Political Blogger Joanne Bamberger Talks About Her New Book “Mothers of Intention”

Joanne Bamberger’s first post on her new site PunditMom was short and to-the-point:

Everyone else out there is a pundit, so I say, why not join the crowd! So many issues and so little time, so I’d better get started!

Now more than six years later, PunditMom stands as a beacon to political discussion among women online and Bamberger herself is recognized as an expert on the unique convergence of women, politics, and new media.

This May, Bamberger condensed her vast knowledge and experience, coupled it with contributions from other women passionate on the topic of politics, and published a new book called Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media Are Revolutionizing Politics in America.

She briefly describes the book as,

a researched narrative with original analysis about women online and how they are increasingly using the tools of social media to effect change.

ShePosts took the opportunity to ask more in-depth questions of Bamberger about Mothers of Intention, and why she thinks the story of women, politics, and new media is such an important one to tell.

Why this book? And why now?

When I started writing PunditMom blog in 2006, there were few women/mothers writing about politics online.  While it wasn’t the very beginning of the world of “mom blogging,” the women who were writing those sites were still primarily writing about their parenting experiences.  But I found through those commenting at PunditMom, women who did some guest posts for my feature “Mothers of Intention,” and by reading many blogs, that as women became more comfortable in writing, they began to express themselves on topics beyond potty training and pre-school, and actually were becoming “political” by writing on topics important to their families.

[In regards to the timing of the book:] Women are the majority of voters, yet when it comes to getting the attention of women voters who happen to be mothers, candidates and the media have consistently tried to label is and put us into neat little boxes — soccer moms, security moms, Wal-mart moms. By writing this book, and having it come out now on the eve of the 2012 election, politicians and pundits have the research and anecdotal evidence to see that women, by using online tools and creating online networks and communities, have developed politically and have much more power to influence the voting and candidate support of others in a way they couldn’t even in 2008.

How did you go about gathering the contributor material for this book? And what was the decision process in deciding what to include?

The process of gathering essays started when I asked some women to contribute to a feature I started called “Mothers of Intention.”  I was starting to see women writing more passionately about issues at their own sites and asked if they would consider writing for that feature.  In addition, I was finding more and more essays written by women at their own blogs about issues they felt strongly about, and approached them about using their essays in the book.  …

It was also important to me that the book be a bipartisan look at the writing online and how women were coming to the political process.  While those who read my blog know that I make no secret about my progressive politics, I did feel strongly it was important to write about and feature women from all political sides — left, right and center.

But Mothers of Intention is much more than a collection of essays.  It is also my original writing that takes a look at how mothers become political, raising political children, the not-so-subtle media messaging we see that suggests that mothers of young children shouldn’t be in politics, how mothers become activists and how they are becoming more comfortable in using their presence online to make their views known (in a world of punditry that’s hard to crack), as well as become activists online.

What is your conclusion about how the growth of social media has affected the way mothers think of and communicate about politics?

The growth of social media has been instrumental in how women/mothers think of and communicate about politics.  Women are natural networkers.  As we have been able to build larger and larger communities through our online contacts, women have been able to seek out and join up with women who share their views and values, regardless of where they are located.  This has enabled women to work together in ways as never before to advance their political agendas.  For example, the group political site MOMocrats (which I write for) was founded by a few women who knew each other “in real life,” but the site features writers from around the country — some of whom have never met.  We were able to come together quickly for a common goal because of online tools, and I believe this phenomenon will only continue to grow.

Who are you hoping to reach with this book? Is there a call to action here? And if so, who is it for?

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to connect the dots that mothers are a powerful electoral group.  Now that women are the majority of online users and make up the majority users on most social media platforms, I hope that the women in those spaces will read this book and use it as inspiration to find their own inner PunditMoms, and that politicians and political analysts will finally realize we are focused on a heck of a lot more than getting dinner on the table and the price of gas for the minivan, and treat us as the important political influencers we are.

What has been some of the most gratifying feedback you’ve received from those who have read Mothers of Intention?

The most gratifying, and most common, comment I’ve received is that many of the readers see themselves in the book — as I describe the phenomenon of being taken seriously until we become mothers, how people assume we stop thinking once we become parents and focus on nothing other than our children, and that nothing could be further from truth, and how we have found ourselves and our voices through ever-growing online communities – has been  the best reward. Many women who have read the book have said they really didn’t see themselves as political influencers until they read the book, but then realized that they were or could be, and that they had the tools to make change and help teach their children about the importance of being involved in issues and politics.  It gives me hope that even though there are many who still don’t see mothers as important political actors, that Mothers of Intention will be a step on the road to changing that.

Joanne Bamberger’s Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media Are Revolutionizing Politics in America was published in May 2011 by Brightsky Press and is available at various locations online. You can find book news and updates on the Mothers of Intention Facebook page, join in the political discussion at PunditMom, or follow Bamberger on Twitter at @PunditMom.