Feminist.com claims to be committed to “Awareness. Education. Activism. Empowerment”. Its aesthetically pleasing, easy‐to‐read home page contains links to a wide variety of resources related to women and feminist issues. Graphics used in the page are colorful yet understated and most links are contained within a table. Users with nongraphical browsers, however, may find the text version of Feminist.com rather cluttered. This comprehensive Web site includes resources pertaining to women and feminism in areas such as: education, politics, activism, employment, sexuality, health, and news. Feminist.com has been featured favorably in news sources like the New York Times, Ms. Magazine, Chicago Tribune, and MS NBC.
News information is updated weekly. Of the 31 Web sites listed under “Women’s Health Issues: General Women’s Health”, for example, only one site wouldn’t connect. Resources listed in various subject areas are current, relevant, and well chosen. While users are linked to predominantly US resources, Feminist.com also links its users to Canadian and Australian Web sites. The link “Find Women’s Services Near You” is made possible by American Business Information, Inc., and therefore only points to women’s services in the USA.
Students in need of research can access articles and essays by noted authors such as Gloria Steinem and Betty Freidan, statistical information, fact sheets, and biographical resources. General users can access local and national US resources, such as Planned Parenthood and Mother Jones, along with a plethora of information aimed at a popular audience. The format of the page lends itself very well to the general user browsing for information. Specific categories include: Women Owned Businesses; Classifieds; Articles and Speeches; Outrage of the Month; Q&As with Gloria Steinem; Activism; Women’s Health Issues; Women’s Animated Art Gallery; Parenting, Children and Community; Reproductive Rights and Sexuality; Violence against Women & Sexual Harassment; Women and the Arts; Women’s Careers and Professional Organizations; Black Women in Sisterhood for Action (BISA); Center for Women’s National Committee on Pay Equity; Taking a New Look at the Woman Suffrage Movement; Affirmative Action; Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN); and Washington Feminist Faxnet.
While Feminist.com does not provide users with a search engine to search the site, it does follow a somewhat organized format with links indexed in appropriately titled subject categories. Feminist.com brings together a wide variety of useful information and resources in an easy‐to‐use format. Users in search of specific information may need to check more than one subject category as links are not necessarily cross‐listed in more than one relevant category. Links in some of the individual subject categories could be organized better. For example, the first set of links in the “Articles and Essays” category are listed neither alphabetically nor by specific topic.
All in all, Feminist.com can be a wonderful starting point for users with specific and non‐specific information needs. Feminist.com draws together resources in various subject areas pertaining to feminism and women’s studies. Given the large number of links contained within the site, a search engine and a more structured indexing system would be preferable. Despite that one drawback, users interested in feminism and women’s studies will surely want to bookmark this site. Librarians and educators should also consider adding Feminist.com to their home pages. This site is recommended to those conducting academic research and highly recommended to general users.
