Digital sister Ananda Leeke (2013) closes her chapter, “Finding My Tribe of Digital Sisters” with a poem she wrote after attending the Feminism 2.0 Conference. Here, she’s inspired by her new-found sisterhood and their reflections of the conference. Before attending the conference for women entrepreneurs, Leeke (2013) described it as, “the power of women online and the connection between new media and women’s advocacy” (p. 143, para 2). Leeke reflects on how her tribe was gathered through social media, blog comment sections, and conferences.
“Finding My Tribe of Sisters” is Leeke’s (2013) reference to the way she built her online community as well as a love letter to the support system she found in them. Leeke (2013) quotes author Joanna Bamberger, “The new world of online media, social media, blogs, and virtual communities has brought like-minded women closer together than ever before” (p. 139). Aside from being sisters from another mister, Leeke’s (2013) thoughts on the women who helped foster her love of technology have helped paved the way for her business pursuits. Leeke (2013) describes herself as an inneprenuer, which is a, “entrepreneur who use their business to find personal fulfillment (creatively, spiritually, and emotionally)” (Joyce, 2008). Through this identity, Leeke (2013) has found a more satisfying career in creating a business niche for herself. The support from her digital sisters was invaluable, and she connected with other innepreneurs and women who wanted to help grow her business.
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Black women have always carved out spaces to gather for healing, love, and support. These spaces look differently across a span of time, and each generation offers an adaptation of sister circles. In Sisters of Yam, bell hooks (1993) organized a support group for her black female students to help process black feminist literature, together. It’s necessary for Black women to come together to process their similar experiences and affirm on one another while doing so. Black women congregate for one reason, or another and Leeke (2013) indirectly sheds light on the way black female entrepreneurs have come together for financial supportive.
Through her online support system, Leek (2013) receives resources that have been instrumental to her personal and business development. When publishing her book, Love’s Troubadours, Leeke (2013) knew she needed exposure to her target audience. Her friend from a connecting community referred her to the networking site, Black Business Women Online (BBWO), akin to a craigslist for black female entrepreneurs (p. 139, para 2). With a membership of over 9,000 entrepreneurs, Leeke’s (2013) was exposed to new readers, an extensive tribe, and ultimately more digital sisters.
The new aged sister circles come in different shapes and sizes. The reason why Black women come together varies from generation to generation. But there is a common theme of what happens when Black women support one another, as Leeke (2013) suggests, its beneficial in more ways than none. In digital sisterhoods, Black women draw from their skills, talents, and creativity to connect with other Black women to build sustainable businesses. With the help of forums, hashtags, and blog posts, Black women draw from their knowledge base to design a career path for themselves that was not available before. However, there are other risks for Black bloggers and black female entrepreneurs who carve out online personas and online businesses. To be successful, there’s a level of vulnerability and openness demanded from Black women in this space. Often, reconciling between what is too much to share online but is necessary for business sake.
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