Does it matter that she has teh titz? Well, on one level, hell yeah.
But I kinda got into it with Chicago Dyke (goddess) at Corrente this morning. She's asking the question why in 39 categories at the Webfuck Awards there isn't one specifically geared towards women/feminist bloggers,
C'mon Webfuck Award people: we agree to disqualify the 6,081 women currently logged into CafeMom.
Seeing as I spent more time on my comment at Corrente than I do at some posts, it's time for a lil' cut and paste:
I would not want to win a “best woman blogger” award. That’s placing me in a ghetto. I write about politics and lots of other crap because I’m a writer, not because I have ovaries.
“Best feminist blogger”? Fuck. The GUY (natch) writing the award ballot wouldn’t even consider me. I post about Esquire, not Ms. I would apply for a job at Esquire, not Ms.
Part of the problem is that people like people like themselves and most blog readers (even at my blog, where the pen is dipped in the lovely salty-sweet scent of estrogen juices) are manly men of a certain race and a certain education/income level.
The blogosphere will become less of a man's world when more women get interested and involved and committed to reading and writing and commenting on political blogs. Um, folks? I'm doing my part for the team.
I also will not spend one nanosecond trying to figure out if Digby or Shakespeare's Sister or Pam's House Blend or Feministing is the better blog. Unless only one of them is running against Assless Slugs or Michellemabelle. Often those battles are to beat the right wing, rather than pick the best blogger.
And remember, the easiest way to have equality is to presume it. We do have battles to fight and goddamn I'm there to swing my pen (not as penis, sorry Norman Mailer. RIP, by the way.) for anyone suffering from oppression. But am I going to differentiate myself as a blogger from other bloggers because I'm female? And demand an award category for it?
.
Awards should be given for achievements, not genitalia, or its color and proclivities...Not who you are, but what you have done.
ReplyDeleteI don't accept alien rules of measurement, and agree on the ghettoization aspect, within the context of placing a label before a laurel.
Like the flying cars I was promised long ago, the revolution against bias and pandering augered by the Internet must wait a while longer, it seems.
good post, BG.
ReplyDeletetoo true. i know that i am tired of being strangled with the labels hung round my neck, being dissected like a frog soaked in formaldehyde or diagrammed like a sentence on a blackboard.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite shirts that I have ever seen is, I am not a soup can so don't label me. I remember seeing it is a Bon Tons (a department store we had in my local mall growing up) and I have never seen it again. I guess this is ironic, I am not really sure, it was only sold in the teen girl's section of the store, so I couldn't find one that would have fit me.
ReplyDeleteThis is a another great post BG.
It woulda fit me, Boxer! :lol:
ReplyDelete...Anyway, BG, You Go, Gurr... uh, Friend!
I love this post. It's a good reminder that we need not put ourselves in a box nor allow others to do so.
ReplyDeleteOften I have no clue about the sex of a blogger. Its of no concern to me.
ReplyDeleteHell, I think I read Digby for more than a year before realizing Digby is a "she".
Good writing is good writing.
spiiderweb, I not only often don't know, I promptly forget when I'm told!!
ReplyDelete"i know that i am tired of being strangled with the labels hung round my neck, being dissected like a frog soaked in formaldehyde or diagrammed like a sentence on a blackboard."
ReplyDeleteSherry, I love your similes (and metaphor) here. It makes me want to think of more!
thanks suzy.
ReplyDeleteI'm of the opinion that this is not an "either/or" issue, but a "have your cake and eat it too" issue.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with being a female. There's nothing wrong with being a blogger. Perhaps the solution is to make a nod both toward women and strong writers.
I propose that all blog contests now include a category called Ovaries with Attitude.
I like the sound of it anyway.
That "Girl From Hateville" poster reminds me of my last trip to the kennel, where I saw a fine lookin' setter and a couple of pointers...
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with you. I do understand the other argument, but the bigger issue I think is promoting unsung good work. A multiplicity of insightful perspectives is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteAwards should be given for achievements, not genitalia, or its color and proclivities...Not who you are, but what you have done.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right, DB.
But then, there are still so many traditional media types who can't accept the notion of bloggers, period, much less...gasp..female bloggers.
Ah, there is so much work to do, still. *sigh*