Two years ago, I had a personal epiphany at the Personal Democracy Forum in New York City. I joke about how I was so deep in revelatory thought that I fell down a few stairs. Yet it was the moment when it all clicked for me. The way that new media could change everything.
As new media continues to be an amplifying platform for previously under-recognized constituencies and agendas, women are looking to claim their piece of the pie.
I sat in on the “Monetizing the Web” session, a topic Johnston had told me earlier “has been a challenge since day one of the web.” The “conflict between print and the web” was brought up. The question was raised, “Is it worthwhile trying to sell content anymore?
As long as the separate communities of women are siloed on the Internet, they will only be as strong as their individual voices and agendas.
Why was one of the most solid Democratic voting blocs, the Jews, ever in doubt? There are a number of factors. Yet one element that the purveyors of fear did not count on was the incredible push back to their actions, spearheaded by the use of new media to fight the deception and vilification.
At Stonestreet Studios in the heart of the Flatiron District in Manhattan, performers will read almost 600 letters that reflect a spectrum of responses to McCain’s vice-presidential choice.
Augmenting McCain’s commitment to overturn Roe v. Wade, Palin ratcheted up the discourse with her position of no abortion exceptions in the case of rape or incest. “She can’t keep the women’s vote if they actually know what she is suggesting,” was the popular wisdom. Yet, there were a lot of female voters who weren’t clear about her record. That’s when a core group of women, using new media and an approach that has defined the 2008 election, jumped in to present another point of view.
With the understanding that women do not getting their narratives adequately told – if told at all – the need for a fresh playing field is palpable. In the new media, women have an opportunity to create their own communities and their own brands.
Blogging about Iranian culture and political affairs is how Mina Zand Siegel brings visibility to gender equality. She said, “Women’s issues are very important. I’m adamant about it.” In her posts on “IranWrites” she probes topics ranging from the hejab to her reaction Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.
"The Jump Rope Line" by Marcia G. Yerman is included in the Seal Press anthology Dancing at the Shame Prom.
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