Recommend me a good feminism and/or gender issues forum?

[Weimann]

I am feeling a growing need to inform myself about and partake in conversations about gender issues, feminism and representations of gender (both female and male) in media. Of course, I could take a course in it at school, but I'm already going to be studying more than full-time the next year and I just don't have time for another course.

Discussions about how women get portrayed in media is particularly at the forefront of my mind right now as those kinds of discussions seem to arise pretty frequently. I often have opinions about them, but I equally often feel like those opinions may be flat-out wrong and that I don't know if what I'm basing them on is sound reasoning. I'm also wrestling with the problem of me, well, being male, and thus by definition not having access to the full female experience and always running the risk of misrepresenting the true female perspective through my flawed male lens.

Does anyone know a good forum where these kinds of discussions can maybe be had?

[Moriwen]

http://www.anamardoll.com/ is a great place to read (includes deconstructions here (http://www.anamardoll.com/search/label/index) of several popular books/tv shows; the Narnia series is my favorite), although the author reminds people that it's "not feminism 101," so they don't want to be explaining basic things to people new to the community. But I found reading through the archives to be very educational.

[Thattaman]

Just ask on GitP's LGBT thread. It may not be wholly about feminism but it's covered.

[AttilaTheGeek]

There's always tumblr.

[ArlEammon]

Gendercidedotcom. . . (Just joking, obviously).:smalltongue:

[WarKitty]

Just ask on GitP's LGBT thread. It may not be wholly about feminism but it's covered.

Check the PM list at the beginning of the LGBT thread too, for people who've volunteered to provide resources.

[Bryn]

OK, one very important thing to remember when dealing with feminist topics is that intersectionality - understanding how gender interacts with oppression related to race, LGBA and trans* status, disability etc. is really really important. Please try to find feminists of colour, trans* feminists, disabled feminists etc. to read!

(Actually while compiling the list below I realised I'm failing to do this myself - although I follow lots of trans* bloggers and happily keep adding more, I currently follow very few feminists of colour, disabled feminists... This is something I should improve.)

I'm going to be compiling this from half-remembered links and looking through my Feedly at what I currently read. There will definitely be vast gaps in coverage. I'm not posting any Tumblrs, for one thing. Also I picked up a whole load more after Nine Worlds which I haven't sorted through/subscribed to yet so they won't be showing up in here. Finally, I'm also leaving off some good blogs which are probably not allowed to be posted.

I don't necessarily agree with everything posted on all the sites I link. But I do feel the sites I link generally have lots of good content, and I've tried to say what I read each site for.

For an introduction and compilations of good links on various topics, the Geek Feminism Wiki (http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Geek_Feminism_Wiki) is a good place to start. Similarly Finally Feminism 101 (http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/) for blog posts on various topics.

Some blogs/resources I like which deal with gender:
Not Your Mom's Trans* 101 (http://tranarchism.com/2010/11/26/not-your-moms-trans-101/), an absolutely top-notch introduction to the complexities of gender variance.
Sincerely, Natalie Reed (http://freethoughtblogs.com/nataliereed), now finished, is essentially my favourite blog. There's a lot of writing there, but Natalie Reed delivers some really brilliant, nuanced and critical writing on just about everything she deals with.
Captain Awkward (http://captainawkward.com/) is a feminist advice blog and community which is pretty valuable in terms of the actual practicalities of living a not-harmful life.
Sarah Brown (http://www.sarahlizzy.com/blog/) and Complicity (http://www.complicity.co.uk/blog/) has a lot of good posts on (fairly UK-centric) legal trans* topics.
I've got loads more trans* bloggers but that should be enough to get you started.
No Comment (http://renieddolodge.co.uk/) deals with feminism and race (again from a UK-centric perspective - compiling this list is making me realise that I've probably swung too far towards UK vs. international)
For sexual ethics and anti-rape-culture stuff, Yes Means Yes blog (http://yesmeansyesblog.wordpress.com/) is really good - read their posts on the demographics of rapists and 'social license to operate' and stuff like that.
Also on FTB is Brute Reason (http://freethoughtblogs.com/brutereason) with lots of solid presentations of certain feminist topics from a skeptic perspective, and Crommunist Manifesto (http://freethoughtblogs.com/crommunist/) (male author but generally feminist) which looks at race in a pretty nuanced way
UK-specific again, but The F Word (http://www.thefword.org.uk/) is a wide-ranging feminist blog with a lot of contributors and good content.
The Rainbow Hub (www.therainbowhub.com) is another group blog about LGBTAIQ+ matters with some very good writing on it.


Since you're particularly concerned with gender representations in media...
You've probably already come across Anita Sarkeesian's videos (http://www.feministfrequency.com/), but they offer good introductions to a lot of topics, and in recently Tropes vs. Women in Video Games has gotten off to a really strong start despite the absurd levels of attacks and abuse that Sarkeesian received following its announcement.
Gaming as Women (http://www.gamingaswomen.com/) is a group blog about feminism and RPGs/board games/video games (mostly RPGs and story games).
Asking the Wrong Questions (http://wrongquestions.blogspot.co.uk/) (Abigail Nussbaum) is essentially the best review site I know in terms of seriously addressing the themes of a work and coming up with some really strong commentary - it's on the list because this often deals with feminist themes.
Other feminist-y book/media blogs and communities: Magpie Who Types (http://magpiewhotypes.wordpress.com/), Shattersnipe (http://fozmeadows.wordpress.com/) (Foz Meadows), Astrogator's Logs (http://www.starshipnivan.com/blog/) (Athena Andreaddis), FerretBrain (http://www.ferretbrain.com).

For specifically Swedish(-language) stuff, I don't have a lot, but there is the Swedish Skepchick (http://skepchick.se/) (an offshoot of the Skepchick skepticism/feminism group blog). I don't know how good it is.

