Blogging IS Activism

Sorted under random acts of activism, reproductive rights on March 14, 2009

Debra Dickerson recently published a reply on Mother Jones to a New York Times article on the future of abortion providers, saying:

Today’s feminists need to blog less and work more. If women want reproductive choice to remain more than rhetoric, they’d better stop assuming these clinics will be there when they need them.

I agree with the fact that women should stop assuming that abortion clinics will be there when they need them, which is why I encourage pro-choice people to speak out on behalf of reproductive rights and how important it is for every woman, everywhere, to have the right to choose. And one of the most influential ways to reach a great amount of people now is to start a blog or incorporate feminism and reproductive rights into your existing blog.

I am often asked what I am doing for feminism and what I tell them is that I blog. I share my feminist ideals on my blog and encourage educated and informed conversations on a wide range of topics that matter to me, to humans, and to my feminist activism. Many people don’t think that blogging is enough, but if you read the bulk of feminist, womanist, and humanist blogs out there, most of the topics that are brought up for discussion come directly from living life and being a humanist out in the big, sometimes cruel, always controversial world. We see the injustices in our society around every corner we walk. We experience sexism and misogyny nearly every time we go to a bar or club. We are confronted by men as well as other women for our basic viewpoints and our refusal to back down and stay silent. Just by blogging, we are informing the people who read our blogs, who identify with our principles, and we are also faced with younger generations finding our blogs, being educated about feminism and perhaps identifying as feminists who would otherwise perhaps not know what feminism is and what it is to be a feminist without our openness and passion to share our thoughts and views on a public platform. And hell, maybe one of those people who read what we have to say will go to medical school and become an abortion provider. Perhaps they will even blog about their experiences.

Dickerson also posted:

But you young chicks maybe need to go the Northern Exposure route, sending folks to med school in exchange for a few years running an abortion clinic. That feminist fire in the belly? I gotta say: Pole-dancing, walking around half-naked, posting drunk photos on Facebook, and blogging about your sex lives ain’t exactly what we previous generations thought feminism was.

Yes, “young chicks.” The feminist fire in our bellies encompasses many feminist principles. We care about reproductive rights, we care about birth control, emergency contraception, and we care about comprehensive sex education in every school in the country and around the world so abortion services are not so widely needed. We care about equality. We raise awareness about where we are not treated equal and who we are not being treated equally by. We raise awareness about gender, gender identity and expression, race, privilege, and we raise awareness about when we are being blamed by so-called previous generations of feminists for not doing enough.

Dickerson somehow got some warped perceptions of feminism; feminists today are allowed to speak openly about sex and sexuality and give other women the permission to identify with their sexuality because it is still seen as taboo for a woman to be open about her sexuality and that is the result of woman shaming; the same woman shaming that Dickerson herself is displaying and condoning.

Feminists do not blame other generations and call them slackers. We do not tell them that they aren’t doing enough when every day, we are raising awareness and working towards an ideal, woman and human-friendly world.

Dickerson asks us, today’s feminists, what we are doing for the struggle. Head on over to Mother Jones and clue her in.



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  • Sally Abravanel
    Well said, folks
  • Yeah I agree with that blogging is form of activism. We used to have violent reaction on some immoral and unethical things.
  • charlyspears
    I think Dickerson's comment about feminists needing to "blog less and work more" are obnoxious to say the least. The internet is one of our greatest resources for widespread communication; it enables us to share political opinions, ideas, stories, etc. Blogging makes a difference.
  • Blogging is a powerful tool in feminism and especially in the reproductive health realm. It's something that most people of other generations either don't get or are scared of because it's so new. But it's equally as powerful.

    None of us are committing to a life where we do nothing but blog for choice and equality, but we are committing to a life where blogging is part of the commitment to choice and equality.

    Great post.
  • It definitely is activism. It has helped so many people I know share their stories, voice and connect with others globally. The woman's movement is global these days! Debra needs to take a look around. If you are a women between the ages of twenty through forty years old we are the most educated, most well-traveled, most personally empowered and the most international generation ever. This is something to celebrate. And many of us blog as well as work, be mothers, be daughters, aunts, sisters, friends, healers, volunteer, and build community.

    I am definitely going to write her and hopefully will help her learn something!
  • I totaly agree that blogging is some sort of activism. You can say whatever you want, whenever you want to say it. And it everyone can read your message. So yeah sure, blogging IS activism...
  • Blogging absolutely can be activism and as I've said before, I think it is the new feminist act -- we're taking our thoughts and voices to this medium where there is no barrier to entry, as with op-ed pages and talking head shows. And, BTW, not all of us are "young chicks" though it's OK if someone wants to call me young! ;)
  • well said and completely true. saying that feminists shouldn't blog, but "go out and do something useful" (hmm...where have i heard that before?) is just another way of silencing the feminist voice. in our webcentric culture, fearless blogging can be as much a public service and a call to arms as handcuffing yourself to the barricades was in the sixties.
  • The times are changing and obviously Debra Dickerson can't seem to notice it. Blogging reaches a lot more people than anythin else you can do. The point here should be trying to convince general public and this can be effectively achieved with the help of the internet.
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