When I began blogging in 2002 (early days of blogs), it was an accessory to an online music magazine I was working with - the whole 'lifestyle' aspect. Now, however, I educate and opine on 'living donor issues', which sounds rather benign, but apparently pisses a lot of people off.
Our society has the erroneous assumption that kicking out a kidney is akin to donating blood, and that the only important thing is 'healing' the sick recipient, even though transplants aren't cures, and the majority of recipients will need multiple donations to achieve a 'normal' life expectancy.
Ironically, it's living donors themselves who have internalized the idea of being 'heroes' that don't want to hear how the medical community dismisses and abuses them for their $400,000-$500,000 fee. #femalebloggers
@conspicuouschick: I had no idea how complicated the issue of organ donation was from the pov of a donor (and how worked up some people get over it as well) until I read a recent article about it in the New Yorker. Good for you for educating people on it. #femalebloggers
Gould: "...the photos that accompanied the essay were of me lying (rather unprovocatively, to my mind) in bed." This is disingenuous. The photo is below. Magazines just don't publish pictures like this of male authors, lying in unmade beds and smiling sensually up at the viewer.
(I have no personal animosity toward Gould, but I do believe the picture is meant to be provocative and it's fatuous to say otherwise.) #femalebloggers
"Blog" covers such a broad variety of content that it's really somewhat absurd to attempt to quantify and analyze "blogs" statistically. #femalebloggers
Why is the combination of women + writing so fraught with drama? Women "jousting" in print is construed as cattiness. Women writing books is a specialized section in the bookstore with its own team color (pink). Women blogging is an invitation to threaten and call her names. Argh. 70 years later, and we haven't come that far from A Room of One's Own. #femalebloggers
@midwestdesigner: EVERYTHING women do seems fraught with drama, even the shit we are expected to do by the patriarchy (childbirth, childrearing, marriage, etc.). I am not really surprised that the non-patriarchy sanctioned activities attract a buttload of drama either. #femalebloggers
On the issue of mom bloggers talked about above: I didn't find anything wrong with what Clothier said. I'm not a mother either, but I didn't smell that whiff of unpleasantness that "mommies are special." I think that women definitely do have the concerns over safety that she discusses, and that yes, those issues would be more compounded if the female blogger has children. As long as childcare is primarily women's work in this society, women will have to worry not only about their safety but the safety of their children. And because I do believe we all need to support each other, my heart goes out to those mommy-bloggers in a different way than to non-mommy bloggers. #femalebloggers
Further reflections on the Mother Jones article: has anyone actually been able to define the difference between social networking and blogging? As is noted, "social networking" is dominated by women and I wonder if there are fewer women bloggers not because women aren't saying as much on the internet but because when women do say things on the internet it is classified as "social networking" rather than "blogging."
I mean, what's LiveJournal and the various LJ-alikes? I've never seen it as social networking, I don't use it in order to "network socially" I use it to express myself. #femalebloggers
The author also seems to be missing the "I'm going to put this bitch in her place" factor that so many bloggers, commenters, ed-op, or otherwise vocal vagina-owners have to deal with. It goes beyond standard trolling into a very Sisyphian battle when everything you say is shot down by a bitter minority simply because they think that having a penis = god-given right to force women to submit.
I have my own blog, and I can't tell you how stringent I have had to be to keep this type of person from becoming a serious threat.. even though I don't really say much of anything important on said blog. Most of my haters come from following comments I have made on other blogs that they suppose I should be punished for... to my own blog to threaten me on home turf. I can understand why so many women don't want to deal with it, none of us should have to, but in my own way I hope my not-backing-down and defense of my own internet identity will make it easier for others down the line. Fuck the haters, they be hatin'- they ain't shit.. #femalebloggers
Because ...wow, SO UNTRUE. I LOVE intellectual jousting. With all my girly heart.
I DON'T like being the subject of ridicule for my size, shape, gender, or other non-salient-to-an-intellectual-discussion features.
But in my experience, it's not women that fall back on that tactic when they're "losing"...it's men. Men who feel that my gender makes me automatically inferior.
When I've seen this addressed on other blogs by women for women the criticism from other women is "You're mean!", not "You're fat!" or "You're stupid!". I don't think this means female bloggers are generally represented by more aggressive women, I think it means even relatively easy-going women feel confident on the Internet expressing their viewpoint. Then again, there are those that have to move because of threatening commentors. ...so I guess it's just a normal mash-up of women, like in the normal world?? #femalebloggers
Try "too freaking busy." And I used to blog a lot until I found a certain site that offered a community and instant feedback from all corners of the earth and it became a HUGE time sucking vampire...
