Framing Feminism: How Catholic Women Use Blogging to Navigate a “Secular” Discourse on Feminism Through a Religious Lens
Abstract
To overall explore how new media use presents a forum for discussions of inclusivity through personal narratives, this study investigates how religious discourse about feminism influences individual identity by analyzing Catholic blogs. Since the start of the third wave, the feminist movement has begun to embrace the concept of intersectionality, which argues that each woman’s experience is unique because of her personal story. Intersectionality opened the door for women who may have previously felt excluded from feminism to reinterpret the movement according to their own beliefs. Catholic women saw this opening and took to their blogs to share their own stories and ideas, thus creating the concept of Catholic Feminism. In posting on their blogs, Catholic women highlight the commonalities between their faith and feminism, giving other women insight as to how they can stay true to their religious beliefs while also pushing for the rights of women. Through blogging, Catholic women redefine what it means to be female in contemporary society and provide their readers with guidelines to live accordingly in establishing their online communities. While the concept of Catholic Feminism may have seemed like an oxymoron just a few years ago, blogging has made it a reality. If new media use can demonstrate how religious teachings and secular ideals actually complement each other, it can be used to promote civil discourse by offering new perspectives to otherwise contradictory ideals.
Subject
feminismwomen
Catholicism
religious identity
intersectionality
blogging
digital religion
civil discourse
new media use
Citation
Knobloch, Morgan (2019). Framing Feminism: How Catholic Women Use Blogging to Navigate a “Secular” Discourse on Feminism Through a Religious Lens. Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /175412.