We Need to Talk About Mumsnet

That biscuit could end you

I have a confession to make. I was a Mumsnet sceptic. I'm not a mum and often I feel as though I am not thought of by the general public as a woman because of this, just a non-mum. The media portrayal of the site as amusingly powerful and the Gordon Brown biscuitgate saga made me think it was a peculiar site. I thought the unspoken slogan for the site was 'speaking as a mother...' But this is not Mumsnet's fault, just the media and irksome government rhetoric for hardworking people like you and me. Innit.

Hannah Mudge wrote last week about the general uninformed attitude towards Mumsnet: "Everyone has an opinion about Mumsnet, particularly people who have never actually explored the site before. I seem to remember becoming aware of this around the time of the last general election, long before I knew much about it, in fact. A lot of mockery was going on: politicians trying to appeal to "Mumsnet types", having livechats and acting all interested in their concerns."

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In her blog Hannah Mudge notes the important campaigns Mumsnet has cracked out that have the potential to benefit people beyond the Mumsnet sphere. Campaigns such as This is My Child and We Believe You demonstrate ideas beyond the notionof a white middle class mother with Cath Kidston sheets (not that there is anything wrong with that, we all love a bit of polka dot).

I suspect I have been somewhat disparaging on this very site about Mumsnetters for no good reason (I uh, am not always as diligent as I should be over my research). After the Mumsnet Bloggers Network invited us to be a part of their network they have been very supportive of the site. Because it is a site for feminists and self-identifying women (and men, this site's for everyone - we live for hits and equality) it appeals to them, mothers happen to also be women with opinions and concerns so it is a good fit.

Because Mumsnet, arguably, actually go their research they have had results back from a survey regarding feminism that is more pleasing to the eye than the Netmums (Mumsnet's evil twin or something, or something) survey that concluded feminism was unpopular and lauded the new feMEnism that has yet to take off  (it's all down to how scientific your pie chart is)

Asking Mumsnetters the question: "Before you used Mumsnet, did you think of yourself as a feminist?" the response was 47% Yes, 39% No and 15% said don’t know, in a practise that continues to baffle me as to why you would answer a questionnaire to state your indecisiveness.

once you are a mother you lose a certain edge, you're less punk rock now.

When asked if they consider themselves feminist now 59% responded yes. It's interesting that evidently Mumsnet awakens an awareness in its members other forums cannot boast. As Glosswitch notes: "Motherhood is political and Woods touches on what is perhaps the biggest issue faced by all mothers, regardless of their social status. Caring work is largely unpaid, yet parents and other carers have exactly the same needs as other workers. Moreover, most carers are expected to be - and indeed usually are - women. To my mind, this makes motherhood, alongside caring in general, a feminist concern."

It is an odd default of mine to think that once you are a mother you lose a certain edge, you're less punk rock now. I wonder if this is shared by many of the 'gatekeepers' of feminism and how much we miss out. Because if you're looking for a laugh those Mumsnet blogs are wickedly funny and they can't control those weird 'Mum' focused detergent ad campaigns. Or can they, they brought Brown down with a biscuit question after all...

Squeamish Kate