Writing for a Feminist Blog

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Okay, so I may be writing for a feminist blog as a freelancer in the next upcoming weeks. The thing is...I can't think of that many topics. Can you give me serious feminist topics that i can blog about in a professional manner?

Just look at what other feminist blogs write about. Focus on some recent news item, like perhaps a celebrity said something offensive, then segue into a bigger issue. Feminist blogs always write about abortion rights, body-image issues, eating disorders, middle-eastern women's rights, workplace discrimination... just look at popular blogs.

agreed that there are so many options re:body image

dearth of women in sciences/computer sciences/other fields (I was in a free program as a teenager designed to teach teenage girls how to become computer programmers)

intersection of race & gender issues (fetishes for Asian females, media sexualization of Venus & Serena Williams re: their tenniswear )

LGBT issues (well I guess LBT issues)

how much of gender conditioning is cultural, easily seen by nonconformist-prone Aspies' high rate of gender-nonconformism

sex issues (hormonal birth control and its sometimes significant effects... I don't know, I'm no sex expert, but there must be a lot hereto explore)

investigation into whether household chore task inequality still exists

any new trends in baby care (more dads taking time off? Less marriage/more... I don't know)

I've going to throw out ideas based on what I've seen on my Facebook updates today from feminist friends...

Something on current surge of marketing from Kotex - pre-teen pads (move to win brand loyalty from earlier age, or a genuine help to girls reaching menarche earlier) or design your own pads (thought to be a move against cloth pads like Lunapads, or to take attention away from another growing concern over bleaching methods). Kotex in general right now are putting more emphasis on happier periods and challenging taboos (that they've used for decades to sell products) but it's suspected not to be genuine, but a move against reusable options which are becoming a threat to the disposable sanpro industry.

Something on the investigation into the death of Amy Elifritz which has now led to Rep. Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney asking Dr. Philip Tierno, PhD to help her put together another bill to help protect women - one of many bills that go no where regarding women's health and sanitary protection, could talk about why statistics on TSS and other risks are so false, why corporations have more control than government and why more isn't done to protect women's health and environment.

A Yale fraternity who have been banned from conducting any activities on campus for five years, including recruiting, as punishment for an episode last October in which members led pledges in sexually explicit chants offensive to women, including "No means yes!" Potential there for lots on how sexist fraternities still are, how women are treated in college, etc.

Looking at how women are denied birth control options and even attacked by doctors for refusing to use hormonal birth control methods - methods currently used heavily as a menstrual problem quick-fix, commonly used today by teens who believe it 'regulates periods' or increases breast size - the impact on health, women's reproductive rights, knowledge of their own bodies, feelings towards menstruation, etc. With it having been the anniversary of the pill and lots of legal proceedings over health risks there's plenty information out there.

It's infertility awareness week, so maybe there are some ideas there about fertility in general, or how women are defined by their ability to have children so how infertility effects some women - how the idea of women=mothers effects different groups of women such as how it effects lesbian women, non-breeders, etc.

You could write about the Federal Parental Notification Law that has been introduced - would require that the parents of minors seeking abortion services be notified by certified mail and that doctors wait at least four days before performing an abortion. Another news story is that there is a new law in metro Atlanta that will limit breast feeding in public, so no woman can breast feed anyone older than 2 years old in public, to control nudity - thoughts on breasts seen as sexual v's mothering.

Psychology Today published a disgustingly racists and sexist piece titled "Why Are Black Women Less Physically Attractive Than Other Women?" and pulled it down without apology or explanation when rightful outrage erupted, could write about that and body-issues relating to specifically to race, and how some feminist issues differ according to the colour of your skin.

Something I've not seen in any feminist blogs I read yet - there's a legal loop-hole here in the UK that allows prostitution as long as solicitation is online, it's providing a safer and easier way for women to get into prostitution, could go into what that means for sex work or for women in general, perhaps look to see if this is occurring elsewhere in the world, and look at it as possible future of prostitution.

Write about Kate Swift who has recently died - wrote “Words and Women” and “The Handbook of Nonsexist Writing” and did a lot looking at sexism amongst language, could talk about sexism of words - could be interesting to write.

Erm....yeah...

Ooo, thanks a bunch for all those suggestions! I'll have to look into those. Thanks again. ^.^

P.S. Feel free to discuss the topics mentioned within this thread. It could help me out seeing different people's viewpoints on these subjects.

How about an Asperger's point of view? Do they have something like that?

As far as topics, one that I think would be interesting is women in science, specifically college education. It was already estimated in the 90's that women would overtake the workplace by the next decade, so not making the necessary changes to help accommodate women into that field is not just discriminatory, it's just plain stupid. That is probably one of the biggest reasons scientists in this country aren't of the quality they once were, and our quality of life is suffering for it.

Oh, I'm posting this topic now before I forget: Discussing the feminist themes in children's movies like Mulan and discuss how these movies can impact a child's view on gender equality.

i don't have any ideas sorry. but i wanted to pop in and say congrats on the opportunity!

