Although I agree in essence with most of what is said here, I wasn’t entirely certain of the point at some turns. Of course it is opinion...etc. I was slightly put off when you said, “Our only goal is, or should be, to promote equity and give support to other women...” because, in that context, you are implying that “feminists” are only women.
Overall, and understanding that writing theory runs all over (a pun, therefore, upon “overall”) the place, some of us, many of us accept for writing, is that virtually all writing, other than the very strictest forms of journalism, is essentially “a lie” in some fashion, going back to Plato, or even more recently to Picasso's dictum that “Art is a lie that tells the truth.” The recent impetus towards memoir does little to dispel this idea. We come close to veracity but memory is always in doubt. Two people will usually have different versions of past events. Elicit a third and confusion reigns. Add a fourth and we enter the realm of politics, I suppose, with someone nominating a chair and a secretary to take notes.
Then, unless one is a hermit (and even so) how does one write about one’s own life experiences to any plausible extent without writing about the other people in one’s life? And how much less true, therefore, would your writing necessarily be if you attempted to do so? Excluding family and friends to protect their privacy may be noble as an ideal but does it serve the purpose of a memoirist? Personally, I avoid writing about my personal life for that very reason (although I do so on rare occasions) unless I am writing fiction where I feel totally free to write whatever I wish. Alternatively, one has to discover other means, changing names, etc., i.e.; “lying” once again. For the good of the cause.
I realize this may not respond directly to the #MeToo writing that you are probably addressing but to writing in general. However, hopefully you see how the one is incorporated into the other.
Interesting. I've never given thought to the pressure writers feel to reveal information about themselves. I'm a relatively open book, so I've shared essays or parts thereof that probably had you running to the bathroom and locking the door, and not for the usual reasons. I'll have to further explore what might compel someone to open up past the point of comfort. Maybe I've lived a sheltered life. Maybe my mother modeled oversharing. Regardless of all that, I appreciate and learn from what you do put out there for us to read. So I guess you're doing just fine.
Although I agree in essence with most of what is said here, I wasn’t entirely certain of the point at some turns. Of course it is opinion...etc. I was slightly put off when you said, “Our only goal is, or should be, to promote equity and give support to other women...” because, in that context, you are implying that “feminists” are only women.
Overall, and understanding that writing theory runs all over (a pun, therefore, upon “overall”) the place, some of us, many of us accept for writing, is that virtually all writing, other than the very strictest forms of journalism, is essentially “a lie” in some fashion, going back to Plato, or even more recently to Picasso's dictum that “Art is a lie that tells the truth.” The recent impetus towards memoir does little to dispel this idea. We come close to veracity but memory is always in doubt. Two people will usually have different versions of past events. Elicit a third and confusion reigns. Add a fourth and we enter the realm of politics, I suppose, with someone nominating a chair and a secretary to take notes.
Then, unless one is a hermit (and even so) how does one write about one’s own life experiences to any plausible extent without writing about the other people in one’s life? And how much less true, therefore, would your writing necessarily be if you attempted to do so? Excluding family and friends to protect their privacy may be noble as an ideal but does it serve the purpose of a memoirist? Personally, I avoid writing about my personal life for that very reason (although I do so on rare occasions) unless I am writing fiction where I feel totally free to write whatever I wish. Alternatively, one has to discover other means, changing names, etc., i.e.; “lying” once again. For the good of the cause.
I realize this may not respond directly to the #MeToo writing that you are probably addressing but to writing in general. However, hopefully you see how the one is incorporated into the other.
Interesting. I've never given thought to the pressure writers feel to reveal information about themselves. I'm a relatively open book, so I've shared essays or parts thereof that probably had you running to the bathroom and locking the door, and not for the usual reasons. I'll have to further explore what might compel someone to open up past the point of comfort. Maybe I've lived a sheltered life. Maybe my mother modeled oversharing. Regardless of all that, I appreciate and learn from what you do put out there for us to read. So I guess you're doing just fine.