all the hoopla: survey results!
23: 18%
Salt Lake City: 13%
General things people want to see more of:
Outreach to high school MoFems.
Quote excerpts of comments about the blog:
*Please note that I purposefully skewed the excerpts below towards including survey comments that mentioned negative things/things people wanted the blog to improve on. There was actually about an even amount of praise and constructive criticism shared, if not more praise. But most of the praise was represented by the comments I did include below, whereas the criticism was more varied. And also I want to focus on improving stuff.
“I like that we are encouraged to find where we fit in the whole mormon feminist movement.”
“One difficulty men face in participating in feminist groups is that patriarchy is sometimes associated too closely with men as actors. It is easiest to participate when both men and women are recognized as needing to overcome patriarchal attitudes, beliefs and practices.”
” I’d love to see more from people with both non-standard and non-Mormon-feminist-standard views.” <note from Hannah: what does non-Mormon-feminist-standard views mean?>
“I don’t like the sarcasm that some of the posts display. I know a lot of these topics are really frustrating and that it’s cathartic to write in an angrier tone, but it rubs me–and other people–the wrong way. People are unlikely to listen to what we have to say if we start the conversation in a confrontational manner.”
“Less guys. No offense dudes, but in a feminist space, the majority of voices should be female. You’ve got the mic everywhere else.”
“No swearing. I mean yes, I’m an adult I can handle it, but it’s the Young MORMON Feminist page. Be classy.”
“I’ve had trouble trying to introduce friends or family members to the blog when it’s hard to find posts that are more middle ground, or connecting with conservatives. Not saying, we need to buckle down and be quiet, but perhaps a way to reach out to those who are not yet feminist and a little turned off by liberalism.”
“I think some of the things are very inflammatory in that the subject matter and do more harm than good by trapping many Mormon feminists under a negative umbrella. For example, I think that the subject of female ordination shows a fundamental mis-understanding of the gospel and doctrine of the gospel. I resent YMF for implying that my status or importance is based off of something as trivial, yes trivial, as the priesthood.”
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Excerpts of comments about the Facebook group:
*(Same disclaimer- I purposefully skewed the representation of comments from the survey towards the constructive criticism so that we know what to improve on.)
“Sometimes I feel like it’s a sausage fest. I’m guilty of adding my sausage to the fest, unfortunately.”
“I love that it feels like a place where I belong — moreso than any other Mormon facebook group that I am part of. I like them all but here is where I actually feel like I am part of the group.”
“I think the echo chamber criticism is relevant. It just seems like a place for mofems to high-five each other.”
“I do think some of the participants need primer courses on feminism. I don’t want to be elitest or anything, but I do think it’s important for people who align themselves with feminism to be exposed to SOME theory. Otherwise, do they even know what they’re getting in to?”
“I enjoy that discussion is not censored. I believe that it is important for everyone to be able to freely express their opinions.”
“Everyone who regularly participates seems to be acquainted with each other, and it’s a little intimidating to think about trying to break into it.”
“The only thing that mildly bugs me sometimes is the duplicate links that people post from time to time.”
“I dislike that some of my friends who I’ve introduced to the group feel like they are on the outside, that they are not “cool enough” (feminist enough, smart enough, liberal enough, it works in several ways) to participate. ”
“I love the YMF FB Group! I don’t participate much, but I joined after coming across the blog. It’s so refreshing to see that there’s a group of mormons who are open-minded, looking at issues, addressing them head on, and discussing them! It is something that I had never been exposed to before. There’s ALWAYS something new being discussed, multiple issues everyday. The group has a good dynamic, it definitely doesn’t sit still and get boring!”
“I personally dislike that so much focuses on critiquing things. This is perhaps a greater tiff I have with feminism in general—there is so much to tear down, to be sure, but I become weary of it. I want to put more effort toward constructing something better.”
