Amanda Marie Marcotte (born September 2, 1977) is a liberal American blogger who writes on feminism and politics.[2] Marcotte has written for several online publications, including Slate, The Guardian, and Salon.

Early life [ edit ]

Born in El Paso, Texas, Marcotte was raised in the small town of Alpine in the west of the state. She graduated summa cum laude from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas with a degree in English literature.[3] Around 2004, she began writing for the liberal blog Pandagon.net, then later for Slate and The Guardian.[4]

In 2004 she won a Koufax Award for her "Mouse Words" blog.[5]

Writing and activism in 2007 [ edit ]

Time magazine described her as "an outspoken voice of the left," and said "there is a welcome wonkishness to Marcotte, who, unlike some star bloggers, is not afraid to parse policy with her readers." Time also described Marcotte's blogging as "provocative and profanity-laced."[6]

In and around early 2007, Marcotte made several controversial statements on her blog, including criticism of the men falsely accused in the Duke lacrosse case, using vulgar language to refer to the Catholic doctrine on the Virgin birth of Jesus, and describing the Catholic Church's opposition to birth control as being motivated by a desire to force women to "bear more tithing Catholics."[7][8][9][10]

On January 30, 2007, the John Edwards 2008 presidential campaign hired Marcotte to act as the campaign's blogmaster despite this controversy,[11][12][13][14][15] responding that while Edwards was "personally offended" by some of Marcotte's remarks, her job as their blogmaster was secure.[16]

Following the criticism Marcotte announced her resignation from the Edwards campaign. In an article for Salon a few days later, she said her resignation was a result of being targeted by the "right-wing smear machine."[17]

Activities since 2008 [ edit ]

As of 2013, Marcotte blogs at The Raw Story,[18] contributes to Slate,[19] The Guardian,[20] Salon,[21] and contributes a weekly podcast called RH Reality Cast.[22]

Marcotte has given presentations at Skepticon, SXSW 2012, Women In Secularism 2,[23] and SkepchickCON.[24] She was formerly on the speakers bureau of the Secular Student Alliance.[25]

Marcotte is the author of It's a Jungle Out There: The Feminist Survival Guide to Politically Inhospitable Environments (2008) and Get Opinionated (2010).