Who ARE You? (And FAQs)

2020 update: I blog someplace else now. This blog is..................retired. 

This blog is mostly written and managed me, A. Lynn, which is of course, not technically my real name. Every now and then I have contributors or guest posts, but the bulk of the content here is from my brain.

So who ARE you?
In a nutshell...I am a nerdy feminist, striving toward intersectionality, cinephile, nonprofit professional, and critic/secret lover of all things pop culture. And for those of you who like this kind of info I'm also a white woman, cis, currently able bodied, fat, agnostic, born in '84, and in a long term monogamous relationship with a man. I'm originally from Indianapolis, IN and I'm a Midwesterner to the core. I now make my home in Texas' liberal oasis, Austin. There I think a lot of deep thoughts about pop culture, politics, life, and nail polish.

I thrive on order and structure (I'm a "concrete sequential" & ESTJ), frequently struggle with anxiety and stress, and consider myself a pessimist (and that's ok.) I hold a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science, Psychology, and Gender Studies as well as a Master of Public Affairs-Nonprofit Management. While I consume pop culture voraciously in my free time, the bulk of professional experience and research is in gender, youth development, girl services, and nonprofit organizations.

What do you write about?
My blog topics follow similar themes--you'll see me writing a lot about general feminist topics but also movies, music, TV, celebrities, politics, body acceptance, and ways that I try to personally lead a more fulfilling and feminist existence. If you're interested in the random thoughts that pop into my head, you can connect with me on Twitter Follow @anerdyfeminist.


Why don't you write under your real name?
I'm not trying to be super secretive and of course, if you try hard enough, you can figure out anything on the internet. But as I mentioned above my "day job" is at a nonprofit organization. (Side note: there, I work with young women/girls and I've been in this business since 2005. You'll see that some of my writing reflects my anecdotal experience.) But as someone whose livelihood depends on the generosity of others (individual donors, government grants, corporations, foundations, etc.) I do not ever want my personal opinions to be seen as representative of my professional affiliations. I don't feel that my writing is particularly controversial, but you never know what others might think, and I want to minimize any confusion between the personal and professional spheres of my life. I don't know if you've heard this before--but some people aren't on board with feminism! I know! Ridiculous, right?

How does commenting work?
I love it when people engage with me here and I welcome all thoughtful participation made in good faith.You are welcome, of course, to disagree with me so long as you do it respectfully and back up your position. However, I have a ZERO tolerance policy for  trolling and/or harassment.

As it turns out, any woman with an opinion is subject to a whole lot of hate, so I've had to go to comment moderation which I manage entirely myself. As such, even comments made in good faith will be on a short delay before they are published. Also, I am at the mercy of Blogger's commenting system which can be glitchy and has annoying CAPTCHAs. Bear with me and I apologize for any inconvenience.

Also note: I may or may not publish blatantly self promoting things, depending on how I feel and what other merit the comment has.

Do you have an official commenting policy? 
Yes, it appears at the bottom of all of my posts and reads:

This blog has strict comment moderation intended to preserve a safe space. Moderation is managed solely by the blog author. As such, even comments made in good faith will be on a short delay, so please do not attempt to resubmit your comment if it does not immediately appear. Discussion and thoughtful participation are encouraged, but abusive comments of any type will never be published. The blog author reserves the right to publish/delete any comments for any reason, at her sole discretion. 

But--but--FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!1!!
Yes! Good job! You do have the freedom of speech! As such, if you hate me and hate what I write about, I encourage you to start your own blog and keep all of that over there. But I have no obligation to publish comments which are abusive, derogatory, hateful, or triggering on my blog.

Can I link to/repost your material?
You know what...link away! Seriously. Unlike comments, all page views are good page views. To repost my writing, I do appreciate being asked. You can reach me via email here.

Do you review books?
In general, I only review books that I have purchased myself and started reading freely. Unfortunately, I typically don't have time to add extra reading to my line up.

Will you share my project with your readers? (Blog, Indiegogo/Kickstarter campaign, event, etc.)
Again, the material I share with my readers is stuff that I'm legitimately excited about, so there's no guarantee. But I don't mind you passing things my way that I might what to support.

Why do some of your posts start with "content note?"
Many (most) feminist spaces will list a trigger warning when the content of a post might contain material that could be triggering to some readers (discussion of weight, rape, etc.) I've adopted Shakesville's use of "content notes" to list when some of these factors might be in play, because I think they have the best system for this. As listed at Shakesville:

Content Note—A note indicating that potentially troubling or triggering material may be found in a post, provided where applicable. Content Notes are provided to give readers the option to assess whether they've got the spoons (pdf) to process material that is potentially triggering to them. The provision of Content Notes is an exchange in which readers must participate: We communicate the information, and readers must assess their own immediate capacity to process content in the noted categories, then proceed accordingly.

What do you think about topic X (beauty standards, racism, sexuality, violence, etc. etc.)? 
I use a set number of labels to categorize my writing. You can see that list off to the bottom right hand side of every page on my site. If there's something you're curious about and you don't see it under those topics, shoot me an email. If I have written about it before I'll link you. Otherwise, if I have thoughts about the topic, I'm happy to blog about it. Plus, it helps to have people give me ideas about what to write about next. If it something that I don't feel I can adequately tackle, I'll try my best to send you to someone who I think can.

Where can I learn more about feminism?
Check out my "Stuff I Dig" page.

Do you ever NOT talk about feminism/Are you on social media/How can I get in touch with you?

You can see my random thoughts on Twitter . You can also shoot me an email.