In light of my upcoming panel at SXSW, I was graciously interviewed by Belinda Acosta of the Austin Chronicle with two other panelists, Latoya Peterson and Steve Swedler, about social justice, activism, changing people's minds and the internet.
A snippet from the Austin Chronicle story,
AC: From your perspective, what is the "revolution"? What role do online communities and social networks play in it? What role do you play in it?Peterson: All revolutions should be revolutions of thought - an ongoing evolution of ideas, the encouragement of the critical thinking process, the willingness to look past things that keep us stagnant and will allow us all to move forward. I have been re-evaluating my whole purpose for being online recently and I ultimately came to the conclusion that I want to facilitate conversations and spread information. I feel like that is the most powerful thing you can do - to provide someone with an argument or an idea they can mull over, accept or reject ... or revisit later.
Mukhopadhyay: I think a revolution can only happen with changes in mindset, yes, but also strategic campaigns using grassroots organizing models. ... But even prior to that, I think changing people's minds is important work with respect to policy change, I just don't know if blogging does that. Changing people's minds is hard and I'm not sure if it just allows people to debate and if not, reify what they believe. On the other hand, I get tons of [e-mails] from women that have never heard about the things we write about at Feministing [saying] how it truly changed their lives.
Swedler: In my opinion, the "revolution" is undefined. It is up to every individual. My revolution might be very different than yours, but online communities can only be as effective as you make them. The level of discomfort in getting up on your soapbox on Facebook or Twitter is equal to the extent you are willing to go to make a difference in your "revolution." It can be difficult to be sure, evidenced by the complete lack of McCain support on Twitter. Is it because no one on Twitter voted for him, or was it because it was too uncomfortable to speak out in the vast sea of Obama supporters?
This interview really got me to thinking about the role of new media and political blogging in changing people's minds about different issues. I think this is one of those trends that is really hard to quantify. Does blogging raise awareness, get people on board with critical decisions and therefore impact policy changes?
I have found that blogging has led to an increase at the rate at which information can flow and the way in which people can intercept with ideas, that traditionally may have been more difficult to access and interact with. But as Steve mentions early in his interview, there are still more people off the internet than on. Outside of mobilizing my own personal voice and that of my co-bloggers and commenters, does blogging do more than give voice to issues and certain people? Does blogging change people's minds? Or does it just allow people to debate more about issues they already feel a certain way on? What do you as members of our community, commenters and/or lurkers and readers think?
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Blogging probably doesn't change people's minds because they (at least in my case) only read blogs with which they already agree in theory. Of course, I do not agree with every post at every feminist blog, but I have a similar approach to the problems of the world.
However, blogging may help people gather evidence or rhetorical strategies to allow them to change minds in meat space. I know I use the data points and arguments I find here and elsewhere in my face to face interactions.
I agree. I only come to this blog because I'm already a feminist. And if I don't agree with a post, I usually leave this blog with the same opinion. Though plenty of things have been brought up that I just never thought of before, but that's learning, not changing opinions.
When it comes to politics no. I rarely ever visit personal political blogs. I found discussion forums on social networks such as ivillage much more useful in learning how to articulate and debate an issue, be challenged on those issues, and at times yes change my mind on a few things.
As an artist, and someone interested in social issues, I have found blogs have opened a door that has revolutionized how we communicate and explore issues. It has certainly revolutionized the art world and opened doors for artists that didn't exist before the internet. When I post an image of my work I am able to offer a context for the viewer (and myself), and relevant links. I have been told my blog has inspired others, and offers food for thought so I would say yes it does more than just be a platform for my personal voice.
Your question is one that I have personally been grappling with for a while now. I feel that blogging can lead to changes in perspective over time. The great thing about this platform is that it forces people to engage in discussions that are not necessarily prevalent in the mainstream media. If one searches it is possible to find blogs dedicated to a myriad of subject matter from various perspectives whereas; if you watch CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News, quite often you get the same perspective with very little variation. Blogs for some can be the first time people get exposure to news from the lens of the oppressed. Sometimes the privilege shock can be overwhelming but over time I do believe that repeated exposure has the possibility to change the way we look at issues.
Super interesting topic, Samhita. It seems like blogs can be an increasingly important part of one's political/ideological journey. For me, blogs have helped radicalize my feminism, and as someone pointed out above, they've helped define and elucidate my own feelings, which has been enormously valuable. There are undeniable class implications in online organizing and activism, but I would venture to say that minds can (and have been) changed or at the very least expanded through blogging.
Super interesting topic, Samhita. It seems blogs have become increasingly important on one's (middle class and above) political/ideological journey. For me personally, blogs have done a lot to help radicalize my feminism, as well as help to define and elucidate my beliefs, all of which has been enormously valuable. There are undeniable class implications in online organizing and activism, but I would venture that minds can (and have been) changed and at the very least expanded by blogs.
Does blogging do more than give voice to issues and certain people? Don't discount the value of making alternate perspectives available. It's hard to change your mind if you don't know that there are other ways to think on a subject, and you can't formulate an opinion if you don't realize that there's an issue.
