Feministing

Feministing.com was a feminist blog founded in 2004 by sisters Jessica and Vanessa Valenti.[1] It had 1.2 million unique monthly visitors at its peak. The blog helped to popularize the term slut-shaming according to its directors Lori Adelman and Maya Dusenbery. Towards the end of 2019 it was announced that the blog's shutdown was planned for the following weeks.[2] The blog's final post was published in December 2019.[3]

Feministing
Type of site
Blog
Created byJessica Valenti, Vanessa Valenti
EditorMaya Dusenbery (Executive Director for Editorial)
URLfeministing.com
RegistrationOptional
Launched2004
Current statusNot active

Purpose and audience

Sisters Vanessa and Jessica Valenti began Feministing in 2004[1] while working at the National Organization for Women's legal defense fund (now Legal Momentum), where Jessica felt that young feminists were being excluded from feminist discourse.[4] She describes Feministing's purpose as "a way to get through the mommy filter" and make feminism more accessible to young women through giving an Internet presence for young feminists.[5][6] Feministing covers topics ranging from outrage on measures to restrict reproductive rights or pay equity to irreverent or bemused coverage of pop culture and art, such as urinals shaped to look like vaginas.[7][8] The writing on Feministing is not exclusively political, but also concerns feminist perspectives and observations from the staff's daily lives.[9] Sex and sexuality are another frequent topic of discussion; it is sometimes cited as an Internet extension of the third-wave feminist movement.[4][10] It is popular among young feminists.[6][7][11][12] Feministing also has a comments section.[4] Readers post (sometimes heated) comments on posts by the editorial board and post their own writing at their community portal.[11]

Staff
Gwendolyn Beetham

As of September 2013, Feministing had three co-executive directors: Lori Adelman (Partnerships), Maya Dusenbery (Editorial), and Jos Truitt (Development).[13] In 2015 Adelman was named as one of The Forward 50.[14] Alexandra Brodsky is an editor and columnist. The other staff columnists were Chloe Angyal (Senior Columnist), Katie Halper, Syreeta McFadden, Sesali Bowen, Verónica Bayetti Flores, Juliana Britto Schwartz, Mychal Denzel Smith, Katherine Cross, Gwendolyn Beetham (Academic Feminist Columnist), Dana Bolger, and Suzanna Bobadilla (Interviews Columnist).[15][16] The site was supported by advertisements but all of the writers had day jobs.[6][12] Former Feministing staff include former editors Vanessa Valenti, Ann Friedman, Miriam Zoila Pérez, Courtney E. Martin, and Samhita Mukhopadhyay.[15]

Retirement of Jessica Valenti

Valenti retired from Feministing in 2011. In a statement issued on 2 February, Valenti announced her retirement, arguing that her intention for the site was to provide a space for younger feminists outside the elite. Valenti states:

"Today, almost 5,000 posts later, I'm a 32-year-old feminist with a voice that is listened to. Largely because of the work I've done with Feministing, I have a successful platform for my work – I've published books, written articles, and built a career as a speaker. Because I feel Feministing should remain a place for younger feminists to build their careers and platforms, I think it's appropriate to our mission that I step back."[17]

Valenti continued to respond to articles using the comments forum, and Feministing writers frequently posted links to other work by both Valenti and Friedman.

See also

References
  1. Jos Truitt (13 April 2016). "Happy 12th Birthday To Us!". Feministing. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  2. Goldberg, Emma (8 December 2019). "A Farewell to Feministing and the Heyday of Feminist Blogging". The New York Times.
  3. "(B)logging Off: Feministing Forever". Feministing. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  4. Kramer Bussel, Rachel (15 May 2006). "Jessica Valenti, Executive Editor and Founder, Feministing.com". Gothamist. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  5. Traister, Rebecca (24 April 2007). "Tough titties". Salon. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  6. Zerbisias, Antonia (25 June 2008). "What we need is a f-word revolution". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  7. Dominus, Susan (1 February 2008). "Feminists Find Unity Is Elusive". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  8. Rebecca, Traister (March 2008). "Activist Intelligence: Jessica Valenti". Elle. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  9. Swamy, Shruti (2 February 2009). "Yes, We Can". India Currents. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
  10. Hirshman, Linda (8 June 2008). "Looking to Future, Feminism Has to Focus". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  11. Funk, Liz (12 October 2006). "Feministing: Feminist? Or Just -Ing?". HuffPost. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  12. Moskowitz, Gary (11 September 2006). "A Feminist Home on the Web". AlterNet. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  13. "Feministing names new Executive Directors!". Feministing. 17 September 2013.
  14. "Forward 50 2015 –". Forward.com. 7 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  15. "About". Feministing. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  16. "Meet Us". Feministing. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  17. "Farewell, Feministing!". Feministing.com. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
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