Comments on: Jessica Valenti Speaks On Organizing And Feminism

By: James Matheson

James Matheson — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:48:51 +0000

I don’t disagree with you that the Internet opened up countless new avenues and modes of organization and activism, but I think it should be viewed as as a more quantitative growth than a qualitative revolution.

I apologize for my words in my first comment. They were needlessly harsh and trolling. I wrote them while bitter about the state of the world and the diminished preeminence of my favorite communication instrument. That being said, I hope my words raise awareness into the importance of the telegraph for activists and social movements in the 19th century. The machine really was a cultural upheaval.

By: Lexie Tourek

Lexie Tourek — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:44:24 +0000

James, thanks for bringing up this point. Though I am not familiar with Standage’s work, I think that in terms of feminist activism and organizing, the internet opens up entirely new modes of communication. In the case of Feministing.com, groups of womyn are brought together that wouldn’t normally have access to each other. I think the internet is unique in this way because it creates a type of activism and community that can be fully achieved from the seat in front of your computer.

By: Lexie Tourek

Lexie Tourek — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:37:16 +0000

Jessica, thank you so much for coming to campus and reading and commenting! I really enjoyed your talk, and I think the reason why I kept ruminating on your answer to the mentioned question was because I’m very interested in how feminist theory turns into feminist practice.

I think your argument makes sense that there is a difference between what people think and what they do, like perhaps a Pro-Life feminist can only be a true feminist if she/he doesn’t act politically on his/her ideals because the “defining feminist moment” is really whether or not you’re standing for equal rights.

That being said, my original post’s rhetoric of exclusion is probably too strong and misleading because the exclusion occurs on trajectories of different identities like religion or culture, and not feminism.

Yet, I think that it’s fascinating and relevant topic, as there is a great deal of ideological diversity within the feminist movement, and perhaps, developing a new language for describing different types and expressions of feminism would be more beneficial than just saying one’s actions excludes them from a having at least a voice in the activist feminist community.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:20:27 +0000

Lexie, thanks for coming to the talk last night – I’m glad you enjoyed it. Just to clarify, though, I never said anyone should be “excluded” from feminism. What I said was while I think people can be personally pro-life and feminist, if they are fighting to restrict other women’s rights to obtain abortions, or fighting to restrict the rights of LGBT people to marry – then that’s something I don’t consider feminist. Feminism is about giving rights to people, not taking them away. It’s almost definitional…if you’re advocating limiting women’s rights, you’re advocating anti-feminism. I don’t believe that’s exclusionary, it’s just logical. That said, this is MY belief about what feminism is – I’m sure other people have all sorts of different opinions.

By: James Matheson

James Matheson — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:11:51 +0000

Observing the potential benefits of internet activism, do you consider the development of the Internet to be an entirely new cultural phenomena, or do you, like historian Tom Standage writes in The Victorian Internet, find that it’s culture-jamming abilities originated with the development of the first telegraph networks?

It is wrong to credit the Internet with the changes you describe. You should research your topic more thoroughly next time and give credit where it is due.