It is also giving women a new way to become politicized online. For Literat, Ravelry’s ban presents a litmus test for the future of niche-site censorship and whether it’s best to forge a single, politically homogenous community or to splinter fringe users off. The controversy shines a light on the future of political organizing: ultra-niche, small-but-vocal online communities built around an otherwise nonpolitical hobby or interest. “I truly was stymied by the conflict between my principles and my grudging admission of the fact that Ravelry had done the right thing in enacting the ban,” she says. On the other side of the aisle, Van Denburgh says the ban on Trump support wasn’t something that sat comfortably with her either. I don’t believe in censoring people who don’t believe the way you believe.” “If you want to post about Obama, that’s perfectly fine,” she says. Mauser says her site welcomes both liberals and conservatives. But what’s acceptable on the site is stuff that says ‘F- Trump.’ It’s political.” “They just sent me a message that it’s no longer acceptable. “I knit a Trump 2020 hat, and they took it down with no notice,” says Mauser, an Indiana native. Pam Mauser, the founder of Freedom Knits, says she founded the site because she was insulted by Ravelry’s stance. (Ravelry declined to comment for this story, and cofounder Cassidy Forbes told me in an email that the company “ really do press that isn’t part of the yarn industry-it’s not a new policy or anything, just something we’ve done for the last 13 years.”) Ravelry’s equation of Trump support with white supremacy is a controversial move, even for supporters of the ban. “You see people who are already politically engaged, but also people who aren’t coming to these places, at least at first, because of politics.” “You get a much wider spectrum of opinions in these spaces,” she says. Online communities that are hyperspecific to certain hobbies also help engender dialogue across the political divide-a key point in a polarized political environment where people spend much of their time in ideological bubbles, says Literat. ![]() Typically, people feel safe engaging around the core interest first (in Ravelry’s case, knitting or crocheting), but increasingly delve into political discussions over time. Other niche groups she’s studied, such as Fortnite players and fan fiction sites, have created active subgroups around political conversation in much the same way. It’s something we will see more of, Literat predicts. Deplorable Knitter and Medora Van Denburgh, who leads a 239-member Bernie Sanders group on Ravelry, both said that they live in regions that typically lean in the opposite political direction from their own, and Ravelry allowed them to feel less alone. “They’ve been awakened in this particular moment to capitalize on their identity,” Literat says.Īnd it’s no longer just about the knitting patterns: sites like Ravelry offer a “safe space” for discussing politics. Millennials-who are generally more politically active and came of age in the AIM chatroom-are now signing up to Ravelry and its offshoots. While the community still skews older and mostly female, it is fast diversifying. The increased politicization of the online knitting world has come as part of a demographic shift. And there’s Trump-supporting Freedom Knits, “where artistic freedom is respected.” It has grown to 400 members in the two months since it launched. Deplorable Knitter launched her own site, subtitled “The Adventures of a Politically Incorrect Knitter,” where she’s gained a cult following and is currently hosting a knit-along of a hat and cowl emblazoned with “Women for Trump.” There’s the independent 18,000-strong Fiberkind, whose threaded chat layout most resembles Ravelry. In the eight months since the ban, a slew of right-leaning Ravelry copycats have sprung up. This meant the dialogue “gets much more controversial and contentious much faster,” says Markus.īut with the ban on Trump-related content, many of those voices moved elsewhere. ![]() Unlike Facebook groups, which vet membership, Ravelry’s groups (used to) let anyone in. Much of the organization behind the scenes for the Women’s March and the “pussy hats” took place in the unmoderated spaces of Ravelry, where no entity controlled who saw what content. Women were advocating and effective in online spaces.” But when older women transgressed these boundaries with their knitting, the optics of police up against gray-haired women with balls of knitting were not good. “There was a level of effectiveness because people were dismissive of knitters as little gray-haired ladies. ![]() “The whole project emerged in six weeks from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, and it was all online,” Markus says.
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