Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by April on October 3, 2008 at 10:27pm

Oh, I'm not saying women shouldn't be involved in politics. I'm saying if you've developed a blog that is geared towards parenting, family, pregnancy, etc issues, then it's not necessarily relevant or a good idea to jump on a political soapbox in that forum or context. Maybe save it for somewhere it's better appreciated and where it won't potentially alienate 50% of your readers.

Just my opinion :-)

www.AprilsLittleFamily.blogspot.com

Michelle said:

I think it's extremely important for moms to be involved in politics -- we are shaping the world that our children will inherit. I find it a huge turn-off when mommies are afraid to take a stand for a better world because they are too worried about people liking them.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by April on October 4, 2008 at 8:24am

Fair enough :-) I guess it just depends on whether you're writing for yourself, your audience, or an amalgamation of the two.

www.AprilsLittleFamily.blogspot.com

Michelle said:

I guess what I'm saying is that I find politics and motherhood to be inherently linked. I wouldn't care a lick about politics except for my kids. I was politically apathetic (though left-leaning) before kids. My political and then religious conversion and subsequent passion began the moment I discovered that I was pregnant for the first time.

Plus I couldn't care less if people don't like me or don't read my blog because of my opinions. Some people don't read my blog because I talk about politics and religion, others don't read it because I talk about being a mom. Those aren't the people I am addressing.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Susan Lindgren on October 4, 2008 at 12:05pm

I wrestled with writing politics on my "mommy" blog- So I started my own Political blog. it is linked on my main blog. It gives me a little more freedom to write without feeling the pressure of upsetting family and friends who read my blog to see my kids.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by April on October 4, 2008 at 4:56pm

I think that's a great idea!

www.AprilsLittleFamily.blogspot.com

Susan Lindgren said:

I wrestled with writing politics on my "mommy" blog- So I started my own Political blog. it is linked on my main blog. It gives me a little more freedom to write without feeling the pressure of upsetting family and friends who read my blog to see my kids.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Ali on October 10, 2008 at 3:46pm

I know what you're saying April. It would be like Dooce losing her snarkiness and start writing like Pioneer Woman. I love PW but not when I'm wanting to read Dooce!

I think it's okay to get political if it goes with the flow of your blog and you're able to keep it within your style. KWIM?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by April on October 10, 2008 at 4:31pm

Well put!

April
www.AprilsLittleFamily.blogspot.com

Ali said:

I know what you're saying April. It would be like Dooce losing her snarkiness and start writing like Pioneer Woman. I love PW but not when I'm wanting to read Dooce!

I think it's okay to get political if it goes with the flow of your blog and you're able to keep it within your style. KWIM?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michelle on October 10, 2008 at 5:04pm

Because of the election (Canadian) I have had some political posts. I guess the way that I see it is that my blog is about me. It's about my life and sometimes it's focused on my child, sometimes on my relationship, sometimes on my friendships, sometimes on my career and sometimes on random thoughts that stick in my head. It's about the whole person. My blog is meant to give people an idea of what it's like to jump into the world of motherhood. To avoid talking about politics (for me) would be to change who I am at a fundamental level.
I agree with Michelle (lots of Michelles on here ;) ) that moms can be passionate about the things that mean the most to them. More often than not, it's our children, but many times we talk about ourselves too and how we see the world or how we want to see the world. When I talk about the little injustices (the looks I got for breastfeeding for example, the shame that mothers are made to feel whether they are breastfeeding or not) I realize that these posts are about motherhood, but they are also political. In an election year (and both of our countries have one right now), wouldn't it be strange if we didn't think about politics?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Catherine on October 10, 2008 at 9:16pm

I feel like a politcal post now and then is okay. I am actually pretty interested in what other people think as long I don't feel like they are trying to convert me. A little bit of politics on a mommy centered blog is okay, a total topic shift is a bit much. I guess a lot of us write about what is going on in our lives and the election is a HUGE part of day to day life right now. I am just so tired of people trying to change my mind and acting like their opinions are so much more important and correct then mine (not just in blogs but in daily life too.)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Debra Legg on October 10, 2008 at 10:25pm

I absolutely agree with you, Michelle. I think politically -- have since I was a young'un -- and I'm raising the guys to be aware, too. Big Guy actually paid attention to part of the debate this week and made some interesting observations, in his innocent little 5-year-old way.

I tried the separate blog set-up for about a month, but it simply became too cumbersome on the administrative end. I was RSSing from one blog to another for syndication reasons, and after weeks of pulling my hair out, I smooshed them all -- I had three blogs -- today.

Those who are interested in the "classic" 9to5to9 or kidsallergy content can click on only those categories. Eventually, I'm going to set up separate RSS feeds for those categories, assuming the plugin doesn't blow up my site.

The overwhelming majority of my poltical posts relate to parents, family, children, our lives in some way. I look at that as totally my genre. The one exception so far was a post I wrote this morning, and it stemmed from our morning walk to school.

Love the Switzerland analogy, April! I've used that one, too, on everything from intervening in the guys' disputes to battling a picky eater.

Michelle said:

I guess what I'm saying is that I find politics and motherhood to be inherently linked. I wouldn't care a lick about politics except for my kids. I was politically apathetic (though left-leaning) before kids. My political and then religious conversion and subsequent passion began the moment I discovered that I was pregnant for the first time.

Plus I couldn't care less if people don't like me or don't read my blog because of my opinions. Some people don't read my blog because I talk about politics and religion, others don't read it because I talk about being a mom. Those aren't the people I am addressing.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Marisa C on April 4, 2009 at 5:21pm

I dunno....
Due to my job as a civil servant , I'm not allowed to take political stands in reality or in blog land.
However.... if there is an injustice or an issue that may affect my children, I'm going to comment.

• ▶ Reply