Discovering the world of feminist blogging was an experience of simultaneous relief and isolation: just as Second Wave feminists have described the way consciousness raising allowed them to realize that their frustration with and opposition to sexism wasn’t individual insanity but a collective imperative, feminist blogging allowed me – and certainly countless others – to find comfort in the collective of like-minded people thinking critically about and combating inequality. But at the same time that I found such reprieve online, my lived reality was mired in ideologies that existed in ambivalence and direct contradiction to those ideals.
It was this paradox that led me to start the FBomb. I wanted to bridge the gap between my peers who hadn’t been exposed to feminism and those searching for like-minded people who had found the movement and craved more: to provide the former with a first-person account of feminism’s ideals and its relevance and the latter with a platform for sharing those beliefs and finding like-minded peers. I hoped to possibly foster a community of a few dozen, maybe a few hundred if I was lucky. I had no idea that tens of thousands of teens and young adults were looking for such a place, too, and the FBomb soon became a global hub for women and men of our generation to share their stories and ideals, to find their voices and learn from each other.
It’s nearly impossible to describe how much I personally have learned, grown and benefited from my involvement in the FBomb, but the FBomb was never about me. The FBomb is and always has been a community, a platform and a shared space and as I grow older, I’m acutely aware that, as the FBomb’s founder and editor, I have a responsibility to make sure that this space continues to exist beyond my facilitation. At the beginning of my Junior year of college (this past Fall), I felt it was truly time to figure out how to make that a reality. I have never had any interest in monetizing the FBomb but, because there are few other models for online sustainability, I was presented with a challenge: how do I make sure the FBomb continues to exist as a space for young feminist voices as I inevitably age?
I eventually was presented with the incredible opportunity to team up with the Women’s Media Center – an organization that not only deeply understands and respects the FBomb’s goals, but feels (as I do) that they have the resources and expertise to help support and even further the FBomb’s mission. Founded by the incredibly accomplished and revolutionary feminist icons Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan, led by Julie Burton, and run by a brilliant, hardworking staff, the WMC intimately understands both the importance of feminist ideology as well as the value of amplifying women’s voices in the media and beyond.
On a logistical level, I will continue to be the editor for at least the next year, but I’m actively looking for a way to pass on leadership so that the FBomb will continue to be a space that is facilitated by and features the voices of high school and college-aged feminists. While the FBomb is still open to submissions from anybody, I’m going to instate an “Editorial Board” of high school and college aged contributors who will contribute every month. I hope this will still remain relatively informal because I want anybody to feel that they have a voice on the FBomb, but hope a board will provide more structure and help augment the feeling of involvement and community. If you’re interested in joining the editorial board, please email [email protected].
I don’t think I can adequately express how excited I am for everything this partnership has in store as well as for the future of the FBomb overall. My goal is to make the FBomb the best space for young feminists it possibly can be, and I have no doubt that the Women’s Media Center will help make that a reality.