Here are some topics: Abortion, Fertility, Gender Roles, Equality, History, Stereotypes, to start off with a few.

I'm a huge feminist, and as much as it gives me a bad reputation, I do argue that men are being treated unfairly quite a bit as well. However, I usually keep my feminist views to myself, even though sometimes glimpses of that come out.

Abortion ~ argue how men have no right to decide and how women ultimately have the final decision on the outcome of her pregnancy.

Fertility ~ suggested earlier. Women who can't give birth to a child, sometimes even if she gives birth to daughters instead of sons, she will be seen as inferior and unworthy of her gender. They're seen as purely child bearers, and feminists can go into detail on how they're more than that.

Gender Roles ~ if you're a feminist, you probably don't fit the typical female stereotype of your culture. Go into the stereotypes of females, even males if you so desire. Basically go into the fact that gender roles shouldn't have so much emphasis on the way a particular gender should act and behave.

Equality ~ feminists are traditionally seen as wanting equality between men AND women, not just the idea that women are the supreme sex. You can go into your views on this too.

History ~ this is a big one. Because of women being seen as inferior, there aren't many women worthy of historical mention. However, those that are can be removed from literature, the Bible, and be given less emphasis than major male historic icons. To prove my point, I listed one female, and then ten male icons in history that are studied more. This was my argument in one of my journaling frenzies to which one male replied with six more interesting females, yet females that are studied far less than the ones I mentioned.

Stereotypes ~ As far as stereotypes are concerned, gender roles have more emphasis on what the expected way of behaving is for each gender. Stereotypes are more in detail ON the stereotypes but go hand-in-hand with gender roles.

I considered starting a feminist blog myself. When it comes to Asperger's, females with the condition are misdiagnosed more and given less recognition. In fact, there are less books for me to study because Asperger's is associated with men. And though I felt bad for it, it seems this has already been considered. If you look up a book on Amazon called, "Empowering Women With Asperger's" or something to that effect, it'll list most of the things I've realized and become bitter about.

So, good luck with your blog. It'll probably be more successful than mine (if I ever start one). My reasoning for that is I just lack the motivation to keep up with a blog. I started a blog about Asperger's females yesterday and haven't even posted the first topic. I may have to turn it into a feminist blog, because I'm quite the feminist lately.

just a suggestion. someone said before that you ought to write about the rights of women overseas, especially middle eastern women. i think it should be noted that women/feminists over seas including middle eastern women/feminists find it patronising to have their rights discussed by western feminists in the patriarchal condescending manner in which it is usually done. they do not appreciate the view that they need to be saved so i'm just saying that if you are gonna write about their rights talk to them and seek their opinion and educate yourself on factors affecting their treatment- religion, social mores, government, etc also remember in the case of middle eastern women its not just the islamic dress code- its the fact that some don't have the right to vote or it is not compulsory, in lebanon women cannot pass citizenship to husbands or children if they are foreign, its the fact that people in the west equate arab with muslim with conservative with terrorist, the view that muslim women are oppressed and need saving, its the strict imposition of traditional gender roles, the presumption that we will only leave our family's house when we marry, that we will care for the kids, there will be kids, female genital cutting and a whole bunch of other things.
also i don't know if anyone has mentioned pornography or sex work yet. this is a divisive issue in feminism with some for and against and it would be interesting to see both sides.

Erisad look here.

http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/foru ... .php?f=512

Solvegj - Oooooooooo, thanks. I'll have to peruse that when I'm having writer's block. ^.^

VMSmith - Oh yeah, I read a book on that when I was in high school and I was left very confused but I can wrap my brain around it now. In my Cultural Anthropology course I just took we talked about how the burka is viewed in the eastern vs. western world. Western people see oppression, restrictions etc. The middle eastern women see practicality (no sunscreen needed, and keeps you in the shade, don't have to worry about bad hair days as much either), class, and a sort of elegance. I'll have to talk to my professor through e-mail to see if she has anymore sources I can look at on the subject as I found it very interesting. I'd need more time to research as my first article is due by the end of Monday...and I'm on painkillers from my surgery yesterday. I'll whip something up with my AS mind of wonder.

I'm leaning on making my first article about the oversimplification of the binary of masculinity vs. femininity and how we're so prone to labeling everything. I think it may be a good intro article and can spark a discussion that can affect the rest of my blog thingy. I dunno. Thoughts, questions?

Something I'd love to see discussed is the sexism/racism in some portion of the atheist/skeptic community; there are some white guys out there who think that women and/or minorities don't join atheist and/or skeptical groups because they're less logical and/or less intelligent. They sometimes back it up with bogus 'sociobiology' or 'evolutionary psychology' studies that are very poorly conducted and/or make conclusions that are not supported by the data of the study.
here's an argument I had on one skeptic blog (which I no longer visit):
http://unreasonablefaith.com/2010/04/18 ... ment-94425
the joke was merely unfunny, but the discussion was disgusting.