Mommy Blog Lines: Tal(k)ing Care

I must admit I’m getting exited like a little kid before a much anticipated event ~ there are only two more sleeps until the MIRCI Mega Motherhood Conference begins in Toronto at the Pantages Hotel and Spa and runs until Wednesday, June the 26th. The Mega Motherhood Conference is really three conferences in one: “Academic Motherhood” and “Communicating Motherhood” and “Mothers and Work”. ( http://www.motherhoodinitiative.org/MegaLocal.pdf ) Jaque and I will be speaking about our blog and inviting conference participants to join in a discussion about our concerns about the ethics of mommy blogging and also inviting them to share their thoughts with us on our blog. Our presentation “Mommy Blogging and Deliberative Dialogic Ethics: Collecting Community Interaction” takes place on Tuesday from 11:15-12:45 ( http://www.motherhoodinitiative.org/JuneMegaSchedule.pdf ). We’d love to have you join in the discussion there or on our blog afterwards. And we look forward to reporting on our exp

Since starting to think about the role of ethics in blogging, I have bumped into interesting applications of ethics in many different areas of life. I noted yesterday some really interesting work done on ethics and writing about Aboriginal People and Indigenous Studies, based on RCAP (Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 1992)–especially the paper by Marlene Brant Castellano (2004): “Ethics of Aboriginal Research.” [link] http://www.indigenous.ca/docs/ethics%20of%20aboriginal%20research.pdf As a wordsmith at heart, I was captivated by the term “developing an ethical regime.” At first, this sounded rather strict and even oppressive. Yet “regime” provides a useful alternative term to “practice,” for it does carry with it the notion of deliberative and corrective self-reflection. One’s practice is merely what one does, usually with no intention to change nor commitment to self-monitoring. Perhaps “regime” sounds a bit fierce, but it does move practice into the realm of performing

I continue to think about sharenting (parents who blog, tweet and post pictures about all aspects of their children’s lives without regard for the their children’s privacy – see previous post ). And at the moment I’m thinking about the potential link between sharenting and bullying, especially with today’s launch of new anti-bullying campaign by the Friend Movement . ERASE Bullying defines bulling as "a pattern of unwelcome or aggressive behaviour, often with the goal of making others uncomfortable, scared or hurt." It’s almost always used as a way of having control or power over their target, and it is often based on another person’s appearance, culture, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity.” The Friend Movement wants to spread the message about friendship and encourage folks to be friends by taking a stand against bullying and by not practicing bullying behaviour. While most parents don’t blog about their children for the purpose of bull