About: Difference between revisions

I’m beyond excited to announce the launch of GYNOPEDIA -- an online resource for sexual, reproductive and women’s healthcare. It’s a wiki, so everyone is invited to contribute, and please, PLEASE do. The basic idea is that you search for a city -- for example, New York City -- and Gynopedia provides practical, non-judgmental information based on that location. So, let’s say you want to buy tampons in Seoul, or find an LGBT-friendly gynecologist in Istanbul, or you need the morning after pill in Lima. Well, Gynopedia is the resource for you.  

Overall, I’m asking for help in three primary ways: 1) editing/contributing, 2) moderation and 3) spreading the word. While nobody will be paid, I won’t either; this website is a labor of love. So, if you have a few free moments, I would be honored if you could read about how you (or a friend/partner/whatever!), can help below:   

The bread and butter of Gynopedia will be information. So, if you have ANY information to share, it will be immeasurably appreciated. Here’s how it will work: First, if you want to contribute, you’ll need to create an account, which takes like one minute. Then, once you’re logged in, search for a location. Let’s say you live in Melbourne and you see that Melbourne doesn’t have a page yet. No problem! You can create the Melbourne page yourself (or ask me to do it for you, which I really don’t mind… contact me at gynopediazer@gmail.com for help of any kind).

Then, when you go into the ‘Edit’ view, paste in the template (provided at the bottom of this blog entry), which is the basic format of all the topics and subtopics, and you’re good to go. You can then add in tons of information related to the topics -- or, if you seriously know just one fact, you can add in that one fact too. Whatever you can contribute, big or small, is fabulous and appreciated.

There will be tons of information that’s outdated, inaccurate or awkwardly phrased on Gynopedia. Worse, there may be spammers or trolls. I wish that wasn’t the case -- but I’m being real, and I know it will happen. So, we’ll need some moderators. If you feel like getting your hands (digitally) dirty, and being a fact-checker and/or editor, and occasional gatekeeper of real vs. spammy/troll info, then please let me know. Right now, this is a one-woman show -- which is, um, terrifying. I would absolutely love some help, and there’s no expectation surrounding how much effort you put forth. Any help, big or small, is amazing. So, let me know if you’re down to help.

Note: We’ll need some tech people to help on the more technical side, as well. Please get in touch with me if you have some ideas/thoughts regarding tech!

Honestly, nobody knows about Gynopedia yet, and that’s okay. Gotta start somewhere, right? But I do know that, if this site will be at all useful or relevant to users, I need to get the word out. That’s the only way that people will begin to read, contribute, edit, moderate and enjoy this potential wealth of information. So, if you can help spread the word, whether it’s sharing this post on social media or even just telling some friends, that would be so incredibly helpful, and I thank you.  

So, to wrap things up, here’s what I’m trying to say: We talk about women’s bodies all the time. And yet we provide so little autonomy, despite the endless scrutiny. I’m no health expert or web entrepreneur. And I probably don’t even know what I am doing here. But I’m someone who has been uninsured, in need of medication/health care, and lost in cities many times. And that’s just me. There are millions of women who have it much worse -- cut off from information and progressive health care, isolated from so many resources. So, that’s it. I got fed up with the state of things, so now I feel crazy passionate about this new ‘lil website.