Blogging and Academic Elitism within Feminism

Feminism is a complicated word with varied connotations. Many people associate feminism with snooty academic elites. While this does not apply to all feminism, there is certainly an issue of academic elitism within much of mainstream feminism. Luckily, there are solutions available. To combat the rampant academic elitism within feminism, serious attention must be given to feminist news and political blogs as valid scholarly sources. We, as feminists, must acknowledge that elitism exists and that elitism is a problem. We must work to combat this elitism. One way to do this is through blogs. We must recognize that blogs are valid and useful components of feminist discussion. We must merge the ideas of feminist scholars within academia and the work of bloggers. This post attempts this merging by using both feminist blogs (BitchMedia and Everyday Feminism) and scholarly articles to explain the problems of elitism and its solution. By valuing both of these voices, we can critically examine this issue within feminism and see its hopeful solution.

Unfortunately, although feminists attempt to be intersectional and highly inclusionary, academic elitism within feminism exists. One reason this happens, according to Tran is “because there’s a lingo and history that folks may or may not know, the literate and formally educated feminists frequently take it upon themselves to ‘teach’ (read: talk down to) other feminists.” If someone does not have the jargon and theory that comes from a formal scholarly education, they are often treated as less than. Those within academe wield this knowledge-power over those outside of formal education. Thus, only what is produced within academia is counted as valid knowledge. While discussion the current politics within feminism, Rachel Liebert, Michelle Leve, and Amber Hui note “there is no doubt that the academy has a present history of excluding…knowledge produced outside the ‘ivory tower,’ such as those generated through personal experience.” This is reflected in Kai Cheng Thom’s blog post on EverydayFeminism: “activist cultures can be unnecessarily exclusive−and worse, inaccessible and elitist.” Kim Tran supports this in her post as well, discussing the cliquey-ness of feminism, noting that “feminism has developed internal stereotypes.” Those within traditional academic forms of scholarly publishing (journal articles, books) and outside (blogs) are beginning to notice how rampant the academic elitism is within feminism and are calling for it to be addressed. Cheng Thom makes this call, saying “a dynamic we rarely acknowledge in activist communities is that there is a social hierarchy based on experience and popularity: Folks who are good at talking and writing usually have the most power, while those who have less experience and are less vocal has the least.” Moreover, “those who are good at talking and writing” general are those formally trained in rhetoric and composition in universities. “Those who have less experience” are often those removed from academic feminism. It is a self-perpetuating cycle and one that needs to be addressed.

However, beyond just an acknowledgment that elitism exists, we must also recognize that elitism is a problem and examine the negative ways it impacts our feminist communities and activism. Tran says it best, saying “I think we need to ask ourselves what we want feminism to be.” We need to examine this problem critically and reflect on what changes must be made. One way to do this is to listen to the voices of those hurt by academic elitism within feminism. Cheng Thom details her early college experience with feeling inadequate as an activist. Upon reflection, she states “I’m able to see that my feelings about those early forays into social justice weren’t so much about my personal capacity or value as they were about exclusion and accessibility.” One of the largest problems with academic elitism within our communities is that it can shut down voices with valuable insights. It privileges academic theory over the nitty-grit work of hands-on activism and is a self-perpetuating cycle; “the divide between academia and activism preserves the dominance of scholarship by implying that these approaches to knowledge production and mobilization are more ‘developed’ and ‘sophisticated’ than grassroots organizing” (Liebert, Leve, and Hui). This lack of respect for grassroots organizing impedes the power that feminism can have to enact real change. This shows up in the ways that “critical theory is often posited as too abstract, too removed from real life…to be useful for communities” (Liebert, Leve, and Hui). It becomes inaccessible and ineffective. Cheng Thom makes the call for a more open and accessible feminism, saying “social justice is such a beautiful powerful part of my life that I want−need−it to be open to those I care about from my fifteen-year-old sister to my corporate lawyer friends to my racist grandparents.” For us to do good work as feminists, we must have the best people available, and the only way to have them available to us is to keep our movement accessible. We also need to remember accountability. We need to remember who is responsible for this divisive elitism. I echo Tran’s apology, “on of behalf of feminist scholars everywhere, I’d like to apologize to the community warriors for classism. We all learned how to be feminists from folks like you.” We must take responsibility for the consequences of our elitism, and after acknowledging this humbly, work hard to address these problems.

One of the most useful and accessible ways to combat this elitism is through blogs. Evette Brown notes that “the Internet also presents an excellent platform for women scholars.” However, this is not just for women scholars, because as Tran notes, “it’s okay if you don’t have letters after your name.” Blogs merge the gap between personal and political, between academic and practical, and between “elites” and those outside academia. Quoting Daniel W. Drezner, “for academics aspiring to be public intellectuals, weblogs allow networks to develop that cross the disciplinary and hierarchical strictures of the academy−and expand beyond the academy” (Brown). What should be one of the primary goals of academic feminists is to make theory accessible to non-academics. Liebert, Leve, and Hui support this noting “we too feel that part of our training and responsibility as critical feminist scholars must be to be able to ‘translate’ theory so that it is more accessible.” Beyond this, though they note that “in addition to translation, we make a concerted effort to represent our work through means other than the scholarly talk or article…” Therefore, not only do we need to do the work of making feminism more accessible through translation, but we must also make feminism accessible by presenting it outside of scholarly forms of publishing, such as blogs.

Just because blogs are outside traditional academic publishing does not mean that they are outside feminist theory and scholarly discussion. The work done in blogs, both by scholars and non-academics, is still useful and relevant to feminist discussion. One way to acknowledge this is to look at the roles that blogs have played in journalism and public discourse. Dustin Harp, Jaime Loke, and Ingrid Bachmann note that blogs are “no longer situated outside of news media” and have “evolved into having a more vital role in journalism.” Beyond this, “with widespread use of the Internet, alternative forms of mass communication−such as popular news blogs−have entered public discourse in meaningful ways.” Blogs “allow for greater variety of voices to enter into public discourse.” While blogs were initially sought out for their non-corporate and non-traditional perspectives compared to news media, blogs can also be praised for the way they open up dialogue. Traditional media exists as one elite talking at the masses. Blogs allow for more to participate in the conversation, offering “many-to-many communication” and allowing “a more flexible dialogue to emerge.” Another strength of blogs that traditional academic publishing does not have is hyperlinks. Hyperlinks allow for a more conversational dialogue because of the linking to other commenters. Additionally, it helps bloggers’ credibility as it acts as a way to “cite sources” while outside scholarly publishing. Blogs allow us to celebrate diversity within feminism and enable us to give attention to the voices that aren’t always privileged by academia. The scholarship of female intellectuals “ranges from hip-hop feminism to fashion as political resistance, but their influence with and outside of the academy makes their research accessible to those without advance-level degrees” (Brown). Blogs fill the gaps in feminism of inaccessibility and lack of diverse interests. They allow voices to enter the conversation that can connect with the laity we need to include.

Academic elitism is certainly a problem within much of feminism. However, many voices are working together to address this issue. Scholars and bloggers are stepping up to the plate to acknowledge and address this issue. We must continue this work by recognizing the value of voices outside academe. We must consider feminist blogs as a part of our critical conversations and allow bloggers to hold weight within academia. By creating a space for all voices to be heard, we can open feminism up to be accessible to everyone, not just those with letters after their name. For feminism to be effective, to achieve the goal of combatting intersectional oppression, we must work to dismantle the power structures within our movement. We must fight against the academic elitism within feminism and allow other voices to shine through mediums such as feminist blogs.