the issues facing our nation right now. About health care. About war. About elections, corporations, and free speech. About torture and rendition. About what is good, and what it means - or should mean - to be American.
Months have passed since my last post, and I'm no closer to an answer. How do we reach an audience that might be convinced by our arguments, and how do we change people's minds if we feel the issues we care about are being misrepresented and misunderstood? Should we all be writing op-eds for our local papers, explaining why we believe universal health care will help our nation? Should we continue to write for our blogs, in the hopes of rallying the troops? Should our language be conciliatory or a call-to-arms?
As I try to decide what's next for me, and for The Feminist Underground, these are the questions that are still unresolved. While I miss the community I had as a writer for The Feminist Underground, it feels like community is no longer enough. We need to be speaking to one another, of course, but who else should we be speaking to -and how do we reach them?
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7 comments:
I understand 1000%. These are very, very close to the reasons I now write almost exclusively about music on my blog.
That said, I don't have any answers for you.
But I'll make a deal with you. When I find any I'll share, if you will.
as you are ending your blog (or trying to redefine it) i am just beginning mine. i have the same questions you do, but i have noticed that noone tells black civil rights activists that they are "preaching to the choir." in point of fact, many (male) black leaders are actually preachers, and their credentials give them more credibility, and more license to speak, not less. and ginning up their own base (aka "preaching to the choir") is the norm, as opposed to sucking up to their oppressors to win them over.
anyway thats JMO. women and feminists are being discouraged from utilizing tactics that are known to garner oppressed people their civil rights. and feminists themselves are self-censoring and shaming each other for making parallels (or anything that resembles parallels) between the movements. or when they call attention to the misogyny of other dems or progressives for example. its a real problem. anyway, thanks for sharing your struggle. i think many if not most feminist bloggers are considering the same things.
I think my experience guest blogging at Feministe this summer made me get over a bit of that "preaching to the choir" feeling I myself was having. I realized then that even though a lot of us agree on many issues, we will never agree on all the issues. So there is still a chance for debate we don't always have in real life because we're all trying to learn to be better. And I also think there are a lot of people who stumble on our blogs and really do learn something, even if they never speak up. I certainly feel that way when I read other blogs.
I do understand the frustration though. Whatever you decide is best is the decision I back.
I wondered where you had gotten to.
To me the ebb and flow is to be expected. It is frightening to think however that we think that we have reached so far yet we have so much further to go.
It can't be that we're moving one step forward two steps backward can it?
i couldn't agree with you more. i've been mia as well, for similar reasons (i've started a graduate program and am now required to write for actual grades! yuck! haha).
hopefully you are able to find what you loved about blogging and retain it. i enjoyed reading your work.
wishing you all the best!
galina
please Habladora, keep posting.
I know it may seem that you are either preaching to the choir, or fighting trolls, but I read. (Because my good friend NewsCat told me to.)
I think about the stuff I've read here. And I hope, in a little way, it helps me raise a stronger and more open minded daughter and sons.
Every choir has at least one hold out. That's the one we aim to reach. That's why we keep singing, even if the songs are few and far between.
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