@yeahisaidit: Economic downturn means more work at work for less money (no more 401k contributions). I can't read all my sites/blogs and write one. Glad you agree it's mostly a time issue - plus these wonderful women and those they've inspired to spin-off into their own co-op blogs (which I really think is the answer - I could easily do one or even two posts per week) keep me busier reading than I used to be. #femalebloggers
@sybann: I would totally do a co-op blog with other women. One or two posts a week is a hell of a lot more sustainable than one or two a day. #femalebloggers
I read Emily Gould's piece this morning, and the part that has stuck with me the most was "the burden of being symbolic and representative." I think that's something that a lot of female writers, whether they're bloggers or novelists, struggle with. Why must every woman, whether real or fictional, be a representative for a much larger group?
I've seen this conflict play out so many times on Jezebel and other websites and publications on a number of issues (Rihanna, the mommy wars, what exactly "feminist" means, etc...), and it really illustrates what I think Ms. Gould was trying to point out: there are so many different kinds of women, with so many different backgrounds and thought processes and biases and aspirations, and it would be wonderful if more of those diverse voices were heard. Just because we only hear from certain women does not mean that they have to represent all women. #femalebloggers
@robina: This is why I genuinely like The View. I hate Elizabeth Hasselbeck, but I enjoy Hot Topics immensely because it shows how many different kinds of women there are, and their different views. #femalebloggers
My non-blogging-ness has nothing to do with fear of intellectual jousting. Really, it comes down to three reasons
1. I write all day at work, then I come home and write some more on my book and my essays. I am also training for a marathon, and I hope that next year I'll be a graduate student. Someone kindly tell me where the free time to write a blog is located. If you can find it, I'll blog.
2. There are already a lot of other women blogging on the topics that interest me, and they are doing it much better, thanks in no large part to the fact that they actually have the time to do so. (See #1)
3. Most of the energy I do have for blog-related activities is spent here. Because I love this site and I love you fucking dykes. #femalebloggers
I read Gould's piece and while there was something in there, she basically ends up making it about herself. She comes off defensive and personalizes her argument. Which I'm not sure was initially her point. Maybe I just misread her. But her whole argument is that women attack other women's writing when they can't project themselves on the material. There's some validity in this because in the end, I do believe there are spaces "reserved" for women to express themselves, and this limitations engender territoriality. And of course, there's a fine line between objective criticism and nastiness, but she seems to think that all criticism from female writers about female writers is some form of either jealousy or anger because you can't identify with the piece. So does this mean that all female criticism is done with the purpose of tearing down a female author out of fear that women are being misrepresented? Or out of concern about what will "others" (men) think? Again, there's a valid argument in there, but I don't think it was made that clearly. I found it peculiar that she first implies that she simply didn't like the novel she's talking about in the beginning, but then feels guilty for not liking it. Which is my issue with it. IMO, being able to speak up against each other as women is healthier than stifling dissenting views out of fear of not projecting a "united front" and affirming the view of "womanhood" as a bloc. #femalebloggers
I for one, would like to question a few of the assumptions. Technorati does have good data about blogging, but there are definite holes. I wonder how much of this dynamic mimics the whole "minorities don't blog" myth - where people will come and tell me to my face that the problem is that someone needs to teach POC how to blog, instead of realizing we have vibrant communities online - just not in predominantly white spaces, which are the only ones that count.
In addition, I know that Technorati has also been making some interesting assumptions about bloggers and compensation. If so, who are they counting as bloggers? Compensated or uncompensated? Did they cull these results across all blogs, or across their top 100? Or their top 20000?
In addition, I find it interesting that discrimination didn't pop up - the fact that women writing about politics aren't taken as seriously as men, or African Americans writing about politics are considered race bloggers and not politicos.
Whereas a man who disagrees with another man is seen as limited to those two and normal, a woman who disagrees with another woman is seen as committing woman-on-woman violence. In some cases this is true, but I'm tired of every interaction women have being used to define women as a whole... Maybe that's just more common in feminist circles, but it's really tiresome. Yes, sometimes it gets heated and immature, but I think that can be blamed more on the internet, the new home to displaying the id, normally concealed in real life interactions, not women. #femalebloggers
10/28/09
Our society has the erroneous assumption that kicking out a kidney is akin to donating blood, and that the only important thing is 'healing' the sick recipient, even though transplants aren't cures, and the majority of recipients will need multiple donations to achieve a 'normal' life expectancy.
