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MOMMYBLOGS AS a FEMINIST ENDEAVOUR? by SUZETTE

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MOMMYBLOGS AS a FEMINIST ENDEAVOUR? by SUZETTE MOMMYBLOGS AS A FEMINIST ENDEAVOUR? By SUZETTE BONDY-MEHRMANN Integrated Studies Project submitted to Dr. Cathy Bray in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts – Integrated Studies Athabasca, Alberta October, 2011 Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………….3 Introduction………………………………………………………………4 Defining my variables and situating myself in the research……………...4 What does it mean to espouse feminist principles online?.........................6 Method for studying mommyblogs……………………………………....7 Background and review of the literature………………………………....7 Analysis and discussion…………………………………………………14 Future directions………………………………………………………...17 Conclusion………………………………………………………………18 Works cited……………………………………………………………..20 Appendix 1: Study of Breastfeeding blogs by Suzette Bondy-Mehrmann ……………………………………………………...22 Appendix 2: Examples of Mommyblogs ………………………………35 Abstract It is important for feminist researchers to pay attention to new venues where women are creating and sharing knowledge. In the case of this paper we are looking at mothers online and the venue is the mamasphere, the virtual space where mothers are exchanging information through blogs. In interacting in this manner, however, are women engaging in a feminist endeavour? I approached this question through an interdisciplinary review of the research and writing available on mommyblogs against a backdrop of feminist theory of motherhood and by adding the findings from my own research on mommyblogs about breastfeeding. My findings indicate that aspects of mommyblogs in their current form do or could support feminist thinking but these are overshadowed by limitations to feminist ideals such as dominance of more privileged mothers’ opinions, reinforcement of cultural assumptions and intolerance rather than support for different mothering choices. This research concludes that rather than prescribing conventions for mommyblogs, being aware of how the mamasphere operates in favour or against feminist principles through diffusion of information from research such as this one is the best way for mothers online to be empowered by blogs. 3 Introduction “This website chronicles my life from a time when I was single and making a lot of money as a web designer in Los Angeles, to when I was dating the man who would become my husband, to when I lost my job and lived life as an unemployed drunk, to when I married my husband and moved to my mother's basement in Utah, to when I became pregnant, to when I threw up and became unbearably swollen during the pregnancy, to the birth, to the aftermath, to the postpartum depression that landed me in a psyche ward. I’m better now.” – Heather B. Armstrong, famous mommyblogger. As feminist scholars, it is important to pay attention to new areas where women are active, in this case, the blogosphere. I am interested in exploring what mommyblogs like Ms. Armstrong’s are all about. Are they self-indulgence as some critics claim? A way to reclaim motherhood from dominant media images of bliss and self-sacrifice? Or are they possibly a vehicle through which the dominant privileged group of mothers are disseminating their version of motherhood? By taking into account many different views on mommyblogs and guided by feminist theory this research probes the question of whether mommyblogs are or could be considered a feminist endeavour. Defining my variables and situating myself in the research. “Mommy blogs in general tend to be everyday diaries of details one might share over coffee” (Sue Shellenbarger). Whereas only a decade ago the Internet was a place where companies and institutions sought to have a presence for marketing, promotion or cost savings in providing services, nowadays it is private individuals who are increasingly seeking a presence online to post about their lives, thoughts, and topics which they feel strongly about. A method of doing this which has become quite popular is the blog, “a website comprised of regularly updated chronological entries” (Fleming 1). In this project I will be looking at a specific subset of blogs referred to as “mommyblogs”. A “mommyblog” is a blog where people interact around what is culturally defined as topics which fall into the realm of motherhood (see Appendix 2 for examples of mommyblogs). Mommyblogs might take the form of a traditional blog which is a regularly updated, 4 public journal maintained by a person. Mommyblogs can also be forums or online Cafés where many different readers or “bloggers” can start and contribute to discussion threads. They can also be sites where articles related to motherhood have generated an online discussion through comments left by readers. The area on the Internet where bloggers are active has been termed “the blogosphere” and mommybloggers have moulded this term into “the mamasphere” to designate their space. I myself am not an avid reader of blogs, nor do I maintain a blog of my own. I became interested in this topic through