Specifically, I am right now developing a workshop that might be useful at the conference being put on in April by EngageHer (Mable Yee is leading this org). My aim is to address the splits not only in the feminist community, but the ways in which feminism has left out or pushed out women who are our sisters! I want to get past the “talking at” model and do more of a group process, and to do this I will draw on my background in feminist psychotherapy.

One more issue, however: I’d like to challenge the assumption that the ultimate educational/organizing tool is a face-to-face conference. This leaves a lot of women out! Including me! I have chronic pain/fatigue and cannot conference-hop. Neither can women who have kids/jobs/very tight budgets…and these are the very women I want to bring inside the tent. So, can we talk here? I’d like to see feminist orgz get their act into web-conference mode, or blog talk radio, or other online platform that allows for non-local participation. Blogging is great, but it reaches a particular population of women who already have the confidence to write. IMO, we need to make many access points for women & girls who have not yet found their voices. In the meantime, I’m happy to know about you and your work, and I will check it out, pronto.

Pls feel free to write to me: madama ambi at g mail dot com

Reason being, from the Anita Borg Institute research and beyond (http://tinyurl.com/6qq3vh ) we’re seeing a dearth of young girls entering technology fields and the hypersexualization at ever-increasing young ages (the ‘thongs for tweens syndrome’) creating a generation of girls that are going BACKWARDS rather than forwards in their self-image and self-worth. (see the APA study on the harm of early sexualization cues and our commentary on the boy toy bit here:
http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=309

As I wrote in this piece “Does the F word need rebranding? Ask Teens”

http://www.shapingyouth.org/blog/?p=1289

…I think we truly need to redefine, recast, and reclaim the ‘feminism’ phraseology and ideology in order not to miss the boat with young girls and our future leaders of women on the web. I REALLY hope I can make it to D.C. and be a part of this vital conversation! Thanks for opening up the dialog.

http://www.ShapingYouth.org

The underground roar of women’s voices on the internet might be comparable to the underground abortion network of the 1960′s, known as Jane. I wasn’t old enough to be involved, but I read about it and if you haven’t read about it, it will blow your mind. Here’s my point: we (feminists, women, girls) are very connected in many ways, but some important people are currently left out of the picture and our visibility is still marginalized. I want to change this. I’m on this, but I don’t travel well, and will not make it to the conference in D.C. in all likelihood. I would love to participate in some online way, if possible, and I have a few ideas about that…yours in solidarity.

Feminist.com, much like Feminism 2.0, was inspired by the possibilities of the Internet to educate, empower, foster activism, and build a sense of community. Having witnessed the tremendous growth of women’s online influence over the past 14 years, I have no doubt that this trend will continue. What does feminism look like on the web? It looks like all of us, through sites like these, learning from each other, and working in partnership towards our common goals. Feminist.com is proud to be a part of Feminism 2.0!

This kind of interaction is almost required for people my age and, increasingly, everyone to connect with peer groups, start dialogue between people and groups, become active on campuses, in schools and through grassroots networking, and keep up with a vast network of acquaintances and friends. I, for one, used my first computer when I was 3. I made my first email address when I was 11 (and still use it to this day). I wrote my first blog post when I was 13, and I probably used my first HTML codes at around the same time. I’d rather Facebook you than call you; I get my Twitter messages faster than I get my emails; I check the website before I crack open the phone book; I’ll take a screenshot of CNN and sell it in 20 years instead of buying the newspaper on Election Day. It feels completely natural and just a common part of life… but where is it going? How will this evolve, and how can women, especially young women, learn to harness this accessibility and power and amplify their voice?

The internet is not the great equalizer, because those who truly understand it — how computers work, now networks work, how data is transferred and even stolen — hold the advantage. I want to use these skills (not even skills, these instincts) for the next level of action, and that requires educating myself and others on what, exactly, can be done. Women use the internet to explore who we are; now we need to use it to find out who we can be.