An Exclusive Interview With 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Winner Jarrah Hodge Of Gender Focus

Jarrah Hodge authors the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards winner Gender Focus, which placed 2nd in Feminist and 2nd in LGBTQ.

Why blogging? Why did you start blogging, and what drives you now?

I started blogging in 2009 when I was in a career planning class. There were a lot of lessons that bothered me as a feminist and I realized I had all these tools from taking Women's Studies to analyze these things that were bothering me.

There's a Gillian Welch song that has a lyric that goes "If there's something you wanna hear, you can sing it yourself." I had all this stuff to say, and I knew no one else was going to say it for me.

At first I blogged very specifically about the class I was taking, but eventually it finished. Now I'm driven to keep blogging by the issues I see in the news and in pop culture every day. Sexist advertising, homophobic bullying, discrimination against trans people, the feminization of poverty: these are all issues that we need to keep talking about.



What led you to feminist blogging in particular?

I decided to turn my blog into a feminist-themed blog because I was reading a lot of American feminist blogs like Feministing, Jezebel, and Salon's Broadsheet, and there just didn't seem to be a Canadian equivalent: a blog about feminist/gender issues that covered a range of issues from politics to pop culture from contributors from different backgrounds.

How has blogging affected or changed your feminism and vice versa?

I wouldn't say blogging has changed my overall feminist philosophy but reading other feminist blogs and getting feedback from commenters helps keep me aware that there are many different feminisms and feminist issues. I try not to assume that my pet issues are the ones that are the most interesting or most important to other people interested in feminism.

It's also made me look at everyday things from a different perspective. Blogging — because I'm always looking for inspiration — makes me keep feminist and gender analysis at the top of my mind when I'm at the mall, reading the newspaper, and interacting with friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Where do you find ideas for your content? If you are feeling less than motivated, where do you look for inspiration?

I get inspiration for posts from everywhere - books I'm reading, other feminist blogs (there are 25 I follow daily), ads on the Skytrain, suggestions from friends. Some of the best articles I read when I was getting interested in feminism were about putting a gender lens on everyday activities that we take for granted. The other place that's great is the Women's Media Center's weekly Twitter #sheparty, where feminist Twitter users get together and discuss issues going on in the feminist blogosphere that week.

Are you open about being a blogger? How do people offline react to your online writing?

I'm open about being a blogger and most people I know are pretty supportive, even if they don't read my blog or consider themselves feminists. My friends are always suggesting great topics for me to write about and my family is especially supportive. My dad emails links to my blog around to his friends and he recently contributed a book review to the blog. And my mom is a very enthusiastic Facebook fan.



Which weblogs are your current favourites? Which weblogs have been most influential in the shaping of your own blogging?

The blogs that most influenced my blogging were Feministing, Bitch Blogs, Girl w/ Pen, and Fair and Feminist.

My current favourite weblogs are Sociological Images, Racialicious, the Ms. Magazine blog, and Feminist Fatale.



What advice do you have for new bloggers?

My advice for new bloggers is to just have fun by writing as much as possible and see what works. I changed my blog title and design three times before I settled on the Gender Focus name and look. I'm also still surprised by what topics attract the most feedback. Of course you want to be writing things that are valuable to your readers, but when you're just starting out you might not know what that is. Use a stats program like Google Analytics or PostRank to figure out what's attracting readers and how you can keep them coming back.

The other really important piece of advice is to make sure you're reading other related blogs that already have an established reputation. This will help you develop an accessible blog writing style, give you ideas for posts, and let you know if the topic you were planning on writing about has already been covered to death by other bloggers.

CHEAT SHEET

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Name: Location: Weblog: Twitter: 2010 CWA Winner:

Jarrah Hodge New Westminster, British Columbia Gender Focus @jarrahpenguin 2nd in Feminist and 2nd in LGBTQ

2010 Canadian Weblog Awards Exclusive Nominee Interview with Tornwordo of Sticky Crows

Tornwordo authors Sticky Crows, which has been nominated in the LGBTQ category of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards.

Why blogging?

Like many bloggers, it started out as a way of keeping family and friends up to date. Since I come from California, I got tired of repeating myself and paying so much in long distance, so blogging seemed a logical money saving idea. Little did I know that I'd be bitten hard by the blogging bug. I can remember at the beginning rushing home from work to see if there were any comments. Such a thrill. I still get a kick out of comments, but I don't rush home anymore to see them. For the first few years I blogged every day, but now it's a few times per week.

Where does your blog fit into your creative portfolio? Is blogging your primary outlet, or do you publish/create elsewhere?

