BlogHer in Spirit: Saturday

It just dawned on me a couple of hours ago that--land sakes, the BlogHer Conference is happening, live, right now!  And I'm missing it!  I'm still pretty new to blogging, and I undoubtedly have much to learn, so I considered becoming despondent about missing such a great educational opportunity.  But then I went online and found that, wonder of wonders, some of the bloggers in attendance are actually blogging about their experiences and workshops they're attending.  Yeah, imagine that!  I'm a little slow.

Also, I was delighted to see that PhatMommy came up with the idea of "BlogHer in Spirit" for the rest of us--a way for non-attendees to discuss a handful of the workshop topics, virtually.  I've chosen to respond, somewhat-briefly, to Saturday's Topic #1:  Identity and Obligation.  Here are PhatMommy's discussion questions for this topic:

• How do you decide what aspects of your identity you will reveal in your blog: culture, sexual orientation, political ideology, religion?
• How do you feel about using your real name? Your childrens’ names?
• If you blog about your race, religion, etc, - or even a personally difficult time of your life - do you feel it opens you (and your family) up to attack and/or do you feel it is a wonderful way to promote acceptance and diversity?

Here's what's funny:  I haven't been willing to reveal much (okay, virtually nothing) about religion, politics, or anything that could be construed as sexuality-related--but I certainly don't mind reading what others have to say on these topics!  It's just that for me--well, I was raised (good Southern gal that I am) to believe that some things are better kept to oneself, that privacy is a virtue--that some topics are, you know--tacky.  I still believe that's a good policy, for the most part, but I also believe that silence on topics that might make people "uncomfortable" does no one any favors.  I know, I'm a big tangle of contradictions!  Of course, there's also the fact that, while my blog's topics may at times seem wildly-divergent, I've pretty much steered clear of certain topics just because I've decided not to make them the focus of my blog.

Regarding privacy:  I don't use my family members' real names, and thus far I've not posted any identifying photos that show just how cute my kids actually are.  It likely matters not at all that I don't, but yeah, I'm a smidgen neurotic.  Also, I'm trying to stay away from sharing embarrassing information and anecdotes about my children that might prompt them to creep in and smother me in my sleep a few years down the road.  Self-preservation is a high priority! 

I do think that writing on "hot button" topics can indeed make a blogger prey to verbal attack, but I also believe that a discussion of these potentially-divisive topics can be a positive experience--at least it could be, if people didn't enter into the equation.  Darned people!