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Mommy blogs are big business these days. A recent Washington Post profile on ur-mommy blogger Heather Armstrong (a.k.a. Dooce) suggested that her site could be raking in up to 40 grand a month. While most mothers who blog are nowhere near as influential (and their sites nowhere near as lucrative), they take pride and satisfaction in the work they do, and the websites they maintain offer valuable community, a sense of connection to other parents, and occasionally a little pocket change.

The topic of women-only space, who belongs in it, and what kinds of safety it makes possible is a hot one in feminist communities, provoking vigorous debates and protests, particularly with regard to the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival and its controversial “womyn-born-womyn only” admissions policy. We asked a wide variety of folks—all with significant experience with different kinds of women-only space—to share their opinions on the value of women-only space, how to define it, and what kinds of risks it involves.

Since we don’t have any actual kids on staff here at Bitch hq, we thought we ought to get some input from one. We talked to India Reed Kotis (also known as Inky), age 53/4, about her playtime preferences. More accurately, her mother, Ayun Halliday, creator/writer/illustrator of the East Village Inky and author of The Big Rumpus (Seal Press), talked to her and sent us the results.


What’s your favorite toy?