blogging

This is my last post for Lady Business. It has been a lightning fast eight weeks, but it's been so wonderful to interact with you all. I hope to trade ideas and words with you again sometime soon.

I caught up with parent/teacher/blogger/activist Paige Schilt to get her take on the new wave of parenting emerging from the genderpocalypse.

My name is Kristin Rawls, and, yes, I am a preacher's daughter. I'm in my early 30s, and I was raised in an unusual blend of Protestant traditions. The preacher (my dad) grew up in the Southern Baptist church, got "saved" during the Pentecostal-influenced "Jesus movement" of the 1970s and ultimately settled in a mainline (not fundamentalist) tradition. My family practiced a confusing mix of them all. The result? I became pretty cynical about the the whole thing.

This blog series is named after blueswoman Michelle Malone's song, "Preacher's Daughter" (transcript here):

So many links, so much free time this weekend.

• Australian badass and WWII heroine Nancy Wake passed away on Sunday. The Pursuit of Harpyness shares her amazing life story. Seriously, how cool was this lady? 
• Talk About Equality discusses the firestorm around a new petition to marry Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street. Still no word on how the two themselves feel about it.
• Bitch contributor s.e. smith explores the particulars of the "Strong, Female Character." What do you think that entails?
• Gender Across Borders presents "A Gendered Look at Water Policy." Definitely a great, eye-opening read.
• At Model Minority Renina discusses the film Pariah and what it means to make a "Black film" in the Obama era.
• The F-Word wants your inspiring feminist or organization nominees for the Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize; Gender Across Borders is looking for writers for a new series on stigma, shame, and sexuality; and Bitch Flicks is looking for critical pieces on Mad Men. Get out there and write, everyone!
• Indian Country Today reports a growing number of aboriginal groups are dropping out of the BC Missing Women Commission. 
• nist.tv shares Eve Ensler's TED talk on the developing connection between her self and her body. Check it out.

Please share your own favorite links from this week. We want to know what's been on your radar!

This week has been chock-full of awesome articles and online conversations! Here's some of what we've been reading:

• The Black Women Film Festival happens this weekend in Atlanta, Georgia!
• Heather at AfterEllen gives her two cents on the events surrounding Glee's Dianna Agron performing in a t-shirt that says "LIKES GIRLS." For more, I recommend Jenny Aisenberg's piece at Velvet Park.
• The Times speculates on "why women don't get caught up in sex scandals." (via Briar Levit)
• Bust responds to recent articles that suggested women "grow up" and be less "girly." What Tami Said comments on the racialized aspects of the personae in question.
• The Daily Beast elaborates on just how horrifically anti-gay Presidential contender Michele Bachmann really is.
• Tiger Beatdown and Original Plumbing introduce their new bloggers, including Bitch contributors s.e. smith and Emily Manuel at TB and Thomas Page McBee at OP.
• Stinkin' Thinkin' opines on "Why Addiction Recovery Should Be A Feminist Issue."
• Clutch talks about a shockingly racist and sexist online ad by a Tea Party group.
• ColorLines and KABOBfest continue the conversation about Tom MacMaster and Bill Graber pretending to be high-profile lesbian bloggers. At TransGriot, Monica recalls her online run-in with Graber.
• Pam's House Blend provides statistics on same-sex couples to encourage the New York Senate to pass marriage equality.
• TransGriot pays homage to late rapper Tupac on what would have been his fortieth birthday.
• Shakesville's Melissa McEwan shakes her head at Mitt Romney's joking about unemployment.
• Liz at Our Turn admires ass-kicking female characters and shares her take on the Double Dare documentary.
• TransQueers XXX and TransErotica on Tumblr provide places for trans* individuals to share naked and/or erotic photos of themselves. (Both pages NSFW.)
• Queerty wants to know what it can do to better serve its female readership! Ideas? Go go go!

Share your thoughts (and/or other awesome articles) below!

As a corollary to Wednesday's discussion of role models, I thought this was a fine time to advance my theory that there are precious few opportunities to make your digital bones as a female blogger. If you aren't willing to open an emotional vein or cannibalize your life for blog material, and if you can't leverage an offline profile a la Ariana Huffington or Michelle Malkin, good luck building a reputation as an expert and/or a readership outside of the niche. You can mine your personal life for story gold, you can focus your attention on issues traditionally associated (for better or worse) with women (feminism, fashion, celebrity news) or you can be famous offline first. Those seem to be the sum total of your choices. Or you can pretend to be a man, I suppose.