Those are all blogs I either actively follow or adore so much I haven't deleted the RSS feed. There are lots of worldview-informing posts I can't think how to find right now.

[Coidzor]

There's always tumblr.

You're joking, right? :smalleek: Do you want him to get crucified for asking basic questions?

[warty goblin]

You're joking, right? :smalleek: Do you want him to get crucified for asking basic questions?

Is there any place where that doesn't happen? My experience reading comments on feminist blogs is very much that to ask an intro level question is to furnish one's own cross and nails from which to be suspended post haste.

[Kalmageddon]

Is there any place where that doesn't happen? My experience reading comments on feminist blogs is very much that to ask an intro level question is to furnish one's own cross and nails from which to be suspended post haste.

I don't know.
But I do think that people that act like this are sabotaging their own cause, because the more they act like snob elitists and the more they push away people who don't belong to their reality the more their reality is going to remain segregated from the rest.

And people like that are also the reason why I don't feel free to openly discuss my views on delicate subjects, because there's always going to be someone that isn't interested in constructive dialogue and only wants to find an excuse to jump at someone's throat for not thinking like he/she does.
Any excuse is good to generate more closed groups, more subcultures, more labels to help segregation and the concept of "us vs them and vice-versa".
Yes, I'm really bitter on this subject.

[McStabbington]

I don't know.
But I do think that people that act like this are sabotaging their own cause, because the more they act like snob elitists and the more they push away people who don't belong to their reality the more their reality is going to remain segregated from the rest.

And people like that are also the reason why I don't feel free to openly discuss my views on delicate subjects, because there's always going to be someone that isn't interested in constructive dialogue and only wants to find an excuse to jump at someone's throat for not thinking like he/she does.
Any excuse is good to generate more closed groups, more subcultures, more labels to help segregation and the concept of "us vs them and vice-versa".
Yes, I'm really bitter on this subject.

Well, part of the problem is that different feminist forums are built to achieve different goals, but they are unfortunately not always marked as such. A lot of feminist "discussion" groups are really more for the purpose of solidarity than education: like every group of embattled (and they are embattled) activists, sometimes you just want to go where everyone knows your name and relax in a place where you don't have to defend yourself. And in that circumstance, someone who genuinely is genuinely asking questions or genuinely trying to engage in debate? Might trigger a mass attack simply because they didn't realize the norms of the group.

Obviously, feminists discussion groups might want to do a better job of posting what expected decorum is, but you can't necessarily blame them for their aggression. Even honest and genuine violations of the norms in that situation can come off like wearing Dallas gear in a confirmed Eagles-fans bar: whether you meant to trigger the riot doesn't change the fact that it was entirely understandable that you did.

[Strawberries]

I don't know.
But I do think that people that act like this are sabotaging their own cause, because the more they act like snob elitists and the more they push away people who don't belong to their reality the more their reality is going to remain segregated from the rest.

I'm with you pretty much 100% here, Kalm.


http://www.anamardoll.com/ is a great place to read (includes deconstructions here (http://www.anamardoll.com/search/label/index) of several popular books/tv shows

Hmmmm.... Funnily enough, I do consider myself somewhat of a (moderate) feminist, but the couple of deconstructions I read, I didn't agree with. I may have just been unlucky in the picking, though.

EDIT:@ McStabbington's

I disagree. I strongly disagree, in fact. As long as the questioning is polite and comes from a genuine desire to understand the subject, it should always be met with politeness, or at least a simple "this is not the best place to ask, why don't you try *other place*". It IS basic courtesy, and supersedes whatever gender issue.

[McStabbington]

Hmmmm.... Funnily enough, I do consider myself somewhat of a (moderate) feminist, but the couple of deconstructions I read, I didn't agree with. I may have just been unlucky in the picking, though.

The beauty of, and the Achilles heel of, feminism is that if you ask seven different feminists to describe the theory behind their feminism, you'll get at least ten different versions. The good news is that if you disagree with one feminist, there's a good chance there are other feminists who also disagree with you, so you're not out of the club. The bad news is that beyond the general principle that women are people too, trying to get feminists to agree is like herding cats that have been shot up with meth.

[Strawberries]

The beauty of, and the Achilles heel of, feminism is that if you ask seven different feminists to describe the theory behind their feminism, you'll get at least ten different versions. The good news is that if you disagree with one feminist, there's a good chance there are other feminists who also disagree with you, so you're not out of the club. The bad news is that beyond the general principle that women are people too, trying to get feminists to agree is like herding cats that have been shot up with meth.

Which may be more or less a principle applicable to all human groups /ideologies/what-have-you. :smalltongue: Which once again proves that human beings are more or less all the same. :smallbiggrin:

[Jaycemonde]

Nobody's mentioned it yet, so I'm gonna go ahead and jump in--it's not exactly a feminists' thread--far from it, when you consider how most feminists (radfems especially) react to the spectrum stated in the title--but for sex issues and gender identity there are few places to go to better than this forum's own LGBTAitP (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=299934) thread--it's been running for forty-one iterations now and we've covered nearly every topic concerning gender by now. Given the way the forum is policed and the general friendliness of the thread-goers, it's also one of the few places you'd be able to ask (politely worded) questions without being crucified on the spot. Just make sure you go and read up on the gist of the most basic/common issues before asking brain-dead questions ("Why not just stay this way?") or you'll offend a lot of people.

Hope that helps.

[Serpentine]

Actually it's been mentioned twice :B

[Jaycemonde]

Actually it's been mentioned twice :B

...oh.
And now I see that. Don't know why I missed it the first time around. Still, my point stands. It's a really friendly place (95% of the time).