Feminist Discussion Spaces

March 2, 2022 5:44 AM

Where do you go to talk about feminism in 2022?

I'm bummed about the disappearance of the feminist blogosphere, specifically the discussion in the comment sections. (Same with the disappearance of forums like Girl Wonder. And forum/message boards in general!)

Sometimes (maybe a lot of times!) discussion could get toxic or ridiculous, but I feel like the disappearance of these spaces ... and the fact that the terrible TERF haven Mumsnet is a forum that still exists but not other forums... is not a good development.

And Reddit does not work as a replacement. At all.

MeFites, are there feminism-focused discussion spaces that still exist that you hang out at and if so, what/where are they?

If they don't, I'd be tempted to create one, but I would be the worst mod. If I created one, do you have advice about doing so? I literally don't even know if free forum providers even exist.

posted by pelvicsorcery to Society & Culture (5 answers total)

Response by poster: I want to add: really important work came out of these blogs. Even the fights between various blogs helped put helpful ideas out there that eventually filtered into mainstream culture. The framework of enthusiastic consent came from these blogs (or at the very least helped popularize that idea among a generation of extremely online women who disseminated it from there). Twitter, while a big deal in many ways (specifically with #metoo) but imo is not a replacement for long form writing and commenting. It's also very bad for nuanced discussion. So that's where I'm coming from with this question and that's the kind of thing I'm hungering for again.
posted by pelvicsorcery at 5:49 AM on March 2, 2022 [3 favorites]

I’m not sure if this is really what you’re looking for, but there’s a lot of discussion on TikTok. However of course the way with interacting with that is going to be different than a website or twitter. Crutches and spice is a disability focused creator, and following their work might put you in the right direction for feminist focused accounts.
posted by raccoon409 at 7:04 AM on March 2, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have discussions like this at WisCon, which this year will be hybrid (in-person and virtual).
posted by brainwane at 7:56 AM on March 2, 2022

I've made some lovely internet friends via Riot Grrrl Facebook groups. If it's not already obvious from the fact that I use FB, I'm in my forties. If you've never been into Riot Grrrl music (or punk music at all in general), that's totally fine! I love Riot Grrrl music myself, but there's plenty of straight-up feminist content otherwise.

These are VERY trans-inclusive spaces, and frequently have trans/enby leadership/moderation.

I'm also a fan of AfroPunk as a festival and its related social media.

On insta I like 3tokenbrowngirls, makedaisychains, blackforager (tangentially related, but she's just so awesome all around!), jacqthestripper, muchachafanzine

I also love Kat Blaque on every platform, and Ally Henny
posted by leemleem at 8:46 AM on March 2, 2022 [4 favorites]

Almost all my feminist favorites are voices from people who are dealing with marginalization that is compounded by other marginalization - fat feminists, sex-worker feminists, disabled feminists, transgender feminists, BIPOC feminists, queer feminists, blue-collar feminists, neurodivergent feminists, some are several of the above.

I'm white and found a lot of feminist thought and discussion through 'white feminism' but that was just the beginning of my journey. It's easier than ever before to center the most marginalized voices, and I'm so grateful.
posted by leemleem at 10:57 AM on March 2, 2022 [5 favorites]