Mums’ website now a forum for politics

Two decades since its launch as a forum to pool information and advice , Mumsnet has become one of the biggest parenting websites in the world and regularly attracts more than 10 million visitors a month.

But while many women – and some men – log on to talk pregnancy, parenting and all things child rearing, many stick around for the politics.

The site has become a powerful campaigning tool and has helped establish change across previously under-represented areas.

It regularly hosts makeor- break webchats with leading politicians. Everyone from Nicola Sturgeon to Boris Johnson has appeared to woo voters on the site.

As Professor Sarah Pedersen, an expert in communication and media at Aberdeen’ s Robert Gordon University, puts it in her new book, The Politicization of Mumsnet, many of the site’s regular visitors “came for the babies – stayed for the feminism”.

Her book delves into the way politicians have attempted to use the enormous platform to connect with its largely middle- class female user base, who are seen as a valuable political asset because of their tendency to “float” between parties.

Prof Pedersen believes the site has been able to convert that interest into support for key Mumsnet causes, many of which – such as calls for better miscarriage care – began as grassroots campaigns and were then taken up by members.

Prof Pedersen believes Mumsnet’s popularity is partly down to it being a place where women can talk freely about politics without being drowned out by male voices or being subjected to the nastier side of other social media platforms.

She said: “I think it’s really important to emphasise that Mumsnet has always had political debate. I think that when women become parents this is the time when the fact we’re not in a gender-equal world really becomes clear to them.

“When you become a parent, you suddenly realise about things to do with maternity leave and childcare costs, and the brutal realisation that there is not equality dawns on you, I think, often for the first time.”

Prof Pedersen compares the forums to the letter pages of Edwardian newspapers – a previous research topic – where women, often using pseudonyms, entered a political sphere dominated by men to discuss marginalised issues, such as voting rights.

MUM’S THE WORD: Author Professor Sarah Pedersen