Time to bring back the panties, married lady blogger! :D
Here's my comment responding to
this article at Feministing, on the unsustainability of blogging and whether it's a "feminine mistake."
It’s not a feminist problem. It’s a generational one. Those of us younger than boomers were taught from the start of our careers that the top rung was already taken. Add to that the culture of free stuff that the internet insists upon, and the only way out is a trust fund or a day job. I’m on food stamps and living off of my kids’ child support. That said, podcasting is one way that participants in the liberal political dialogue seem to be happy to open their pocketbooks. We usually ask for five dollar contributions and occasionally get more at The Professional Left Podcast. But make no mistake, podcasting is really hard work, even once a week. I’ve had to abandon daily blogging to accomplish this, and there is no way I make minimum wage doing the podcast. That said, the community and lively exchange the podcast provides is amazing. But yeah, it does not pay for itself. As your post points out, the other thing our generation seems really bad at is self-marketing. We’re above it, and we really should not be. Have a contest that is ONLY open to those who contribute five bucks. Give away a t-shirt, buttons, etc. I mail out notepads to anyone who gives us over fifteen dollars. Again THAT IS WORK, and also requires leaving my house and laptop to go to the post office. Don’t tell me to take my smart phone with me. I can’t afford one. Thanks for the post and the opportunity to think about this stuff. I would not trade where I am for a corporate boardroom where I had to worry about my politics showing. Blessings.
The other problem, of course, is that boomer feminists with money are investing it in "the next generation," meaning preparing 25 year olds for leadership positions, entirely forgetting that there are women just a few years younger than themselves who are ready to run for Congress next year. I'm glad to see movements like
The 2012 project getting it:
The 2012 Project is a national, non-partisan campaign to increase the number of women in legislative office by identifying and engaging accomplished women 45 and older from underrepresented fields and industries. These include finance, science, technology, energy, health, environment, small business and international affairs.
The 2012 Project does not have to be in conflict with the "lets mentor our granddaughters into unpaid DC internships" movement. Or does it?
Actually, those of us in the back half of the Boom knew we weren't going to get anything either. We watched older brothers and sisters take it all from the time we were toddlers, and we knew there would be nothing left.
ReplyDelete'yawning for money' might be a better business plan.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting how many of the commenters at Feministing were males offering advice...
ReplyDeleteThat aside, I agree it is generational, and always has been. The Greatest Generation pulled up the ladder to the treehouse behind them, and the Boomers with their incredible sense of entitlement (and self-satisfaction) have not been much better.
We were called slackers before "GenX" took hold, and I think that describes their attitude towards us, when maybe it might be more accurate to say that we have been realists all along.
I had a Boomer tell me recently that I should buy "some apartment buildings" because "everyone is going to be a renter now." I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.
Regards,
Tengrain