A Glass Ceiling in the Blogosphere

**Kim** · 5th-August-2008

Apparently, women have been confronted with yet another glass ceiling, folks. This one is not professional or political. It's a glass ceiling within the blogosphere.

According to Kara Jesella in her article "Blogging's Glass Ceiling" women are unable to achieve the same success at blogging as their male counterparts.

Some of the reasons inlude,

"(T)hey are not taken as seriously as their male counterparts "

"(T)heir male colleagues and major media groups tended to ignore them, and to link to them less often"

“Women get dismissed in ways that men don’t”

"Women are taught not to be aggressive and analytical in the way that the political blogosphere demands, and are more likely to receive blog comments on how they look, rather than what they say."

Come on now, ladies, it's time to stop playing the victim card. I just assume that if people aren't reading my blog it's either because A) I haven't done enough to promote it and make it more visible or B) people just don't like it or aren't interested in what I have to say. If people come to my blog, read it and then choose not to return or not to link to it, I just accept that they didn't like it or didn't agree with it (presumably due to poor taste and judgement on their part

).

Where are women taught to not be aggressive or analytical? In schools? If so then boys must be being taught the same thing as we sit in the same classes and recieve the same education. By society? I see women being praised for being analytical and I've yet to see much judgement in our "you go girl" society for showing a little aggression.

Now bear in mind that, according to Ms. Jesseller's article, "36 million women participate in the blogosphere each week, and 15 million of them have their own blogs". Yet, despite this apparent abundance of women on the internet, female bloggers account for a very small portion of blogs that would be considered successful.

Let's consider for a moment that the reason behind this has nothing to do with glass ceilings, oppression, or some form of devious plan by the patriarchy to keep women down. Let's consider the remote possibility that, just maybe, the reason women aren't as successful at blogging has absolutely nothing to do with gender discrimination and everything to do with their blogs and the time and effort expended in getting them out there.

Of course, if we were to do that, we might have to also consider the same being true of other previously mentioned, more well-known glass ceilings. We might have to consider the possibility that women not succeeding at the same level as men professionally and politically has much more to do with the effort and commitment extended and much less to do with oppression and victimization in a "male dominated society", and of course....THAT would be nigh on heresy.

It's much easier to fabricate imaginary barriers and turn to the usual scapegoat (men) then to have to accept that the responsibility for our own success, or lack thereof, lies mainly with us.

You can read Ms. Jesella's New York Times article in it's entirety here,

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/fa...prod=permalink

More...

**julie** · 5th-August-2008

This is funny, in a way. They say there is no truth only FEELINGS

Great thing to post Kim.

**shaazam** · 5th-August-2008

'''"Women are taught not to be aggressive and analytical in the way that the political blogosphere demands, and are more likely to receive blog comments on how they look, rather than what they say."'''

should rather end - Women are taught.......on how they look , rather than what they feel

I was driving my taxi to a school zebra crossing and the guy that ushered the kids across it was standing with his STOP sign in the middle of it

one of my female passengers made the comment
"he is probably a pedophile"

this is what she "felt" about a guy she didn't know from Adam

**christianj** · 5th-August-2008

According to Kara Jesella in her article "Blogging's Glass Ceiling" women are unable to achieve the same success at blogging as their male counterparts.

If they came up with anything interesting instead of being so self focussed it may change..
Until then, constant whining about wimmin's issues is so passe that it bores the crap out of everyone..

**KellyMac** · 5th-August-2008

Come on now, ladies, it's time to stop playing the victim card. I just assume that if people aren't reading my blog it's either because A) I haven't done enough to promote it and make it more visible or B) people just don't like it or aren't interested in what I have to say. If people come to my blog, read it and then choose not to return or not to link to it, I just accept that they didn't like it or didn't agree with it (presumably due to poor taste and judgement on their part

).

THANK you, Kim! I've expressed the same sentiment in the comments section of several articles on this subject. For some reason, no one discounts it. They can't. So they completely ignore it.

**Percy** · 5th-August-2008

blog comments on how they look

??

How they look?

I don't know about other folk but I can't see them.

Well, not unless they have a camera sending their pictures to the world.

I sometimes allow myself to imagine a female blogger sitting there blogging away in her underwear. very nice, expensive and pretty items of course. That would have to be a plus, I would have thought. (No - no-one here. I don't want any Restraining Orders, thank you).

There are lots of sites where women are forever sitting there in next to nothing. Or really nothing. Not even a pair of shreddies. With cameras focused on themselves.

I NEVER imagine Marx sitting at his computer in his shreddies. Honest.

He wouldn't do that, would he.

Apart from having shreddies on his head, occasionally.

I had a MSMessanger chat with Chevalier a while back and switched on his little camera gizmo. He was fully dressed, apart from his head - which was almost naked.

Not a pretty sight for an hairy headed chap like me. It took me days to recover.

But, back to the ladies.

Don't women have fantastic communications skills? Whereas us poor chaps are mere bumbling mutes. It must be a deliberate and malicious glass ceiling. A Patriarchal plot, probably hatched by Marx.

**Marx** · 5th-August-2008

Quote from Percy

I NEVER imagine Marx sitting at his computer in his shreddies. Honest.

Ironic as it is, I've just got in a few moments back soaking wet from a torrential downpour from nowhere.
One moment it was nice, I got on the bike, I went about 10 minutes ride to go see my daughters - and BOOM - it began pissing it down like Holy Almighty (no offense intended to religious folk).

So, I knock on my kids home door, tell 'em it's a bit too wet to go out playing and after a ten minute doorstep chat and hugs & kisses, I depart - where it promptly pisses down again.

I look up to the sky with a suspicious scowl.

Anyway, I got back here with a bag of chips, some milk and bread - all essential you know, and stripped off as soon as I was in through the door. Even my shreddies were soaked (as were all the shreddies of the women who saw me flying through the town on my sexy bike).

SO now, I'm sat here in just a towel. Muwahahahahahaha

**Marx** · 5th-August-2008

Here's a picture of me getting my shreddies on, so I can sit n talk to Percy in them...

**Kim** · 6th-August-2008

Quote from KellyMac

THANK you, Kim! I've expressed the same sentiment in the comments section of several articles on this subject. For some reason, no one discounts it. They can't. So they completely ignore it.

I'm sure that's in the top 5 of feminist arguing tactics....if you can't refute it, just ignore it.

**Kim** · 6th-August-2008

Quote from Marx

Here's a picture of me getting my shreddies on, so I can sit n talk to Percy in them...

Ugh, Marx....I think I preferred my own mental image.

**Percy** · 6th-August-2008

There is always a good reason I don't do the things I don't do.

**paul parmenter** · 6th-August-2008

The erection of glass ceilings everywhere by men, must be the most successful tactic produced by anybody in the history of the universe. Apparently all we guys have to do to control women and keep them down in any walk of life that you care to name, is to throw up another one. And it is always incredibly successful, working like a dream to let only men through while barring women. And half the time, we don't even know we are doing it.

I can only conclude that if men diplay such technically brilliant ingenuity, without having to barely even think about it, and with such minimal effort, then we must truly be the most amazing sex. No wonder women are jealous of us. I am almost jealous of myself.