an Athabasca course supporting the use of Social Media Tools such as blogs in learning. A number of co-students were avid bloggers and were very enthusiastic about blogs as a new and better way to receive our information which redistributes power from the dominant media institutions back to everyday people. Based on my feminist studies at Athabasca, I was somewhat suspicious of these claims because I do not feel that blogs, as I began to experience and learn about them, fulfilled important feminist goals such as inclusiveness (see Kinser 2010) and I questioned whether blogs really were progress in how we communicated or served primarily as popularity contests, entertainment, or in some cases, a profitable advertising channel. In addition, I have reservations about participating in discussions online as many blogs or social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter collect personal data, monitor activity, or require that you open an account of some sort to participate. My focus on mommyblogs within the blog genre stems from my online research for a project about breastfeeding discourses (see appendix 1). During my research I found that when I visited blogs run by mothers either supporting breast or bottle-feeding the comments left by people were sometimes nasty critiques of mothers who chose bottle-feeding rather than any discussion supporting women’s individual choices or challenging the discourses and structures which limit women’s decision- making abilities. In addition, I saw much evidence of “horizontal violence” in these 5 blogs, a term which I will touch on in my review of the literature. This initial disappointment in the feminist thought lacking in many online breastfeeding discussions led me to want to explore the state of feminism on the mamasphere in general. Therefore, this research aims to contribute to the small body of literature about mommyblogs calling attention to feminist considerations for the blogosphere. What does it mean to espouse feminist principles online? There are different opinions of what feminism means for mothering. Therefore, in defining what I am looking for in this project it is important that I make a choice in terms of how I will limit my criteria. For my project, I have chosen to incorporate the theory put forth by Amber E. Kinser’s in her book Motherhood and Feminism . Ms. Kinser states that “A primary role of feminism throughout history has been to challenge taken-for-granted assumptions which direct our lives” (9). Therefore in keeping with this tradition I will be evaluating whether blog posts are challenging or reinforcing assumptions about motherhood. As a second point Ms. Kinser writes Feminists have also worked to strengthen women’s power by valuing and increasing their knowledge. One way they have done this is by rejecting popular beliefs that medical and psychological health professionals are the most reliable and important repositories of expertise about pregnancy, birth and child-rearing (5). Ms. Kinser goes on to single out the power of blogs in stating that here “…power is reconfigured so that mothers value their own and each other’s mothering experiences and expertise” (5). Therefore, I will also look at whether mommyblogs are empowering women through information and leading to more value being placed on women’s knowledge. And finally mommyblogs must strive to be inclusive. As Kinser states “…much of what has been written and published about feminism and motherhood has failed to adequately examine the multiplicity of women’s experiences and points of view” (22). 6 This means that the needs and voices of mothers from different cultures, races, classes and lifestyles need to be included. To summarize, feminist mommyblogs should embrace the following criteria: 1. Seek to challenge assumptions about motherhood. 2. Shift the knowledge power to mothers and away from dominant institutions. 3. Present a multiplicity of voices. Method for studying mommyblogs My research into mommyblogs is first and foremost grounded in an interdisciplinary review of the literature on mommyblogs. In addition, I will draw on examples from the mamasphere such as those which I found in my own research into mommyblogs and breastfeeding (see appendix 1) in order to support, expand upon or disagree with the positions of my selected authors. This review of the research and literature will be followed by a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of mommyblogs against the backdrop of the key feminist interests which I have outlined above and will propose how we could better harness the feminist potential of mommyblogs in the future. Background and review of the literature Mommyblogging is a radical act!" And? It was. At that time, to be called a mommyblogger and have a mommyblog was radical. We had to fight for any respect we received. We had to work hard to earn any recognition that was not negative. It was radical to embrace (or even accept) being called a mommyblogger -Keynote by Alice Bradley, author of Finslippy.com at the BlogHer conference of 2009. Quoted by Jenn Satterwhite on August 1, 2009.
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