New Feminist Media UPDATED
March 17, 2009
by Sheryl Lee
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As the MSM collapses under the burden of its sins and the public increasingly hunts its news down on the information superhighway, the blogosphere suddenly finds itself in pole position on the issues that matter today — able to frame the discourse in a way and with a voice it never could have anticipated.
If ever Feminism had a chance to make its concerns known to a wider audience, to get them out there where they will be heard and to demand a response, this is it.
This is our time.
We have the opportunity to speak out in collective voices, to push the issues of women’s equality into the public domain and ensure that they remain there.
To be good at this — to really take make use of this opportunity — we need to be talking to each other, sharing information, sharing news, stories, press releases, action alerts, initiatives of all kinds.
We do okay at it now — word gets around — but I know we can do it more efficiently, more effectively.
To that end, I’ve created a google group called New Feminist Media. Within the next week or so, I’ll be inviting hundreds of feminist bloggers to join. The purpose of this group will be strictly information sharing. Whatever ‘type’ of feminist you are, if you’re a voice for women’s equality, there’s a place for you in this group. Those invited will be able to opt in and opt out again any time they choose.
The group is intended to make it easier to share information, and while The New Agenda will benefit, it will not own or run the group as an adjunct to the organization. The group will be self-owned, and non-hierarchical, except to the extent that there will be a group mandate and volunteers who will ensure we don’t deviate too far from it.
If this sounds intriguing and you want to be included, please drop me an email at newfeministmedia@gmail.com, and I’ll make sure you get an invitation.
—o—o—o—
One of our founders sent this around this morning:
The Low Road, Marge Piercy
What can they do to you?
Whatever they want.
They can set you up,
they can bust you,
they can break your fingers,
they can burn your brain with electricity,
blur you with drugs till you can’t walk, can’t remember,
they can take your child,
wall up your lover.
They can do anything
you can’t stop them from doing.
How can you stop them?
Alone, you can fight,
you can refuse,
you can take what revenge you can
but they roll over you.
But two people fighting back to back can cut through a mob,
a snake-dancing file can break a cordon,
an army can meet an army.
Two people can keep each other sane,
can give support, conviction, love, massage, hope, sex.
Three people are a delegation, a committee, a wedge.
With four you can play bridge and start an organization.
With six you can rent a whole house,
eat pie for dinner with no seconds,
and hold a fund raising party.
A dozen make a demonstration.
A hundred fill a hall.
A thousand have solidarity and your own newsletter;
ten thousand, power and your own paper;
a hundred thousand, your own media;
ten million, your own country.
It goes on one at a time.
It starts when you care to act.
It starts when you do it again,
after they said no,
it starts when you say We
and know who you mean, and each day,
you mean one more.
I really like this idea! How exciting!
Sheryl,
Bravo to you for this genius of an idea. Finally a way for women to shape the media. We’ll look back and in a year and say “remember when….”
Marge Piercy is one of my favorite writers. This poem from 1980 is timeless. Her 2005 novel, ‘Sex Wars: A Novel of the Turbulent Post-Civil War period’, dramatizes early feminists’ Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Victoria Woodhull, among others, in an historically accurate and entertaining fashion.
http://www.margepiercy.com/boo.....eviews.htm
Also, a google group called “New Feminist Media” sounds exciting. Can’t wait to read it.
Thank you Sheryl and The New Agenda for all your hard work.
Nice idea, I believe there is a feminist view on every news story.
For example, I gather that Geithner and Summers being part of the good ole-boy wall street network had a role in the AIG bonuses. If the names of bonus recipients are every received, my guess is that the largest bonuses went to men.
“If the names of bonus recipients are ever received, my guess is that the largest bonuses went to men..”
Kevin, I really enjoy reading your posts. This is an excellent point!
TNA should push for public disclosure of the bonus recipients. Also, Cuomo is trying to get the names of the BofA/Merrill names.
These are HUGE companies and this info will provide a good cross-section of the industry.
This would be perfect for Jarrett’s “research.” I’ll bet that even the average bonus (men vs. women) would be “enlightening.”
MaryL,
The current AIG/BOFA fiasco is also an ideal time for the New Feminist Media to pull together a roundtable in partnership with Jarrett that includes Christina Romer, Shelia Bair and female economist to discuss how the bailouts, the current fiscal crisis and recovery plan will better the lives of business women, working mothers and women-owned small businesses.
Excellent concept. Part of the battle is that we are so accustomed to the sexism sometimes we don’t even see it. And sometimes it is the smaller day in day out “drip drip drip” of smaller issues that ultimately undermine the larger ones.
Increased conversation and awareness is a good and important thing. While Ms. Jarrett, Ms. Romer and Ms. Bair are informing people “how the bailouts, the current fiscal crisis and recovery plan will better the lives of business women, working mothers and women-owned small businesses”, other people can be discussing possible actions to improve on the existing gender inequities in our society.
John,
I agree with you. In some cases, the two discussions reinforce each other. In many cases, enforcing or expanding the existing civil rights, equal rights and executive orders already on the books would go very far to “improve on the existing gender inequities in our society.” The civil rights, labor and EEOC organizations were basically doing nothing over the last 8 years.
Also, given that the White House Council on Women was eliminated and diversity wasn’t jawboned by the last Administration, there was very little national political leadership on this issue.
What I applaud is that at least there is a platform for progress – now let’s get results
Congratulations. Some things:
You will get hit very hard by porn spam on Google Groups unless you vet posts, and close posting to members who have been veted. Which I think you might know, but just in case.
Google archives posts and comments forever, makes searching easy, but you do lose privacy. I know our posting e-mail addresses and posting addies are visible here, to the mods. Both are visible to *the world* on Google Groups.
Sorry meant to say “our posting e-mail addresses and our ISP numbers”.
Sis- I could use some help with it. Interested? No pressure – just asking.
I’m not sure where to put this but I watched half of Oprah’s show today on men who beat their S/O’s and I caught an interview with Kevin Powell (people may remember him from when he was on the first season of The Real World) who is an anti-violence advocate. He was awesome. He said everything that needed to be said. He mentioned SEXISM and how men who don’t speak up are complicit and that men need to step up, too, if this problem is ever going to be solved. It can’t just be women dealing with it. He was a complete rockstar and maybe TNA might want to publicly thank him? I don’t know, just a thought, but he needs to be given a lot of attention for what he’s saying.
I can’t get the videos on Oprah.com to work (here’s an interesting link they had: http://www.menstoppingviolence.org/index.php and here’s a link I found on Kevin: http://aalbc.com/authors/kevin.htm) but I’ll see if I can find a video of his appearance.
I still can’t find video but here’s something Kevin Powell wrote that says some similar things:
http://www.oprah.com/article/o.....violence/6
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