So, since I've had more free time after the wedding (not because women are expected to plan weddings and men can sit back and do nothing, but because I am a natural manager and planner and Brendan worked hard, too!) I've been thinking about what I'd like to do with this blog - how I'd like to edge it along and give it a real niche in the blogosphere beyond "oh yeah, this blog is just because I feel like writing about...y'know...stuff".
Speaking of which, we got featured on another site, which anyone interested in this sort of thing should definitely check out for its own sake: Brave Wedding: Jenna and Brendan's Cross Continent Challenge
Anyway, I've been working through this not because I really care about a high readership - though that is nice - but because it just makes for better writing and better readability to work within a somewhat-defined structure, as long as I can sketch out said structure myself.
What I've come up with is this: I'd like to keep it as a travel blog, outlining things we do and things to do in Taipei and Taiwan in general, and definitely keep up the restaurant reviews, day trip and travel posts and info posts on where to find things in Taipei and Taiwan, be they a great view or a pair of shoes that fit.
However...
I'd also like to nudge it a bit more down the path of being a blog about women, life and feminism in Asia: a bit about the culture, thoughts, lives and expectations of Taiwanese women, yes...but more about something I can write on with authority - being a female expat in Asia. There aren't that many of us, but those of us who are here don't seem to have many resources and everything from clothes shopping to social opportunities to dating are limited in ways that it may be hard to articulate and work around, and harder still to find information on (just try asking about large size women's office shoes on Forumosa. I did. Ay yay yay).
What I mean by this is not just more posts on where to get good haircuts, clothes that look good and shoes (though that's great, too, and I will definitely keep that up), but on life for expat women in Asia more generally: covering topics more related to feminism and psyche, workarounds for tough situations, and frank thoughts on life in what is, to some degree, a sexist culture. (OK, compared to the rest of Asia, Taiwan does not have a sexist culture at all. Opportunities for women here are amazing and women earn respect that women in China, Korea, Japan etc. just don't enjoy. But there is still a traditional and somewhat sexist undertone to a lot of things in Taiwan and I feel that does need to be addressed from a female expat's point of view).
So...I guess what I am trying to say is to expect more of that in the future.
On that note, though not really related to the goals outlined above, I thought I'd share this:
More thoughts on that tomorrow. Tonight, I am off to maybe crack a bottle of wine with my sweet and wonderful husband and watch The Daily Show and Colbert Report broadcasting from The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear because I'm young and liberal and hip like that.
not because women are expected to plan weddings and men can sit back and do nothing, but because I am a natural manager and planner and Brendan worked hard, too!
ReplyDeleteHa, I feel the same way. :) C worked super hard on the wedding, but, like you, I'm a manager. I can't help myself. I would never dream of hiring a wedding planner, because ... why?
Except, that is, to have more free time. So glad the wedding is over ...