This board is the most frightening .

I have sausage butties waiting

gimme chance hulls, I just got up

Peter - come to the fem-lite thread

I think I am too, Peter. I think quite a lot of us are. It's one of the reasons I find it strange that this board seems to have a reputation for very heavy academic stuff. I don't venture into the book club for a reason, but other than that I tend to think the things on this topic that are challenging to think about aren't challenging because we're a bunch of elitists who talk in academic jargon, it's because they're genuinely hard ideas that come from real life.

I mean, you don't have to have read up on feminist theory to think about issues to do with women at work, or childcare - it probably makes it interesting if you have, but the debate isn't exclusive to people who're well-read, I think. The ideas are hard to think about because they're referring to a hard practical situation, not because they require three PhDs before you can see how it relates to your real life. Imo.

clever enough I should add

"practical" feminism anyone ?

the stuff that relates to how we live our life from day to day

the little things

The "big things" are often very scary and require a lot of background knowledge to construct a useful argument

however, we all know that lots of little injustices and damaging attitudes add up to the whole don't we

I am a practical feminist, I think. What I see, I react to, I know I am clever about that

JoeyBettany said it last on this thread, but people often say that they don't want to post here because they're not academics, or because they've not read up on feminism. Would it be a very silly idea for us to do a poll on regulars and work out what we do all know/do? It's particularly the 'academic' 'educated' terminology that's bothering me.

Although I do think you are all very clever and it sounds as if quite a few of you are feminist academics, the same is true about clever people and academics across MN, isn't it? There are loads of people who I know must be in proper academia because the advise students like me - and unless they're namechanging and I'm exceptionally thick, I don't see some of them over here often.

I'm not a feminist academic and I've not read any feminist criticism. In my day job I'm a student. I know dittany sometimes says explicitly that she's not into academic feminism. But the label persists and if it's putting people off, maybe putting our cards on the table could help?

I'm delurking to post lol

comes out from rock
There are some interesting things in this board I do nosey, but I never post usually (I think I may have once)

I think due a minority of posters and the stereotype of feminists some people are scared to post
in fear that as an outsider the regulars ears will prick up at words they don't like and be descended upon and their opinion be torn to shreds because 'i'm not one of you' Thats was a trippy description but Im not good at describing what I mean.

having been here , not that long its seem most of u are fairly agreeable :) I may delurk more, or maybe not

I reckon MN loves the feminist topic because they receive so many hits because of it　[and that inludes all the people who sign up just to bash feminists]

I just don'T understand how the OP could make any "analysis" of how many members like the feminist topic based on one thread. The people who don'T like it are going to be very vocal, and the people who love it (and hate other topics) might not have even noticed the thread.

It's still in active conversations.

Sorry, yes I realise GC was just referring to OP. Sorry GC.
It's just that there must be loads of people (including me) who don't even know about that thread.

Ignore it as null and void if you wish, sakura, you are free to do so.

No stats, just a thread with some opinions on it about different sections of mumsnet, mostly light-hearted comments.
Pedants' corner and G&T were mentioned, along with breastfeeding. It wasn't meant as an attack, or an accusation, just airing thoughts.

I mean, I'd like to see the research on the percentage of MNers who are too scared to post versus the percentage who are not too scared to post. Seeing as I wasn't included, and I would have answered "Definitely not too scared to post" I think the research was biased. Null and void.

Goblinchild, who has decided this? Has there been a poll? Did this research only include forum members who don't post on the feminist topic? What percentege of MN members do and don't lurk in feminism? Can I see some stats?

She says, "Oh dear the body thing is worse than ever."

Suzanne good.

'I was only making the point that this is a discussion forum, not a school. Yet it feels like the regulars are being criticised (by some) for poor teaching'

It wasn't intended as a criticism, or to imply that everyone here should be teachers in the traditional sense of educators rather than facilitators to help people learn about new ideas and concepts.
Nor did I mean to give the impression that the feminist board should be a place of calm and wisdom and enlightenment at all times.
The question was
'I am a little saddened that a forum mostly used by women, has decided that the feminist boards are the most frightening of the forum.

Why do we feel that is? What can be done to prevent people from feeling so intimidated that they are too scared to post?'

I was attempting to respond to that question.
TSC, the comment about being unkind was directed at me I think.