Bloggers, Journalists, and Activists, Oh My

On Thursday, the Ms. at 40 Symposium hosted a pregame of sorts for the Gloria Steinem keynote, called the “Future of Feminism: a Panel Discussion with Feminist Editors, Journalist, and Bloggers.”  There was a surprisingly large audience waiting to watch the event go down. It was mostly comprised of older women, although there was a smattering of men and younger women. We were all anxious to hear what the panelists had to say about the history and future of feminist media.

First, we were introduced to Suzanne Braun Levine, writer, editor, and first editor of Ms. She said that the most important thing about Ms. was that it gave women the opportunity to tell their own stories and use their own voices.

Next we met Marcia Ann Gillespie, former Editor-in-Chief of Ms. and of Essence. Marcia intimated that she was suspicious of Ms. magazine, and worried that it wouldn’t accurately represent the experiences of women of color. However, when she joined up as a contributing editor, the Ms. staff seemed like a close-knit family, and there was no lack of articles about women of color.

Helen Zia, was next, a former Executive Editor and Advisory Board Member of Ms. She spoke on her difficulties managing intersectional identities in activism. She often wondered why there were no spaces for feminist activists in the anti-racist civil rights movement, so she became a journalist and joined up with Ms.

Then we heard from Katherine Spillar, Executive Editor of Ms. magazine. She considers herself an activist, not a journalist. She explained that one of the best things about Ms. during her tenure was the fact that the magazine was self-owned. This allowed the editors to investigate feminist and woman-centered issues that very few magazines took on during 90s.

Afterwards, we were introduced to the bloggers. Miriam Zolla Pérez, feminist blogger and reproductive justice activist. Miriam enjoys blogging because she feels she gets to “leave behind the gatekeepers.” Miriam got into blogging after she met Jessica Valenti, founder of Feministing, at an abortion activism event. Now she speaks about feminist issues from a Latina perspective.

Shelby Knox, feminist blogger, activist, and subject of the documentary, “The Education of Shelby Knox,” doesn’t consider herself a journalist or a blogger, but instead a spokesperson for young feminists. She said that her definition of feminism arose after hearing stories from other women and feeling “less crazy, less alone, but more pissed off.”

It was especially interesting to hear what each woman thought were the greatest challenges for the future of feminism. Helen Zia thought it was important to find women who had personal, lived experiences with an issue to author feminist articles. Katharine Spillar touted the greatness of technology as an organizing tool, speaking about the campaign to have the FBI update its definition of rape. In response to a question about fashion trends and sexuality, Shelby Knox warned against the dangers of slut shaming. She suggested that we should focus on giving young women information about healthy sexuality as well as focus on media education through sources like SparkSummit. Another panelist noted that the younger generation needed to help older feminists become used to technology to avoid widening the intergenerational gap.

Overall, this was a very refreshing dialogue that successfully showcased the ideals and accomplishments of the print-media era alongside the strengths and weaknesses of the digital future. Shelby Knox declared that online media exposes vast audiences to what feminisms look like, both online and on the ground. She looks forward to the time when the blogs and websites that we love today will serve as personal histories for the next generation. What do you think the future of feminist media will bring?