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Feministing.com was a
feminist blog A feminist blog presents the issues of feminism through a blog. Feminist blogs serve the purpose of spreading ideas, sparking debates, raising awareness, discussing opinions, sharing stories, and virtually spreading the notion of feminism throug ...
founded in 2004 by sisters Jessica and Vanessa Valenti. It had 1.2 million unique monthly visitors at its peak. The blog helped to popularize the term ''
slut-shaming Slut-shaming is the practice of criticizing people, especially women and girls, who are perceived to violate expectations of behavior and appearance regarding issues related to sexuality. The term is used to reclaim the word ''slut'' and empower ...
'' according to its directors Lori Adelman and Maya Dusenbery. Towards the end of 2019 it was announced that the blog's shutdown was planned for the following weeks. The blog's final post was published in December 2019.


Purpose and audience

Sisters Vanessa and
Jessica Valenti Jessica Valenti (; born November 1, 1978) is an American feminist writer. She was the co-founder of the blog Feministing, which she wrote for from 2004 to 2011. Valenti is the author of five books: ''Full Frontal Feminism'' (2007), '' He's a Stud ...
began Feministing in 2004 while working at the
National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...
's legal defense fund (now
Legal Momentum Legal Momentum, founded in 1970, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and the nation's first and longest-serving legal advocacy group for women in the United States. Betty Friedan and Muriel Fox were its co-founders and Muriel Fox is an ongoing leader of the ...
), where Jessica felt that young feminists were being excluded from feminist discourse. She describes Feministing's purpose as "a way to get through the mommy filter" and make feminism more accessible to young women through giving an Internet presence for young feminists. Feministing covers topics ranging from outrage on measures to restrict reproductive rights or pay equity to irreverent or bemused coverage of pop culture and art, such as urinals shaped to look like vaginas. The writing on Feministing is not exclusively political, but also concerns feminist perspectives and observations from the staff's daily lives. Sex and sexuality are another frequent topic of discussion; it is sometimes cited as an Internet extension of the
third-wave feminist Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the feminist movement that began in the early 1990s, prominent in the decades prior to the fourth wave. Grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, Gen X and early Gen Y generations third-w ...
movement. It is popular among young feminists. Feministing also has a comments section. Readers post (sometimes heated) comments on posts by the editorial board and post their own writing at their community portal.


Staff

Gwendolyn Beetham As of September 2013, Feministing had three co-executive directors: Lori Adelman (Partnerships), Maya Dusenbery (Editorial), and Jos Truitt (Development). In 2015 Adelman was named as one of ''
The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ...
'' 50. Alexandra Brodsky is an editor and columnist. The other staff columnists were Chloe Angyal (Senior Columnist), Katie Halper, Syreeta McFadden, Sesali Bowen, Verónica Bayetti Flores, Juliana Britto Schwartz, Mychal Denzel Smith, Katherine Cross, Gwendolyn Beetham (Academic Feminist Columnist), Dana Bolger, and Suzanna Bobadilla (Interviews Columnist). The site was supported by advertisements but all of the writers had day jobs. Former Feministing staff include former editors Vanessa Valenti, Ann Friedman, Miriam Zoila Pérez,
Courtney E. Martin Courtney E. Martin (born December 31, 1979) is an American feminist, author, speaker, and social and political activist. She is known for writing books, speaking at universities throughout the nation, and for co-editing the feminist blog, F ...
, and Samhita Mukhopadhyay.


Retirement of Jessica Valenti

Valenti retired from Feministing in 2011. In a statement issued on 2 February, Valenti announced her retirement, arguing that her intention for the site was to provide a space for younger feminists outside the elite. Valenti states: :"Today, almost 5,000 posts later, I'm a 32-year-old feminist with a voice that is listened to. Largely because of the work I've done with Feministing, I have a successful platform for my work – I've published books, written articles, and built a career as a speaker. Because I feel Feministing should remain a place for younger feminists to build their careers and platforms, I think it's appropriate to our mission that I step back." Valenti continued to respond to articles using the comments forum, and Feministing writers frequently posted links to other work by both Valenti and Friedman.


See also

* Courageous Cunts * The F-Word (feminist blog)


References

{{Reflist


External links


Feministing
American political blogs American women's websites Internet properties established in 2004 Feminist blogs 2004 establishments in the United States