The Politicization of Mumsnet
This book can be opened with
Note on our eBooks and Audiobooks: you can read our eBooks (ePUB or PDF) and listen to audiobooks on the free Emerald Books app on iOS, Android, and desktop. Or read and listen on Emerald's online reader (ePUB eBooks and audiobooks only). To purchase a digital book you will need to create an account if you don’t already have one. After purchasing you will receive instructions on how to get started.
- Description
- Contents
- Reviews
- About
This book investigates the growing politicization of
Mumsnet and its use by politicians to influence middle-class women in the UK.
The site's discussion topics go far beyond traditional 'mothering' subjects and
encompass politics, feminism and current affairs. Understood as a safe space
for gender-critical voices, the site has spawned real-life activism and
continues to be both praised and attacked for its support of free speech on
controversial subjects.
Sarah Pedersen
investigates how Mumsnet has become a central part of a resurgent women's
rights movement in the UK. She argues
that its openness to discussion around this subject has allowed the site to
function as a subaltern counter-public - a space where gender-critical feminists have been able to share information and
make plans for action and agitation.
Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Women and political debate Chapter 3. Wooing the Mumsnet vote Chapter 4. A dominant theme emerging Chapter 5. What is a woman? Chapter 6. “Came for the babies – stayed for the feminism” Chapter 7. Words and deeds Chapter 8. Feeling homeless
'This book dispels two myths about mumsnet: that it is heaving with entitled, middle-class yummy mummies, or drowning in hate and bigotry. What Sarah Pedersen illustrates is that mumsnet is today a key route into feminism for both women stuck at home with toddlers, and those who understand that women do have some shared experiences -and not just having children or not. This book is informative, amusing and a call to feminist action.'
Sarah Pedersen is Professor of Communication and Media at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. Her research focuses on women's use of media, particularly for political purposes, using both contemporary and historical sources.