Things have been pretty hectic here the past week or two... I've been working a lot on getting a new website and forum up and running.
Kind of a long saga, the gist of it was that I used to post a lot on a Home Education forum, that I was admin on; I put a huge amount of work into it, posting and keeping things running.
At the same time, there was a discussion on another forum that I used to frequent, about girls wearing pink frilly dresses. It seemed the general consensus was in agreeance with this article. Which is all very well and good, but me, being focused on respectful parenting, unschooling, and open communication, I disagreed.
I just can't get onto a boat of oppressing my child to save her from future potential oppression. I truly believe that my child, being raised with loving respect, and lots of communication and open dialogue, will make her own choices. Some people might remember my article about Respecting Children's Choices. I wont go into all that now.
The end of it was that because of my disagreeing with key members the forum hosting that discussion, and because I was posting a lot on the home ed forum, some of the inner circle over there decided, behind my back, to take me off admin for the home ed site, without explanation, as well as making some pretty bitchy comments.
Someone else warned me about all this goings on behind my back, though she was found out by someone snooping through her Private Messages. It all crashed rather nastily. One of the other admin closed down the home education site, without warning or explanation. It's gone, and nothing we can do about it.
They started a new site, with all new admin, and a strong ethos to keep it in accordance with their own brand of feminism. I feel like I've been caught in the crossfire of some weird junior high-school bitch-drama!
Thus locked out, and receiving messages from many of the old members wanting the forum to go on as it was, I started a new site and a new forum, called Liberated Learning.
It's been a lot of work, and a steep learning curve, but it's all working now, and hey, isn't learning what it's all about?!
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I am so sorry to hear you went through all of this. Unfortunately for some people creating nasty dramas on the net is a past-time. Very common to see the same few involved in dramas on several sites at times. I hope your new site is peaceful and I look forward to seeing more of it. FWIW my daughter is the fru-fru queen!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing MF. I had kinda wondered what on earth went on! After reading this I still cannot fathom why it happened at all. Im a little disconcerted to hear that they were reading PM's though! That is extremely rude and wrong! Glad I followed my intuition without knowing what was up and decided to stay away from there and so glad to see that all the people who I liked to hear talk followed you! Im afraid that while I respect other peoples opinions and choices, I do have a problem with people repressing those of others even when I do not agree with them myself. I visited JL once and thankfully AM was having a say so I did not have to! You've probably noticed by now Im a bit long winded so they don't know what they missed! LOL!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all your hard work this week. I for one really appreciate it! Hugs and smoochies to you!
It seems sometimes people stick their noses where they are not needed...everyone has a favorite color. As long as the child is dressed for the weather and kept clean, what does it matter if she likes pink? I think it is a form of artistic expression. You see some of the things my son wore when he was small, his cowboy boots were his favorite even with shorts.lol..t I love the color blue and wear it often, my son loves the colors yellow and navy...so we painted his room, both colors.
ReplyDeleteI can totally agree with where you're coming from and agree with you about not oppressing the child. I will definitely be checking out the new forum :-)
ReplyDeleteGosh, and I actually came back to your blog tonight to post a comment on the pretty dress you've just made Littletree (read it yesterday but didn't have time to log in & comment!) and how much she obviously loved it.
ReplyDeleteLong before I had children myself, I read an amusing article in the SMH by Maggie Alderson, on the fairy/ballerina stage. She had a theory that if you deny your child their indulgence in this stage & try to force them to wear mini copies of your own 'correct' attire, you doom them to forever stay in that stage as they age, doomed to turn out like Barbara Cartland, or Baby Spice!
Hope your new forum flourishes as a peaceful haven. We don't homeschool, so I'm not sure how welcome I'd be at the forum, but most of your writings about your child seem sane & sensible to me.
Do you remember Mango Mama...?
ReplyDeleteI must have missed all of that but am glad I found then new forum! I haven't read that article from The Age and totally disagree with it too :) How can you combat "objectifying feminine steriotypes" by controlling them as children (ie objecting them as kids).
ReplyDeleteFor the record my son went through a huge pink frilly dress phase too :)
I am sorry I missed the debate around that article... I find it really bloody interesting!
first, i don't think your kid's in any danger of becoming an oppressed adult woman... not with a mama like you!
ReplyDeletesecond, through junior high and high school i used to boycott all manner of "dressy-dress", especially the color pink. over the past 2 years i've been trying to reclaim some comfortability with wearing "girly" clothing without feeling like i'm sacrificing my "womanly" ideals.
it's better, i think, to raise your kid thinking that clothes don't define us; they're only a reflection of the many "selves" we have inside.
~xo~ kelly (caspian's mama)