Write for Gender Focus
Gender Focus welcomes submissions from guest bloggers of all gender identities, races and sexual orientations. You don’t have to be or identify as Canadian. As a Gender Focus guest blogger, you will have the opportunity to make your voice heard, create a useful resource for feminists, get out under-reported news and opinions on a variety of issues, share your experiences and perspectives, and gain valuable writing experience and feedback.
If you’re interested in contributing, send Jarrah and Lyndsay a short email at info@gender-focus.com to let us know who you are, if you have any blogging/writing experience or experience with feminist or progressive organizations, and what you’re interested in writing about. Please note that we cannot afford to pay contributors, as the blog collects no advertising or other revenues, but you will gain exposure for your writing, the opportunity to network with our other contributors, and feedback on your writing from our editors.
For reference, feminism is defined in this document and on the blog as a “movement to end sexism, sexual exploitation, and oppression”, including but not limited to oppression based on race, sexual/gender identity, disability, class and age.
Appropriate Types of Blog Items
- Short report on an event, news item, or article from another blog (450-600 words).
- Analysis of an article or pertinent issue (400-800 words).
- Personal Story about how an issue or event has affected you, or a reflection on how you’ve played into the issues we cover (400-1000 words).
- “My Reality”: The “My Reality” series features a variety of contributors writing about their diverse experiences. Our goal is to let people share their stories: both those that are common but not necessarily widely discussed, and those that are highly unique (400-1000 words).
Issues We Cover
- Issues pertaining to social inequalities (racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, poverty, etc.), especially when there is a gender angle
- Portrayals of women; LGBTQ+; visible minorities; and/or people with disabilities in the media and popular culture
- Intersections of gender and social justice in public policy/politics
- Anti-racist feminist analysis of current events especially across Canada
Picking Blog Topics
- You can choose to write about topics you’re passionate about, as long as they fit into the above issue areas. Please ask if you’re not sure.
- You can ask me for a topic if you’re not sure what to write about
- Your choice of topic should be approved for your first few blogs to make sure we’re not duplicating topics. Just send us a short e-mail proposal.
Writing Guidelines
- Word count – maximum 1000 words, ideally from 400-800.
- Tone – smart, conversational, informal, and good-humored
- Anger and criticism should be expressed productively
- In your voice – write from your own perspective and share your opinions
- Well-written – standard grammar rules, spelling, and punctuation still apply
- Action-oriented – tell us what appropriate action can be taken on the issue
- Graphics, photos, or YouTube videos should be included with every blog item and must have a caption. Open source photos can be found on sites like Wikimedia Commons.
- Cite ALL sources – you must include links to all graphics and articles you used or referenced in your blog. This includes citing news clips, TV shows, magazines, newspapers, etc. My preference is that you hyperlink each online source into the text it references on your Word or Google doc or in your email.
- Use appropriate language — avoid profanity and use good judgment – if it can’t be said on TV or radio, it probably shouldn’t be in your blog, unless it is quoted from the article you are writing about, if it is absolutely necessary to explain something (like the word “bitch”), or if you can defend your use of the term is in keeping with the philosophy of the blog.
- Always include a title for your blog and graphics or photos (with captions).
- If you re-post on other blogs/websites please include a link back.
- You are encouraged to comment on other contributors’ blog posts.
All blog items should be turned in via e-mail as a Microsoft Word or Google document (attach images to your e-mail) to info@gender-focus.com by a mutually agreed-upon deadline. If for any reason you cannot meet your committed deadline, please let us know in advance. If your post is accepted it will usually be posted within a few days of being received. We will edit blog submissions for grammar, spelling, and style and will re-submit edited articles to you for your final sign-off. All blog entries will be posted with the signature of the author — either your initials, first name, full name, or pseudonym if requested.
Any questions? E-mail info@gender-focus.com.
