Practical, everyday feminism: mothers, politicians, and Mumsnet

Pedersen, Sarah

doi:10.1080/09612025.2020.1860281

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…This analysis has emerged from a wider study of representations of mothering on Mumsnet ‘Talk’. This discussion board is a well-known parenting network (Pedersen, 2021), which claims to be the UK’s largest such site, so influential that it has supposedly influenced British general elections (Giles, 2016). Mumsnet’s own data suggests that visitors to the site are predominantly female and based in the UK (Matley, 2020).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The virtual mother: Mumsnet and the emergence of new forms of ‘good mothering’ online

Bailey

2022

Discourse & Communication

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Whilst previous research into mothering on social media has focused on representations of intensive mothering ideology, this paper argues that social media are fundamentally changing mothering discourses for some users. The paper explores ‘good’ mothering in digital communities by considering: the legitimised expression of ambivalent emotions in digital mothering communities; the shifting relationship between private and public, with implications for new forms of maternal intimacy; the forms of surveillance engaged in, and resisted, online; and the opportunities for women to play with alternative identities. Through analysis of posts on the British mothering internet forum ‘Mumsnet’, the paper suggests the concept of virtual mothering to encapsulate the emerging ways in which mothering is performed through online spaces. Four aspects of virtual mothering discourse are explored – perfection, privacy, politics and play.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The virtual mother: Mumsnet and the emergence of new forms of ‘good mothering’ online

Bailey

2022

Discourse & Communication

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“…As a platform which thrives on comment, opinion, and judgment, it might initially be assumed that Mumsnet has a normative influence on parents, operating as a governance practice. However, Pedersen (2021, p. 510) has argued that Mumsnet has ‘become part of a wider resurgence of women's rights organizations’ in recent years. My research sought to examine whether conformist or ‘troubling’ (Butler, 1990) conversations played out in practice.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Troubling gender norms on Mumsnet: Working from home and parenting during the UK's first COVID lockdown

Handley

2022

Gender Work & Organization

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This article examines the troubling of gender norms that unfolded on the social networking site, Mumsnet, at the beginning of the UK's first lockdown response to the COVID pandemic. Using an analysis of 7144 contributions which included the acronym 'WFH' (=working from home), posted from March 1, 2020 to April 5, 2020, the article examines how Mumsnet members talked about working from home while caring for toddlers and home-schooled children.Mumsnet discussions about everyday moral dilemmas create a discursive space for examining the situated rationalities and normative judgments that shape expectations of how to behave as a working parent. Drawing on post-structuralist discourse theory, the article shows how Mumsnet contributors generated alternative sub-categorizations of 'good mums', and destabilized discourse assumptions of intensive motherhood, such as always 'being there' for their children, thereby 'working the weakness in the norms' (Butler, 1993) and creating potential for change.

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“…Everyday feminism has become a significant global topic [93,106], encompassing various aspects of women's rights, such as education [90], employment [62], and safety (e.g., sexual harassment and violence) [116]. Simultaneously, gender debate on social media has increasingly gained prominence [91,102].…”

Section: From Everyday Feminism To Gender Debatementioning

confidence: 99%

Persuasion or Insulting? Unpacking Discursive Strategies of Gender Debate in Everyday Feminism in China

Deng,

Chen,

et al. 2024

Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

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Speaking out for women's daily needs on social media has become a crucial form of everyday feminism in China. Gender debate naturally intertwines with such feminist advocacy, where users in opposite stances discuss gender-related issues through intense discourse. The complexities of gender debate necessitate a systematic understanding of discursive strategies for achieving effective gender communication that balances civility and constructiveness. To address this problem, we adopted a mixed-methods study to navigate discursive strategies in gender debate, focusing on 38,636 posts and 187,539 comments from two representative cases in China. Through open coding, we identified a comprehensive taxonomy of linguistic strategies in gender debate, capturing five overarching themes including derogation, gender distinction, intensification, mitigation, and cognizance guidance. Further, we applied regression analysis to unveil these strategies' correlations with user participation and response, illustrating the tension between debating tactics and public engagement. We discuss design implications to facilitate feminist advocacy on social media.Content Warning: This paper contains discussions on gender debate that may include swear words and sensitive topics, such as sex, potentially causing discomfort.

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Practical, everyday feminism: mothers, politicians, and Mumsnet

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

The virtual mother: Mumsnet and the emergence of new forms of ‘good mothering’ online

The virtual mother: Mumsnet and the emergence of new forms of ‘good mothering’ online

Troubling gender norms on Mumsnet: Working from home and parenting during the UK's first COVID lockdown

Persuasion or Insulting? Unpacking Discursive Strategies of Gender Debate in Everyday Feminism in China

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