The Carnival of Feminists No 27 is up on Body Impolitic, and it is brilliant. There’s a great wrap-up of US election coverage, but also plenty of coverage from around the globe. But what really makes it stand out are some absolutely stunning images. You don’t even need to be able to read English to enjoy this one.

But don’t waste time over here: hop over there and check it out for yourself!

And when you’ve finished that, you can pop over to the call for submissions from Ginger on Diary of a Freak Magnet – she’s got lots of ideas should you want to write a special post for the carnival.

… next one is coming up fast on body impolitic. No particular theme – just great feminist posts. Get your favourites in now through the blog carnival form, or by email to kith at spicejar dot org.

Over on A Blog Without a Bicycle, a neophyte blogger, perhaps the newest to ever host the carnival, has done a spectacularly good job in collecting a huge Carnival of Feminists No 26.

There’s the topical – Halloween (can you have a feminist Halloween?), there’s the traditional (can you be a ‘hot feminist’) and much, much more.

But don’t waste time here – do go over there and check it out!!

And please help to spread the word…

Welcome to the anniversary edition! Yep, the carnival is one year old, but, I think, well beyond its wobbly baby steps. Twenty-four bloggers have hosted the carnival; there’ve been (at a very rough count) about 1,000 posts linked and commented on, and, from some of the figures that have been reported to me, probably approaching 100,000 page impressions. That must translate into thousands of readers. You’ve all contributed to the success of the carnival. Thank you!

(Should you be catching up, you can find a complete listing of carnivals down the right of the home page.)

I thought it not unreasonable to bring it back “home” for the anniversary edition. I’d welcome comments, suggestions for the future, and of course, always, new volunteers to host. (Ragnell on Ragnell’s Written World has just collected some thoughts about the experience of hosting.)

You don’t have to be a “big” blogger; you don’t have to be any particular “type” of feminist – I aim only for as broad a mix in philosophy, geography and speciality as possible. Then, while I have some suggestions as to how to proceed, and will always be available to answer questions and help out, the carnival will be yours for that edition, to do with it as you will.

So enough of the navel-gazing; to the carnival proper…

I’m going to privilege this time one sort of post that I’d really like to see more of in the carnival – celebrations of women’s contributions throughout history (including recent history). So often, it seems, women who were prominent in their own times are lost to societal memory within a generation or two. Yet they can be an inspiration, a source of ideas, hope.

WOMEN OF HISTORY

First, a celebration of lots of women: on Feminish, parts one and two explore The March of the Women, 5/6 October 1789. Was the French Revolution a Women’s Revolution?

More personally, on Walking the Berkshires, Tim Abbott reflects on his “Aunt, Het”, Esther Gracie Ogden, suffragette. Her Christmas poem for 1914 read in part: “When the vote is won and the talk is done the jokes she will not resent, / For you can bet we’ll all vote for Het, when she runs for President!”

And Sappho on The Sappho Manifesto, celebrates her Revolutionary of the Week, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Jennings, who played a big part in getting public transport in New York racially desegregated.
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The upcoming carnival on October 18 is No 25, and on a twice-monthly schedule, that means that it the first anniversary edition. It was one year ago (give or take a few days) that I started the carnival, and I thought it was reasonable enough to host my second one on this anniversary.

It will be the first repeat of host – testimony to the delightful enthusiasm with which the carnival has been embraced. For that I can only say an enormous thank you to everyone has hosted – and everyone who has nominated, commented and otherwise participated.

I’ve tried to organise the carnivals with a very light hand – because I think the great value of blog carnivals is the different angles and approaches that each host brings to each carnival; otherwise they are likely to become rather monotonous, covering the same ground among the same clique. (This is one reason why I haven’t – although it has been suggested – started an email list reminding previous contributors about each submission deadline.)

There have been a few controversies and rows – perhaps inevitably – but not nearly so many as I had feared. We sometimes get worried about the tendency of the feminist blogosphere, as with feminists more broadly, to get caught up in internal arguments, but experience of the carnival suggests healthy conversation and debate is entirely possible, and indeed the norm.

I’ve got a few regrets – I’d love to see an African blogger volunteer to host a carnival (or indeed a South American – those are the two main parts of the world we haven’t visited); I sometimes think I should do more promotion work, but struggle to find the time – but not many overall.

Carnival No 25 will have one special theme, which seems appropriate, – “feminist blogging”. You might care to reflect on your experience with the carnival (in any role, from reader to host), or more broadly on what feminist blogging can, or can’t achieve, or what it has meant to you.

BUT nominations on any other feminist subject are also highly welcome.

As ever – please help to spread the word about this!

Work commitments mean it may be late on Wednesday night before I can post the carnival, so I’ll be leaving nominations open until Tuesday night. But that doesn’t mean you HAVE to leave it to the last minute…. Please email me on natalieben AT gmail DOT com, or use the Blog Carnival nomination form.

Thanks!

Break out the streamers – the Carnival of Feminists No 24 is now up on F-Words. As you might have expected, there’s a great round-up of views on the now-hot niqab/burqa debate, a collection of responses to the meme “what has feminism done for me?”, and lots, lots more. Sara has done a great job. But don’t waste time here – go over there and check it out!