Ironically, it's living donors themselves who have internalized the idea of being 'heroes' that don't want to hear how the medical community dismisses and abuses them for their $400,000-$500,000 fee. #femalebloggers
10/28/09
10/28/09
Gould: "...the photos that accompanied the essay were of me lying (rather unprovocatively, to my mind) in bed." This is disingenuous. The photo is below. Magazines just don't publish pictures like this of male authors, lying in unmade beds and smiling sensually up at the viewer.
(I have no personal animosity toward Gould, but I do believe the picture is meant to be provocative and it's fatuous to say otherwise.) #femalebloggers
10/28/09
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10/28/09
I mean, what's LiveJournal and the various LJ-alikes? I've never seen it as social networking, I don't use it in order to "network socially" I use it to express myself. #femalebloggers
10/28/09
I just checked out LJ's user stats. Of those who gave their gender, 65% are female. #femalebloggers
10/28/09
I have my own blog, and I can't tell you how stringent I have had to be to keep this type of person from becoming a serious threat.. even though I don't really say much of anything important on said blog. Most of my haters come from following comments I have made on other blogs that they suppose I should be punished for... to my own blog to threaten me on home turf. I can understand why so many women don't want to deal with it, none of us should have to, but in my own way I hope my not-backing-down and defense of my own internet identity will make it easier for others down the line. Fuck the haters, they be hatin'- they ain't shit.. #femalebloggers
10/28/09
Really? Is she serious? #femalebloggers
10/28/09
Because ...wow, SO UNTRUE. I LOVE intellectual jousting. With all my girly heart.
I DON'T like being the subject of ridicule for my size, shape, gender, or other non-salient-to-an-intellectual-discussion features.
But in my experience, it's not women that fall back on that tactic when they're "losing"...it's men. Men who feel that my gender makes me automatically inferior.
When I've seen this addressed on other blogs by women for women the criticism from other women is "You're mean!", not "You're fat!" or "You're stupid!". I don't think this means female bloggers are generally represented by more aggressive women, I think it means even relatively easy-going women feel confident on the Internet expressing their viewpoint. Then again, there are those that have to move because of threatening commentors. ...so I guess it's just a normal mash-up of women, like in the normal world?? #femalebloggers
10/28/09
At least vampires are trendy y'all. : ) #femalebloggers
10/28/09
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10/28/09
I've seen this conflict play out so many times on Jezebel and other websites and publications on a number of issues (Rihanna, the mommy wars, what exactly "feminist" means, etc...), and it really illustrates what I think Ms. Gould was trying to point out: there are so many different kinds of women, with so many different backgrounds and thought processes and biases and aspirations, and it would be wonderful if more of those diverse voices were heard. Just because we only hear from certain women does not mean that they have to represent all women. #femalebloggers
10/28/09
10/28/09
1. I write all day at work, then I come home and write some more on my book and my essays. I am also training for a marathon, and I hope that next year I'll be a graduate student. Someone kindly tell me where the free time to write a blog is located. If you can find it, I'll blog.
2. There are already a lot of other women blogging on the topics that interest me, and they are doing it much better, thanks in no large part to the fact that they actually have the time to do so. (See #1)
3. Most of the energy I do have for blog-related activities is spent here. Because I love this site and I love you fucking dykes. #femalebloggers
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
I for one, would like to question a few of the assumptions. Technorati does have good data about blogging, but there are definite holes. I wonder how much of this dynamic mimics the whole "minorities don't blog" myth - where people will come and tell me to my face that the problem is that someone needs to teach POC how to blog, instead of realizing we have vibrant communities online - just not in predominantly white spaces, which are the only ones that count.
In addition, I know that Technorati has also been making some interesting assumptions about bloggers and compensation. If so, who are they counting as bloggers? Compensated or uncompensated? Did they cull these results across all blogs, or across their top 100? Or their top 20000?
In addition, I find it interesting that discrimination didn't pop up - the fact that women writing about politics aren't taken as seriously as men, or African Americans writing about politics are considered race bloggers and not politicos.
I've got mad methodology issues here. #femalebloggers
10/28/09