I’m mostly considered a technology weblogger, if I’m pigeonholed into any category (usually I fight this kicking and screaming). I’ve written on politics, but I don’t focus on it. Same as I write on technology, but not exclusively (and hiking, and photography, and travel, and …) When I’ve been included in lists of ‘female political webloggers’, this has been more of an inclusive gesture than not, and appreciated.
So I haven’t been too involved in a recent continued discussion about the Steve Levy Article, Kevin Drum’s take, and the reaction thereof. However, one issue that keeps getting raised–that there aren’t as many women political webloggers because we women can’t handle the heat–can be firmly and safely put to rest when you read the responses of the lady politicos at the following weblogs:
We’re not going to get anywhere as long as the male bloggers who post about this issue continue to do so with such appalling intellectual dishonesty. In private emails, male bloggers who publicly wring their hands about how to solve the problem of the dearth of women bloggers in the upper echelon, will admit that the reality is the difficulty of finding women worth linking to.
Women don’t give me much linkable material.
Women write on subjects that don’t interest me.
Women don’t know how to compromise on abortion rights.
Why don’t women post about Social Security? It affects them, too.
Women don’t write commentary, don’t come up with new ideas.
Gender politics is all secondary issues.
… clearly there’s a disconnect between what some male folk convey on their blogs and what they truly believe. And, I strongly suspect the leadership of the Democratic Party works much the same way.
Compromise on abortion rights? Social Security? And women are accused of following trends like a dog with its nose buried in its own turds? Right. Real original, dude. And I’m not even going to mention how specious it is to suggest that women are “uninteresting�? because we follow legislation that directly, tangibly affects us and only us.
Oops, here I go with that hysterical shit again. At least I’m more reserved than Jeff Jarvis’ rowdy channelling of Bushwick Bill: “Damn it feels good to be a cracka.�?
This subject is so unbearably boring and repetitive — and yet so freakishly maddening. And this time especially so. Apparently the candle lit romanticism induced by wide-eyed men blogging about the sad dearth of femininity in the political sphere is nothing but a sham.
(Jonathon, “Damn it feels good to be a cracka!” is better than “White, male, and proud of it!”, don’t you think?”)
What is different is the defense floated out there that isn’t a hierarchy in the major blogosphere. This is ludicrous — there is passive resistance to acknowledge, seek out or promote new political voices, especially those that have something to say about gender politics from a perspective that is not white or male — why wouldn’t you want to bring something fresh to the table. You wouldn’t if you didn’t have a serious interest in those issues.
Our big boy bloggers have tended to gloss over the fact that the blogosphere is still, looking at sheer numbers, the domain of the Technorati testosteroni. Men currently rule the roost in terms of perceived bloggers of influence, and the article points that out. Guys arrived at the party first, and it’s a remained a fairly closed system on the Left for reasons that are complicated, but not excusable.
Grr, ladies. You make me proud.
