Why did I start blogging?
I was not a kid who wanted to grow up to be a writer. I did not keep a journal or diary. I wasn’t a very good writer, in fact, until my years at LSU with the fearsome and exacting faculty in the graduate department of Political Science.
What I did want to do was keep people informed, connected, and mobilized. I used email and groups via AOL and Yahoo to reach out to the LGBTQ community in the early 2000’s. I thought it was important that people in our community *know* about the positive – the letters to the editor, the articles, the editorials and so forth.
I remember in particular that the advocacy work of then teen leader Emma Blackman Mathis which was frequently featured in the news as part of the Girlcott of Abercrombie and Fitch. I was so impressed and hopeful as a feminist and a lesbian.
Somehow I learned about these things called blogs, was introduced to 2 Political Junkies, and decided that I *had* to start one for the LGBTQ community. And for me, of course.
So on December 29, 2005 – we launched!
A little over a year ago, I received the coveted title of “Unofficial Lesbian Correspondent” for a local liberal talk radio program. While it mostly entailed double entendres and Santorum bashing, it did give me a heady sense of unearned power and unabashed self-promotion. And I parlayed it into a one-time gig judging a costume contest for a local AIDS fundraiser.
So it wasn’t a huge leap to starting a blog.
So here we are …. two lesbians, high speed internet connections and puh-lenty of opinions on just about every conceivable topic.
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But we are sooo much more than smart mouthed lesbian correspondents. We’ve got a full array of supporting cast members (including the requisite homophobes), an overwhelming amount of magazine subscriptions and a shared compulsion to read the local paper cover to cover on a daily basis.
This is an interesting time to be a Pittsburgh queer. The most important election of our lives is right around the corner (Santorum v Casey), our city is on the brink of financial collapse and we have yet to have a prominent community member identify themselves as openly gay.
But the birth of our first niece is imminent and we’ve got our own blog. 2006 may turn out to be a pretty good year for grrrls.
Bring it on …
Blogging wasn’t about writing. It was about keeping people informed, connected, and mobilized. Once I began, I felt driven or compelled even to write as often as possible about all of the topics. It was absolutely a labor of love.
This was not the first LGBTQ blog in the region. That honor belongs to JasonCable.com. And I believe there were some folks blogging on LiveJournal, but I don’t have specifics. It is important to be transparent about how we arrived where we are now. Jason, Maria and David from 2 Political Junkies, and others built a foundation for me to launch and grow this blog.
But the why? That’s you. You who were my actual LGBTQ friends in 2004 and 2005. Who read my email messages. Who joined the groups. You who wrote the letters to the editor and used your name in articles. You who listened to the radio segments. You who started your own blogs. You blogged on Tumblr in 2007. You wrote essays on Facebook. You read Pam’s House Blend.
I started and continued blogging because there was a gap in information. That hasn’t changed, it may have worsened. We’ve lost all LGBTQ media publications in Western PA. We have three outlets that use a LGBTQ media guide (WESA, The City Paper, and Public Source.) We have LGBTQ groups who monopolize media representation.
I continue because of you.
Happy National Blogging Post Month. Keep reading!
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