Confessions of an Online Feminist Activist

I'm working from home today. This is the only day all week that I'm not closing at JCP. The amount of time I spend working at my two jobs is just ironic in contrast to today's question. Normally, I have LOTS of ways to describe what I do other than work. But last week, coming in at 25 hours at JCP, and this week, with 27 hours scheduled, basically all I do is work. Plus I'm at my first job 30+ hours each week. So right now, yes, what I do is work. But this post is all about the non-work stuff I do most.



I spend a lot of time online. This is partly because I'm a twenty-something living in the 21st century, and partly because I have breaks during my workday that are long enough to browse the Internet but too short to leave the office (or the mall). Prior to moving to the Midwest, it was also largely in part because Beau lived far far away from me. 

I'm a feminist. Unless this is the first blog post you have ever read by me, then you already know this. I don't hide it. You don't have to know me very long to find out I'm a feminist. 

What do these characteristics have in common? My form of activism. Although I have joked before about being a slacktivist, I've recently decided to give myself more credit. It's not as though my feminist activism is limited to copying & pasting facebook statuses or retweeting stuff. I spend a LOT of time reading up on the latest issues in regards to women, LGBTQ+, sexual assault, gender roles, libertarianism, politics, religion/Christianity, and especially how all these things tie together. I blog about some of it here. I tweet about a lot of it. And I share articles to facebook.

Only a tiny group of people have any idea how much time I spend researching and then adding thoughtful commentary to what I find. Since May 1, 2013, I have shared nine links to facebook that resulted in five conversations with 2+ people each (other than me). Plus I engaged my friends in conversation on street harassment via an informal poll as my facebook status. I've routinely sparked conversations with 10+ people that have resulted in 50+ comments. In the last five months, I've had about a dozen people on facebook, most of whom are not close friends, tell me how much they appreciate everything I post and how passionate and unapologetic I am about my beliefs.

Then, of course, I have my anonymous life. I'm not gonna lie--I wish more people would comment on my blog. But the comments I have received have been so encouraging, not to mention the emails and twitter DMs that I receive. The overwhelming message--aside from a few trolls & MRAs--has been that I write what people need to hear, but not enough people are saying it.

So what do I do?

I read. I listen. I share. I engage. I inspire. I argue.

But most of all, I write. I write passionately about what I know, what I think, what I believe, what I hope, what I dream.

I write,

 because it is the best way

 for me to make 

the world a better place.