Today on Ms Magazine’s blog, whose audience tends to be women without kids, there’s a post about the power of “mommy bloggers.”
Mommy Bloggers. Just uttering that phrase brings forth mixed reactions…However, within this genre of blogs there’s a smaller group of women, and a few men, writing about parenting with a different spin: a feminist one (as Kara Jesella pointed out in her Summer 2009 piece in Ms. magazine). These mommy bloggers are true pioneers in the future of feminism online.
Andrea Fox, writer of the popular blog blue milk, explains how writing about motherhood is both crucial and intrinsically feminist:
“I write a personal blog that centers mothers, and myself as a mother, in motherhood. In doing that my motherhood blog is a radical feminist act because almost always we center children and ‘mothering’ in any discussion of motherhood. Mothers are frequently, quite literally, lost in the discussion of motherhood.”
No matter how hard cultural forces have worked to put motherhood and feminism at odds, desperately trying to create some kind of distorted, alternate universe, the combination is natural and powerful.
Yesterday, Forbes.com posted on the role women and social media played in bringing down Rush Limbaugh. But remember, it all comes down to economics. Komen turned around so fast only because after women read about it, they wrote checks. Money poured into Planned Parenthood. Rush only apologized because sponsors were dropping him. If you’re angry about Rush and his influence and you can afford to, please consider sending a check to an organization that supports women. I sent mine to NOW.
As a “mommy-blogger” I try very hard to ensure that my blog is about motherhood but also about who this mother writing is as a person. I write about my art, my creative projects, my sense of the world, and my inspiration, as well as about my son. I never want my blog to be a series of cute baby pictures, but rather an account of my mothering experience, and how that effects my life and who I am becoming through this phase of my life.
I am the mom with the purple hair, who performs in the vagina monologues and paints watercolors. How will my sense of self effect my son as he grows? And how will my being a mom guide me through my days? Through blogging, I hope to find out.
Great post. One of the reasons I started blogging was because I saw it on a list of 100 Ways to Be a Feminist. Wish I would have bookmarked that list! As a mom of girls, having a “mommy blog” to give voice and raise awareness to the many issues girls face in our world where the objectification of women is commonplace is the least I can do. Love your blog. I read it daily.
Kimberly S.
thanks so much and thank you for blogging
MM