The political may be personal, but it’s cultural as well for Flavorwire’s new editor-at-large Sarah Seltzer, the subjects of whose writing ranges from reproductive rights in pop culture to how Jane Austen is a model for being a feminist online. Her range is not the only thing that amazes – she’s also written for many different publications, from Bitch magazine to the Washington Post.
Sarah and I sat down in the self-help and writing guide aisle of McNally Jackson bookstore in New York, to discuss her approach to writing online and why Jane Austen is a feminist role model.
How did you begin writing online?
I began right after college when I became a teacher. I was taking education classes, and they taught us how to start a blog for our class. In addition to building a website where I put my student’s updates of Shakespeare sonnets, I started a blog about my first year of teaching in the New York City public school system. It was all about my struggles as a new teacher, and people actually started reading it. When I left teaching at the end of the year, I started a new blog that was about literature and Jane Austen, feminism and liberal politics. When I began freelancing the next year, I started with print media, but then I figured out that there were some great online publications that would be my home.
You frequently write about Jane Austen. Why do you think her influence has endured, especially online?
I just gave a speech about online feminism and Austen to the New York chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America earlier this month. Even though Austen wasn’t out there smashing the system, her books are all about filtering a very patriarchial society through a female point view through the use of irony and wit. She made profound observations about the way people interact, specifically on how women make do in a world that is hostile towards them. Lizzy Bennet [in Pride and Prejudice] is a prime example, who filters her experience through wit and wry observations, and that’s essentially what feminist bloggers do. There’s a really strong connection between Jane Austen and online feminism where we’re using humour, memes and jokes as a way of processing living in patriarchy.
You recently became editor-in-large at Flavorwire. How do you bring your vision to Flavorwire?
One of the reasons I got in touch with Flavorwire is because I really admired the way Michelle Dean, who had the position before me, was able to combine feminist and identity politics with writing about arts and culture, and that’s what I like to do. I was very excited that I was able to take that mantle from her at the website, where I can write about Austen adaptions on TV one day, and the next, write about Bill Cosby and rape culture. We’re living at a moment when politics and culture are interacting all the time, so it is really important to be there and help people navigate that space. I’ve responded to that in various incarnations online. I’ve been a pop culture columnist for a reproductive rights website and then I was the de facto political correspondent at the Jewish Daily Forward’s Sisterhood blog. I’m always the politics person at a culture site, or the culture person at a politics site.
What was it like being a culture writer for a reproductive rights website?
For several years, I wrote about pop culture for RH Reality Check, which is a really wonderful and important site that deals with reproductive rights and health, but in a really broad way. They also cover issues like police violence against people of colour, breast cancer, maternal health and poverty, which are all a part of the reproductive justice framework. I wrote about depictions of female sexuality, abortion, pregnancy and birth on TV. I had a weekly column. Whether I was writing about a Kardashian pregnancy or an indie movie about abortion, there’s always some piece of pop culture that has interesting ramifications for the discussion around women’s bodies.
What has your experience been writing online?
It’s been almost overwhelming positive, though I have been trolled with really nasty comments. When I wrote for the Forward, I covered the Hobby Lobby case from a Jewish perspective. My take on it was that as a minority religion, Jews should be very concerned that Christian bosses are able to foist their religion on their employees, particularly since there is nothing against birth control in Judaism. There was something about that case that really set people off; my theory was that it combined Obama, socialised medicine, female sexuality and collectivism, the idea that society should be bearing the cost of birth control, which really bothers people for some reason. I got a lot of tweets and angry comments, in particular when I wrote about that topic. Overall, the best thing about writing online is that you can g-chat and tweet with your friends about something that is frustrating and then sit down and turn it into a 700-word blogpost. It brings together the conversations that you’ve been having and people are really grateful for that. Then there are the continuing conversations, which have a way of pointing out aspects you haven’t even thought about yet. It’s just really, really wonderful.
Sometimes I wish I could take a month and write a lyric essay about my shoe or something. You can’t do as much of that experimental writing and play around with form as much online. That is just something I have to do in my own time. But other than that, I feel very comfortable and I enjoy the online space.
Who are some women writers that you would recommend others read?
There are a lot of women who are doing amazing work at Flavorwire, so I must start with them: Pilot Viruet, Elisabeth Donnelly, Judy Berman and Jillian Mapes. Bryce Covert is a wonderful writer on the economy as she approaches it from a feminist perspective. Naomi Zeveloff writes for the Jewish Daily Forward from Israel and Palestine on the conflict there. Jezebel’s culture editor, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, is one of the best music writers in the game. Kristen Gwynne writes on drug policy and on policing for a variety of publications. I love reading Sarah Jaffe’s writing on labour, and Rebecca Carroll on race and culture. Finally, Emily Arnason Casey, who writes poetry and personal essays, inspires me with the emotion, passion, and lyricism of her nonfiction craft.
What is some advice you have for women who want to write online?
When you’re starting out, look for offline gigs. I spent a couple of years being a beat reporter for my local paper while I began writing criticism and commentary online. It’s really good to do a little reporting in the beginning. Another thing is to have a tumblr or a blog and be really committed to it. There are websites like RH Reality Check and Women’s eNews that are really great training grounds for women writers. Indie publications like Lilith magazine and Bitch magazine, are also great places to begin. I feel like I owe them so much because they took a chance on me. They had really strong editing, which you don’t always get at online publications because you’re moving so fast. So I’m really glad that’s where my training ground was.
Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call someone who is an expert in your subject to feature in your piece. If you are nervous about having something to say, it can be a really great way to start having half your thoughts and someone else’s. People are always happy to talk to reporters, particularly if they’re an expert and they want to build their platform. Pick up the phone and report.
Finally, there’s a cheesy saying that I have pinned up over my computer: “Climb mountains so that you can see the world, not so the world can see you.” I try to remind myself of this idea all the time when I write, even though I forget it too often. It means that your best work will come when you’re genuinely trying to learn and understand as you write, not when you’re trying to show off or write a piece that will impress other people.
What’s one fun fact about yourself that you would like to share with our readers?
I’m a twin. I’ve always thought that having a twin brother is one of the reasons I’m a feminist because I was able to cross gender boundaries as a kid, such as hanging out with the boys and playing with his toys. When I got older and things like that became off limits, I was resentful of that.
Correction: Sarah Seltzer’s position as the politics correspondent at the Jewish Daily Forward was amended to de facto political correspondent at the Jewish Daily Forward’s Sisterhood blog.
