Hi Feministe!
:: waves ::
So, I’m one of the summer guests! And I’m very honored, not to say a little surprised to be here. My own blog is a teeny-tiny affair, and because I have roughly as little tech knowledge as one could reasonably have and still run a blog, I never have any real sense of how broadly anything gets read or by whom – but the internets, man, you never know where you’ll wind up! So here I am, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity.
But who the hell (you ask yourselves, and quite reasonably too) are you?
I’m a professional freelance writer. I wrote for many years in big newspapers and smaller magazines, doing news, op/eds, features, and book reviews and/or serving as a foreign correspondents’ assistant at a few really-big newspapers (Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post).
All of which means that since the bottom fell out on print media in 2008, followed closely by the bottom falling out on the world of finances, my byline has barely appeared anywhere. So it goes. I still do book reviews! And write a lot for leftie/progessive PR firms and leftie/progessive nonprofits.
As I mentioned, I also blog, posting at my own place (Emily L. Hauser In My Head) and crossposting at Angry Black Lady Chronicles. I started my internet life as an active commenter at Jezebel (where I was known as ellaesther), but went out in a blaze of Midwestern polite disagreement over their new commenting policies like, two years ago or something, so it’s entirely possible that the policies have changed again and are currently really quite human and lovely, but I wouldn’t know.
Other than that: I’m a straight white lady married to a straight white dude, living in the suburbs of Chicago with our two white kids (sexuality yet to be determined, as far as I know). I drive a station wagon, and volunteer at my kids’ schools.
I’m a feminist who actually managed to march (as a high school freshman) for the ERA before it was killed. I spent a good few years as a rape crisis counselor. And I’ve written in several national newspapers about the fact that I’ve had an abortion. I’m to the left of Obama and to the right of Kucinich. I volunteered in the 2008 Obama campaign & intend to do so again in 2012.
I’m also Jewish, American-Israeli, pro-Palestinian, pro-two-states and a Zionist (meaning I’m often very lonely in my little Venn diagram), and I often write about Israel/Palestine and the conflict — but then again, I also often don’t. Recently, for instance, I’ve written about Marcus Bachmann, a fucking awesome Planet of the Apes-techno mashup, and weird rules that exist in my house (“no biting the table,” for one).
So. Here I am! :: jazz hands ::
My approach to comments is as follows: I’ll wade in there with y’all, but I ask that people remember the humanity and the dignity of everyone. Which is to say, if you disagree with me (and some of you are likely to disagree with me, right? It’s the internet!) or with anyone else in a thread, please express that disagreement in a way that sheds more light than heat.
But enough of my yakkin’! Let’s rock n’ roll!
Or: I’ll be back to rock n’ roll a little later with a real post. But I will stop yakkin’ now.
(Ooh, and also, too: As Hexy warned when she hopped on the train [and congrats on the regular gig, Hexy!], I am of course doing this while I do a million and twelve other things. Please don’t fret if you appear caught in moderation. I promise I’ll get to you as soon as I can).
Oh and PS! I can also be found on the Twitters. Follow me, won’t you?