Women's Studies major, Derek Warwick, sends this report on WAM, a conference he attended in the Spring:
Every March in Cambridge, MA, Jaclyn Friedman of the Centre for New Words organises the Women, Action, and the Media (WAM!) conference, bringing together feminist activists in the media. Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler, the editors of Bitch magazine; the women of Feministing; and countless other feminist editors, writers, bloggers, and so on, made up the majority of those attending this past March. Canada's own women behind Shameless and the Miss G___ Project were in attendance as well.
The number of fascinating people at the conference is not it's only noteworthy characteristic, of course. With Helen Thomas and Haifa Zangana as the keynote speakers and sessions ranging from educating feminists on how to create sustainable media to promoting one's own book, and from discussing how blogging can end racism to how to battle feminist backlash, there are simply too many speakers to choose from.
Overall, WAM! provides a great opportunity to discuss how best to utilise feminist activism in the media and to network with other feminists. It cannot be denied, either, though: It's a time to have fun with likeminded people. As Deanna Zandt put it, everyone at WAM! may not be on the same page, but we're all reading the same book.