![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The seemingly-intrinsically feminine/feminist aspect of journal writing has come up a lot since I initiated this project. When I put out a call for participants, all of the people who responded to my call were women. I reiterated my call on Facebook, specifically asking for men. One male friend of mine responded, but we were unable to schedule a time to meet up. When I did the interviews, I asked all the women if they saw journal-writing as an intrinsically feminist act, and in cutting the audio interviews together I found two responses so perfect they seemed to be in conversation with one another.
I've been going back and forth about whether I want to include it or not. When I was making this, I thought a lot about Errol Morris's 1997 documentary Fast Cheap and Out Of Control, which depicts four men from seemingly disparate backgrounds and the common denominators between them. It never once occurred to me that the four subjects were men. However, in making this, I keep asking myself to what extent I want to address the fact that my three protagonists are ladies. It seems so obvious to me, and on some level I fear reiterating the belief that keeping a diary is "women's work". On the other hand, keeping the digression in seems defensive -- as though I felt I had to address this parity.
On the other-other hand...all three of my subjects also appear to be upper-middle class. They're all college-educated and both of the younger girls attended a private school. Though Errol Morris's subjects in Fast, Cheap are all men, he was able to draw from a wider ethnic background than I was, as two of the men he profiled seem to be Latino. Why do I not feel the need to address the homogeneous racial and class backgrounds? Thinking about this makes me think my white privilege is showing.
I've been going back and forth about whether I want to include it or not. When I was making this, I thought a lot about Errol Morris's 1997 documentary Fast Cheap and Out Of Control, which depicts four men from seemingly disparate backgrounds and the common denominators between them. It never once occurred to me that the four subjects were men. However, in making this, I keep asking myself to what extent I want to address the fact that my three protagonists are ladies. It seems so obvious to me, and on some level I fear reiterating the belief that keeping a diary is "women's work". On the other hand, keeping the digression in seems defensive -- as though I felt I had to address this parity.
On the other-other hand...all three of my subjects also appear to be upper-middle class. They're all college-educated and both of the younger girls attended a private school. Though Errol Morris's subjects in Fast, Cheap are all men, he was able to draw from a wider ethnic background than I was, as two of the men he profiled seem to be Latino. Why do I not feel the need to address the homogeneous racial and class backgrounds? Thinking about this makes me think my white privilege is showing.