There's no category called "Best Feminist Teen" in the homeschool blog awards, but I wish there were. And I wish there were thousands upon thousands of strong contenders for it, harmonizing with Favorite Daughter's young voice in the alternative education blog-hersphere.

But I get the uncomfortable feeling she may be pretty much the sole standard bearer for that, writing on such a sharp cutting edge that few will even find her point of view to consider it, much less join her. She just doesn't fit comfortably into the curriculum-based Christian conversations and patriarchal perspectives that seem to dominate homeschooling both online and off. And doesn't want to.

Her olive oil essay about purity balls really spoke to many of you non-homeschool types ABOUT homeschool types, but you can well imagine it's the kind of thing that would hurt her more than help her in building and reaching a homeschool following! So if you find Favorite Daughter's writing worth a vote to help bring her fresh eyeballs and keep her unique view engaged in the conversation, please take a minute right now (or sometime this week before voting ends) and give her your click here.

And before you do, you might enjoy reading HER appeal for your vote:

As I'm going to assume none of you know, I have been nominated for a prize, although I am not Al Gore, so said prize is neither an Oscar nor a US Presidency (you can't tell me they didn't give him the former as compensation for losing the latter.) But like Al Gore, I fully intend to make my bitter, jaded supporters refer to me as President Gore for at least the next year, should I lose. I, PenguinDust - well, really the blog, not me - have been nominated for a Homeschool Blog Award in the category of "Best Teen Blog".

This is rather a mixed blessing: on the one hand, I like winning things. On the other hand, I've striven to make this more than some angsty, high-output, "OMG"-heavy "teen" blog. Indeed, I've used the phrase OMG only twice, and that was just now as I was explaining how I've refrained from doing so. I've strived to make this little corner of the internet a (hopefully) insightful, if rarely updated blog that just happens to be written by a teen. Who just happens to be one of those homeschooled freaks you read about.

On the still third hand that I'll borrow from a friend, I really like to win things.

So, vote for me. Like, NOW. Here is the link. Please click on it. You will see other nominees, some of whom are pretty good, including Chris, (who currently has more votes than anyone, grrr) and observes "In order for me to win I need to get the most votes." Chris has an excellent point - so do not vote for these other nominees. I've been working on a series of attack ads clearly illustrating how they are all draft-dodgers and flip-floppers (especially Chris) but they aren't finished, so you'll just have to take my tenuous word for it.