“Some operate as if they know how everyone of a demographic thinks. ”
“I appreciate the policy of nonmoderation, but the practical downside is that sometimes it becomes a dumping ground for venting, arguing, culture whining and not always friendly to a broad range of participants. I am not orthodox by any stretch of the imagination, but I occasionally dislike some of the language or topics – NOT because of the content, but because I get the impression they are being used for shock value, to score “badass points,” or to out-extreme other points of view. ”
“The age group is sometimes distressingly young. I think YMF under the age of 18 should not be allowed to be in the group as they demonstrate a lack of understanding of most things and do more harm than good.”
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<Interjection by Hannah>
Several people also mentioned the lack of faith of contributors to the blog. You might want to not assume stuff like that. Just because someone writes one critical thing on the internet does not mean they have no faith. You are falling prey to the exact same trap that you seek refuge from when you categorize someone as inactive and/or unfaithful based on comments they make, without stating their affiliation or belief, on the internet. It is possible to be incredibly critical and intellectual in one’s approach to the Church and still be active and believing (I would place myself in that category, with asterisks). It is not a contributor’s responsibility to make sure that what they have published on this blog is varied enough or accurately represents ALLLLL of their beliefs and feelings. They write about what they want to write about and publish it, and they have no obligation to broadcast their activity or belief to pacify judgmental readers.
Further blog posts to come on what it means to be “Mormon” and who decides (if you’re interested in writing about- with any viewpoint on the subject- please email it to me!). But for now, be aware that YMF approaches those two questions in the broadest possible framework, and this community is for anyone interested in discussing Mormonism and feminism while focusing on younger-generation issues in a respectful manner.
<end of Hannah rant, back to survey now>
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Random quotes I enjoyed/appreciated:
[“What are you doing in your life right now?”]
“working full time, already graduated, playing with the idea of babies but that sh*t is terrifying”
“i love the gospel, the church gives me hives”
“I found your website through Google. I love Google.”
“[I live] in my parent’s basement. And Reddit. Mostly Reddit.”
[“How’d you find YMF?”]
“’twas led by the Holy Ghost”
“Blerg. Thinking about the church usually makes my brain melt out of my butt. […] But I still go, fulfill my calling, make sure I only teach what I believe in Sunday school, and then go home. Oh yeah, is this the proper format these days- I’m gay, I have a cat, I try to ignore calls from the Sunday school presidency, and I’m a Mormon. Cheers.”
“[I’m] in school, working, all distractions from the knowledge buzzing around my ears that I will inevitably die and cease to exist.”
“I choose to believe in God and the gospel of Christ, but I know longer think the LDS church has an exclusive claim on anything really. My proverbial shelf broke a long time ago. But I stay because I am will be culturally mormon for the rest of my life–Mormonism will always be my home. But I also want to be there for the other people that are struggling. I don’t want them to feel alone like I did.”
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Specific comments made to Hannah:
*Sharing because I want everyone to feel like they can speak to me directly about any issues, suggestions, or questions people may have. You can also always leave anonymous feedback about YMF by going here.
“I honestly think you don’t know how harshly you come across at times. I don’t mean that as a sanction because you are a strong and opinionated woman–I really admire you and I hope that’s not what I’m doing. But I sometimes worry that people that are put off of Mormon feminism by its association with you. It’s their loss, on both counts, to be sure. I don’t have a particular suggestion, just an fyi, I suppose. Sorry.”
Young Mormon Feminists 
4 Responses to “all the hoopla: survey results!”
Wow! Three quarters of respondents are active in the Church. That really runs counter to the narrative constructed by the self-selected orthodoxy police who stumble on the blogs and dismiss everyone here as ex-Mormons.
Thanks for doing the survey and putting up the results!
Fantastic level of detail! Thanks for posting this.
[…] is consistent with the survey I conducted here of YMF readers, which showed that 82% of YMF readers self-identified as believing or somewhat believing, and 74% […]
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in fact was a amusemen
account it. Look advanced to more added ageeable from you!
By the way, how can we communicate?