DIVERSITY AND THE CARNIVAL OF FEMINISTS

I am still basking in the afterglow of all the positive responses to yesterday's Carnival of Feminists.  Nonetheless, I have taken some time to consider whether I fulfilled one of the Carnival's missions-- to bring together a diverse collection of feminist bloggers.  Diversity is important, in my view, because one of the glories of blogging is the contact among people who might otherwise never have any reason to meet.  Also, it is important to convey that feminism serves the interests of a wide variety of women around the world.

But I wasn't organized enough to make any deliberate effort to create a diverse selection.  In fact, I didn't think about achieving diversity at all until after the Carnival was posted. I just looked at all the posts that had come to my attention since the last Carnival, via nominations or internet surfing, and picked the ones I liked.  It was only then that I sheepishly remembered Carnival founder Natalie Bennett's request to keep U.S. submissions to 50% or less. (After all, believe it or not, there is a whole big world out there besides the U.S.A.).   

Looking at the numbers, my U.S. emphasis wasn't quite as bad as I thought, but I still could have done better. Below is the breakdown of the 45 featured bloggers. 

United States:     27 bloggers  or 60% (not counting people who live in the U.S. but are from elsewhere)

United Kingdom:    8 bloggers  or  18%   

Canada:              5 bloggers  or  11%  (I think Scott Lemieux at Lawyers, Guns & Money is Canadian.  His post is about Canada and he seems to like hockey and I think I read somewhere that he is Canadian. Also someone on a thread at Pandagon said that Lindsay at Majikthise is Canadian so I'm counting her too.  Further evidence of her Canadian-ness is that she once signed an email to me with "cheers.")   

Unknown:            3 bloggers   or   7%

Other:                2 bloggers   or   4%    (Italy and Israel)

Of course, diversity can be measured in other ways.  I think the featured bloggers are a somewhat diverse group in terms of race, sexual orientation, religion, social class, and lifestyle, even if the emphasis is a bit "first world."  And although the bloggers are predominantly from the U.S., U.K. and Canada, there were posts about African politics, Chinese history, Japanese art, and Latin American literature among a diverse array of topics. 

I should also note that we had a number of outstanding contributions from male bloggers-- 8 in all, or 17%.  I was surprised that it turned out to be that high.  I don't think that male feminists necessarily deserve extra appreciative attention -- because, after all, feminism is about basic human rights.  That having been said, however, I am glad to have the chance to convey the notion that feminism is not hostile to male participation (contrary to popular belief).  Also, even though I think everyone should be a feminist, I am glad to see men blogging about issues that are often considered of interest only to women.

My personal goal for the next Carnival is to find and nominate some African feminist bloggers.  (I used to live in west Africa so it's a natural area for me to look at.) 

Comments

[Natalie Bennett]

No need to be sheepish. The under 50 per cent is an aim, not a rigid target. And as you say, diversity has many different aspects, from gender onwards ... and many of us will fit in a range of diverse diversities.

But some new bloggers from west Africa for next time would be great. I usually try to contribute a few African/Asian bloggers, but I fell down on the job a bit this time.

[Holly]

I think you did a great job of putting together a diverse array of feminists. As you say and as Natalie echoes, diversity can be measured in many ways. I'm still so flattered that you included my entry on male Mormon feminists--plenty of people don't believe me when I say there's such a thing as Mormon feminism, and others tell me there SHOULDN'T be such a thing, because the Mormon church is inherently sexist. But my feminist awakening occurred in the context of religion and feminism for me will always be tied up in a quest that is not only intellectual, political and economic, but spiritual.

[Sour Duck]

Good notes, very helpful for future hosts, I think.

Agree with Natalie - no need to be sheepish. The Carnival - any carnival, in fact - is a lot more work than people realize. If you don't receive a wide array of nominations you have to hunt them out yourself. This task absorbed probably 60% of my time when I was working on Issue 3. (However, when I did find that gem post, it was worth it! ;))

Thanks for posting these notes.

[Jenn]

I thoroughly enjoyed this post. It shows a great analysis of how we can unduly, unintentionally and unconsciously promote one perception or another simply through our choices. There was nothing wrong with your edition -- in fact, I agree that it represented a very diverse grouping of feminists. However, at the same time, I think it's important that all of us be aware of what kind of outside interpretation we put forth with our choices, espeically in an forum like this.