I don’t really know how I’m going at this blogging gig. Some people are measuring success as bloggers in dollar amounts and fame (and there’s nothing wrong with that!) but I’m pretty happy here in my own little world. I might be actually kind of terrible at “successful” blogging. Some examples:

• My blog has made almost no money and I’ve tried just about nothing to combat that.
• Lots of bloggers monetise by hosting ads, having affiliate programs and collaborating with brands. I’ve never had ads and likely won’t because my website is pretty and full of white space, which I love.
• As for collaborating with brands? I’m just not gonna do it anymore. I might review stuff here and there if I love it, like period pants or menstrual cups, but that’s it. Some people can write sponsored posts that are marvelous. They are captivating, interesting and funny. I am not that person. Sponsored content is a dry and boring read when I’ve written it. I’m just not going to do that to myself or the lovely people that visit here any more.
• Affiliate links- I have dabbled, on book review posts. Know how much money that made me? I’ll tell you. Lean in.

• I also refuse to work for free. No original content of mine gets published anywhere but here unless I’m getting paid, because writing is work. Writing is art and writing is valuable. I wouldn’t expect an artist to give me free paintings nor would I expect a musician to play at my party for nothing. So, you’ll never see my name on The Huffington Post or Elephant Journal because they are but a couple of the shitloads that expect original content in exchange for the “prestige” they offer.

The other thing I don’t do is pour over my stats. I used to, but I got bored of it and focused more on writing stuff and talking to people about it. So now that this godawful year 2016 is at the pointy end, I jumped back into my stats to see which 5 things I wrote were the most read, just for shits and giggles. A few of these 5 really surprised me- who knew they’d be of interest to so many people?

5. 4 Things We Should Stop Saying.

I wrote this, as I write many things, out of exasperation. The back-handed nature of many things we say. A little rant about common phrases we should do away with in an effort to be better humans.  Check it out here.

4. Dads Adored for  Average Acts of Parenting.

This one was borne out of frustration for the pedestal we place fathers on when they parent their own children. I got over seeing the adulation on social media for fathers who did stuff that mums have been doing every day for centuries. I used a couple of examples; Chris Hemsworth went viral for baking a cake for his child and another dad who developed a huge facebook following for documenting his efforts to look after his kids while his wife was ill in hospital.

To my mind, neither act was revolutionary or exceptional. Don’t get me wrong; I wasn’t criticising either bloke for his efforts. Just the response to those efforts, even now in 2016! I don’t see social media going into a frenzy of adulation for all the women who bake birthday cakes or look after their children. One of the dads I mentioned did get in touch with me to complain that he thought I was being mean for using him as an example and implying he didn’t deserve such enormous credit for looking after his own kids (and no, it wasn’t Chris Hemsworth!!) but I stuck to my guns as I knew this one struck a chord with many. You can read it here.

3. Sexism in School Uniform.

Female students should manage their uniform in such a way that it does not impact male students. Hide your knees and bra straps, young ladies, because the boys might get distracted or overcome with lust. And you know whose fault THAT will be. It’s 2016 and girls still have to moderate everything they do to try to get boys to behaviour in a socially acceptable way? Come on. Check it out here.

2. It’s In The Bag.

I got behind Share the Dignity (and interviewed the founder, Rochelle Courtenay- what a gem!) this year and helped to spread the word about their It’s In The Bag campaign. I donated 3 handbags myself and got a bunch of blogging mates to do the same to help women in shelters this Christmas. Check out what we came up with here.

1. Dear White People Who Defend Blackface.

This was an open letter I wrote after the uproar over a mum who painted her child in blackface for Book Week. I was so frustrated by people, mainly white people like me, defending this practice and completely disregarding the racist history and present-day offence that it gives. So I put on my rant pants and pointed out exactly why it was time for people to listen to those being harmed. To stop telling them they were wrong about their own histories, feelings and thoughts. To stop demanding to be allowed to continue their shitty behaviours without being made to feel bad. This was read thousands of times and helped to change at least one mind- how great is that? You can see it here.

That’s a Wrap!

2016 is done and dusted and many of us are pretty pleased about that. Thank you to each and every visitor here and I hope you are all having a cracking holiday season.