Alright, I realize it’s a tad meta to be blogging about blogging (again), but hey, it’s a social media course!

This week’s module included Anders Albrechtslund’s 2008 article entitled “Online social networking as participatory surveillance.”  It’s an interesting article, if a little behind the ridiculously fast pace of the tech world (pretty sure MySpace stopped being popular before 2008, but that might just be Silicon Valley).  One paragraph towards the end particularly jumped out at me, and it also ties in with something I mentioned in my previous post.  Albrechtslund writes, referencing Hille Koskela (2004):

She introduces the concept empowering exhibitionism to describe the practice of revealing your (very) personal life. By exhibiting their lives, people claim “copyright” to their own lives, as they engage in the self–construction of identity. This reverts the vertical power relation, as visibility becomes a tool of power that can be used to rebel against the shame associated with not being private about certain things. Thus, exhibitionism is liberating, because it represents a refusal to be humble.

Koskela discussed this in the context of webcams and similar sorts of surveillance, but it applies to blogs, and one category of blog in particular.

A remarkable trend in blogging is known as the mommyblog.  There is a network of women, some stay-at-home mothers, others who work, who write and communicate with each other virtually during what can be a glorious but incredibly isolating and emotionally turbulent time: early motherhood. One of the few blogs I follow religiously is http://dooce.com/, authored by Heather Armstrong.

Armstrong has the dubious distinction of having her blog/internet identity be an entry in urban dictionary.  “dooce” has several meanings, all inspired by her blog, but the original meaning is to be fired because of one’s blog.  In the early 2000s, she made the mistake of writing about her workplace, and of course, her supervisors eventually found out.

But she’s also a perfect example of this “empowering exhibitionism.”  She writes honestly and bluntly about her struggles with depression, with the wildly different personalities of her children, and her careful but loving relationship with a family who disagree with her choices in politics and religion.  Her blog was popular long before 2004, when it suddenly rocketed into mainstream awareness due to her decision to challenge the public shame and social stigma associated with postpartum depression.  And let me say, her writings are heartbreaking and hilarious by turns. Sidebar: one of my very favorite posts is a play-by-play breakdown of the birth of her first child.  Trust me.  It had me laughing so hard that I couldn’t see straight to keep reading.

Heather Armstrong is someone I admire for her willingness to be publicly vulnerable and talk so openly about a subject that is a subject of great personal shame for many women.  Her struggle was serious – because she wanted to breastfeed, she had to change or completely go off her standard medications for depression and anxiety, and after several months of spiraling into an incredibly dark place, she voluntarily checked herself into the psych ward of her local hospital for observation and help.  Not sleeping, unable to regulate her emotions… the story is incredible, and it’s a serious issue.

In the case of Heather Armstrong, empowered exhibitionism isn’t about humility, and I think it’s a little unfair of Koskela and Albrechtslund to pigeonhole the phenomenon.  Armstrong used the pulpit of the internet to reach out to her fanbase (admittedly, mostly women, many of whom have children) and address a common and socially stigmatized issue.  Many women who suffer from postpartum depression, or even those who don’t but get frustrated and upset from spending months on 24/7 infant watch duty are afraid to discuss the emotions because they’re afraid that it makes them bad mothers.  Everyone else can manage, they think – so why can’t I?  Mommybloggers like Heather Armstrong have created an internet safe space and communications network that make it easier to discuss such issues, because the participants know they’re talking to people who understand.  Whether a reader comments or not, it can help to know someone else out there has gone through something similar.  And it helps the blogger, too.  Writing about the experience seemed to help Armstrong reclaim some of the sense of control over her life that she had felt like she’d lost.

A few years ago, Armstrong took her blog one step further.  Dooce.com now has a community section, a forum for discussions and questions.  I’m a member, and I love the feeling of being in a safe space.  It seems to be mostly women, though there are some men, and discussions range from investing advice and home improvement to struggling with divorce, student loans, and health issues.  I’ve reached out a couple times and there’s always a flood of support and helpful advice or commiseration.

Empowered exhibitionism is risky, and those who really make it work, like Heather Armstrong, are few and far between.  But when it works… boy, does it work.