Comment Policy

Feminist blogs tend to get some of the nastiest comments and suffer from more trolls than almost any other type of blog.  With that in mind, it seemed especially important to the authors that we have a very clear comment policy laid out right from the start.

The blog authors are committed to creating a blogging space as free from oppressive language as we can make in our own posts, and in light of that we will likely either address or delete any comments we deem blatantly or deliberately:

• Sexist
• Racist
• Classist
• Ableist
• Adultist

Or otherwise oppressive, hateful, or abusive.  (Basically, just don't be an asshole).  Whether we choose to delete the comment or engage with the comment author will depend entirely on where the comment seems to be coming from, i.e. comments that are trollish, venomous, or abusive will likely be deleted, comments, even if really problematic, that seem to be coming from a place of ignorance will be addressed. We do want to say, though, no matter where the comment seems to be coming from, neither we the blog authors nor other commenters are obliged to respond to comments with oppressive language, whether intentional or not, in a way you deem "nice."  Oppressive language is just that: it's oppressive, and people have a right to react with anger, hurt, or whatever other emotions come from dealing with that type of crap (crap that many people have to deal with on a daily basis).  If someone tells you something you said was oppressive, please take responsibility for that and simply take it as an opportunity to learn and improve.  Similarly, if we as the authors write something others deem oppressive, we know that people have a right to tell us so in whatever way they deem appropriate.  We want to know if we fuck up, as we genuinely want to do better!

We're not here on this blog to debate oppressions and marginalizations in the abstract, something distant that can be spoken of "objectively," and we'd like to avoid discussions of that nature in the comments, as well.  Trying to turn actual, serious, lived experiences of actual people and communities into an "objective debate" is an extremely privileged thing to do and is also extremely insulting.  Please keep it real, personal, and heartfelt.

While anger at oppression is an important and justified emotion to have and express (and the authors fully expect to be expressing anger), anger at having someone point out your privilege, or tell you that you can't use certain words or wear certain clothes because they contribute to the oppression of other people and simply aren't yours, is considerably less justified and will be treated as such.

We reserve the right to delete any comment as we deem appropriate, though we highly doubt we'll delete any comment unless it falls into the categories already illustrated above.

Finally, we really do like comments, so please do share your experiences and story, let us know when we're getting it right , and when we're getting it wrong, if we're being blind to our privilege, or anything else you feel moved to say (as long as it's not abusive).  If you have any comments or concerns regarding this comment policy, please feel free to email us at sistermaticresponse@gmail.com.