I'd like to think I create elsewhere. I play the piano and write music, and I invent games and activities for the classroom, but I don't publish anywhere else. Unless you count the comments I leave on other people's blogs.

This is your fifth year blogging at Sticky Crows. How has your blogging style/content/attitude changed since you first started?

I think I tried harder at the beginning. Not only did I post every day, but I went in for Half Nekkid Thursday and posted lots of videos of me and the city. I have sung and danced (shudder) on the blog and built up a library of videos on Youtube. I think it's thanks to doing those things that I continue to blog. It's like a living scrapbook of sorts and although the march of time seems slow, one click to a post from five years ago can really highlight how much changes. I'm none too happy about aging, but what are you gonna do? The blog these days is much more of a laid back journal. I don't try too hard now, but I've kept a certain approach since the beginning. Write like you are sitting down with an old friend over coffee, eager to share the news. I think that's what has helped me build a following (albeit small) as people "feel" that through the writing.

You weren't born in Canada. How did you come to being a Canadian from your American roots?

Ah yes, the perennial question. I did a series on that question called "The Road to Montreal", because everyone wants to know the same thing.

In a nutshell, gay bi-national couples (spouse is Canadian) cannot live legally together in the US. Canada actually gives special consideration to couples in this situation when evaluating immigration requests. So, yay Canada. I hate to say it, but I really do feel more Canadian than American. I don't feel like a traitor either, I feel more like the US betrayed me.

Did you suffer any culture shock when you moved to Canada? Are there any particular Canadianisms you've noticed? Do we really sound like we say "aboot"?

Living in Quebec was definitely a culture shock. It is unlike the rest of Canada in that the people here generally consider themselves Quebecois first, and Canadian second. Plus, of course, the language. Upon arriving here, I enrolled in French school and have become fluent, although it was probably the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. There are definite cultural differences between anglophones and francophones. A simple example, when English speakers decline an invitation, we always offer an excuse, even if it is untrue, whereas French speakers do not. This was hard to adapt to at first but now it feels liberating. If I don't want to do something, I can just say, "no, I'd rather not" and leave it at that. I have made a few anglophone friends and there are a few words that sometimes jump out at me as different. Mostly it's the "ou" pronunciation in words like house and out. To me it sounds more like how-oose and ow-oot. So yeah, a bit of an accent. It's funny though, when I go back home to California to visit the family, they say I've adopted a Canadian accent. I don't see why not, Madonna has done the same thing from living in London. It's probably natural.

What are your must-reads?

Oh my. I'm not going to list the 130 blogs on my reader. But I do keep up on all of them. I hate to mention any for fear of insulting someone, but here goes anyway. I keep up on the gay news via Joemygod, and I keep up on a lot of issues in Canada via We Move to Canada. Of course, I love the Yarn Harlot, too.

As for personal blogs, I never miss Rox's posts, a true blue (red?) Canadian in Alberta, and I enjoy Lyvvie's blog, another American expat now in Australia. Those are just a few of my faves. I have many more. Sometimes I click the "next blog" button on blogspot blogs and surf. I've found some great blogs that way.

If you were to impart some knowledge to an aspiring blogger, what would you tell them?

I would tell them that to have a successful blog, have something to say. Post consistently. Don't let weeks go by between posts. But don't post twenty five times a day either with any little thought or thing that pops into your head. There's Twitter and Facebook for that. And the golden rule applies. You generally receive as many comments as you leave around the blogosphere. Have fun and ignore those (always anonymous commenters) who dump on you or your writing. Good luck!

Tornwordo is a 44 year old man married to his longtime partner, Serge. They share life with Georgie, their one year old beagle. Torn teaches English as a second language in Montreal. Originally from the US, Torn immigrated to Canada in 2000. He enjoys working out, Scrabble, botanical gardens, and he is a total weather geek. His blog, Sticky Crows, journals life in Montreal as an expat.

Nominees of the Day: LGBTQ

The 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards nominees of the day today are from the LGBTQ category.

LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer, so each of the weblogs in this category are are about LBGTQ issues or are written by someone who identifies as such. Here you'll find pop culture, an ex-pat in Ireland, candid discussions about living with disability, jealousy-inducing updates from the tropics, and social justice. Dive in and leave comments to let them know you came by:

Alfred Lives Here
Any Dream Will Do
Screw Bronze!
Sticky Crows
We Move to Canada

If you know of another excellent Canadian LGBTQ weblog, nominate it for the LGBTQ category of the 2010 Canadian Weblog Awards to let them know exactly how excellent you think they are.