Do all blogs have equal effect? Do all blogs work for all audiences? Do blogs reach everyone? Of course not.
Does blogging change people's minds? It can. It's happened to me, and I've seen it happen to others. Further, to the extent that a blog gets us to change, formulate, and/or articulate a position, a blog can also have knock-on effects in the general population as we bring our new-found perspectives to in-person discussions. Mind you, that's still probably concentrated in the internet using classes and their near relations, but it's a start.
From my own experience: blogging rarely causes a radical change in someone's perspective. But i have seen blogging be very useful in gaining a deeper understanding of an issue one is already interested in. Folks who have opposing views can sometimes become even more polarized, but where there is already a base of camaraderie or respect folks do often listen to each other and learn from each others' experiences. I feel like we certainly see that in places like Feministing where a shared philosophy of feminism does put most of us on roughly the same pages for a lot of issues, but there's such a diversity of feminist thought (and action) that important discussions still often occur.
The more opinions of the blogger one agrees with, the more likely it will change your mind on some issue. Do you expect to change the mind of someone who disagrees with everything you say?
By the way, thanks Feministing for resolving the login problens. Typepad is sometimes really annoying.
I read a lot of blogs, and I definitely think I've learned a whole lot from them.
I've had my mind changed often, or at minimum seriously challenged and, it's made me more active / vocal in real life.
blogs, especially of the 'linkblog' variety, can help one come across information / ideas that one wouldn't otherwise, from my experience. yes, i'm not going to go to a site which doesn't interest me at all, but if i'm already interested in one issue a blog routinely discusses, being exposed to information pertaining to related topics might get me interested in a subject i'd never have researched in a library.
this is how i became interested in feminism. before perusing the internet, i'd been mainly concerned with gay rights issues, but since a lot of feminist writers deal with these as well, i started reading feminist blogs. a few years ago i would never have self-identified as a feminist. i've learned much of what i now know about the movement from blogs.
in addition, i'm all about the idea that blogs promote a variety of conversation, discussion and debate that doesn't work nearly as well with other news media, like television. if it weren't for the internet, i'd probably have no interest in feminism, because relatively few people i know in real life, from high school or elsewhere, talk about it. witnessing and participating in discussions online, facilitated by blogs, also helps me bring the information i've gathered on my own back to people i know, who wouldn't bother to read the things i've read but who would still benefit from learning about what i now know.
i'm a fan.
I think that blogging CAN change people's minds..but it really is all up to the individual.
I will admit, I'm a conservative woman, definitely not Feministing's target audience. However, I enjoy reading different perspectives, so as for me, I read blogs that are both conservative and liberal (my interest in women in developing countries and portrayal of women in the media definitely helps). I don't think that they have changed my mind on core things, but I will not deny that my reading has changed my perspective on certain issues.
The thing with the blogsphere is that for every powerful argument, you will find a powerful counterargument. I promise you. I don't care if you're pro-life/choice, pro-Bush/Obama, etc. Even though I don't agree with many arguments, some are very well written and incredibly compelling. For those who might be very fickle in their opinions, I think that blogging can change minds based on the specific blogs that they visit.
It's sort of like a class I attended on theories in international relations. We began at realism and continued to evolve to different schools of thought during the semester. Surprisingly the same students who loved realism also began to see the good points to liberalism, and then feminism. It was funny to see how bowled over that people were by these theories, and how they kept changing their worldviews because the theories sounded so compelling. That, in my view, is parallel to the blogsphere. I think that it can change people's minds, but not very substantively. I think that it can cause more confusion, and mind flip-flopping. Which can be okay, depending on the kind of person that you are.
Ultimately I think that realities lead us to reject and accept worldviews. So I think that blogging is good for people being aware of all the viewpoints and getting more information, but in the end it all depends on the person.
I think that blogging can change a lot. I know that though I fundamentally agreed with a lot of blogs I added to my reader when I first set it up, blogs that I lurk on teach me so much more than I would have the guts to ask/talk about, and blogs that I comment on usually have a vibrant enough discussion that I learn something new (or solidify how I feel about something).
I believe that Blogging is a vehicle for thought and that the thoughts expressed are what have the ability to change minds. The individual becomes the one that has the ultimate choice weather or not it will change their mind.
Personally, I Just started blogging in January of this year and I find that in my own experience, reading other people's blogs has definitely confirmed how I feel and changed how I live.
For the most part, it hasn't really changed my mind, I still have the same beliefs prior to reading, but it has given me inspiration and possitive reinforcement to believe in myself more and has helped me to focus on living my life based on my values.
When I write on my blog,it is a place that I have creative freedom to reflection who I am, and to share the journey to who I am becoming. It just feels like the right thing for me to do and it gives me the opportunity to communicate my thoughts with others.
The one part about blogging that remains a mystery to me, is that if no one reads it, and there is no imput from others, than is it really helping anyone other than myself?
I hope that it can do both. I have really enjoyed all the comments on this blog, and I don't necessarily consider myself a feminist, but I am definitely feminine. I try to have an open mind, and I appreciate the level of insight on this issue.