Follow-up to "The Feminist (blog) community and Anger"

It's always flattering when bloggers you regularly read and respect respond to something you've written, so I was delighted to find the following excellent pieces at What She Said!, I See Invisible People, and Tennesee Guerilla Women.

These women were responding to my final essay in a series on feminism, anger and blogging. (Links at bottom.)

The level of response at other blogs may have been a result of temporarily shutting down the comments due to an influx of spam. The comments are open again, and people are most welcome to weigh in - agree, disagree, or just give feedback. In retrospect, I regret turning the comments off: while the first piece (published shortly after Blogher) received many insightful and helpful comments, the final essay received only one (so far).

Morgaine Swann writes at What She Said! some of her thoughts about blogging:

1) I blog because I have something to say, and I don't hear anyone saying it quite the way I do.
2) If I wanted an editor, I'd get a job at a newspaper.
3) I don't honestly think much of women who aren't angry.

I like that third one - no disclaimers, no amendments, nothing to soften the blow. Her second point underlines the lack of censorship in blogging (except for self-censorship, of course). Blogging is incredibly accessible, although pc equipment and software is still expensive for someone living below the poverty line. But, in theory, at least, someone who is poor can still go to their local library, sit down at one of the pc terminals, sign up for a free account with Blogger, and blog for an allotted time each day.

In the 1970's, feminist works were mimeographed and distributed on street corners (from what I've read), and among consciousness-raising groups. How blogging compares to these previous forms of dissemination, I don't know, but it would be interesting if someone attempted to study it.

Morgaine also writes about her own anger:

I am angry. I am a feminist. Deal with it. I know it would be easier for all concerned for me to just shut the fuck up and endure my second-class status in that demure, long-suffering way that women are taught to - be happy with 3/4 of a paycheck for twice the work, cause permanent damage to my feet and my credit to wear those spiked heels that make me more vulnerable to predators, and smile dutifully when a guy takes credit for or benefits from my work - FUCK. THAT.

She brings in race as well ("I don't care if I scare the white people.") - read the entire piece if you haven't already.

Terry of I See Invisible People writes from her generation's perspective in "Dare to Feel":

So women of my generation trained ourselves to temper our emotions rather than fuel the arguments of oppression. It was partly about being 'nice' but it was also about survival. If a cool, rational masculine mode of communication was the ideal, we learned to emulate it in order to succeed. We kept it up from 9 to 5, then often went home to rage or cry quietly, and drank a lot of Maalox. We suppressed so much that in time we lost the ability to recognize legitimate feeling and to act upon it. We subconsciously considered subjugation of our emotions the price we paid for a shot at equal rights and access. Except that it didnÂ’t work that way. We deadened our reactions, but never got the promised reward.

She also writes of her struggle with bipolar disorder - do read her whole piece!

Egalia of Tennessee Guerilla Women posted "Anger as the Prerequisite to Feminism", with a rather nifty visual. In it, she quotes Morgaine's piece, and adds a hearty recommendation for Mary Daly's book, Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism:

If you haven't read the author Morgaine references, this is - in my view - Mary Daly's most feminist eye-opening and life-changing book. In a nation serious about combating world-wide misogyny, Mary Daly (and Morgaine) would be required reading.

(I've had a couple of cracks at Mary Daly, but have found some of it hard going; perhaps I'll give her a third try.)

I love that people brought in race, psychology, mental health, and feminist book recommendations to their pieces. Their thoughts and perspectives both expand and enhance my original horizon - and they're all well-written pieces to boot. Check 'em out!

"The more popular a medium, the more it is subject to censorship: television, film, and glossy magazines are most censored." —Marilyn French, The War Against Women, p. 169

Links:

"Brutal Women, Inhibited Writing, and residual Blogher stuff."
"What is 'Intelligent Blogging'?"
"The Feminist (blog) community and Anger"

Kameron Hurley kicked off the above trilogy of angst with her own post, "Thoughts on Intelligent Blogging", at Brutal Women.

Update 11/01/05: Jenn at Reappropriate has written her thoughts on anger.