HerSpace
In July, the second annual BlogHER conference was held in San Jose. BlogHer.org aspires to be "where the women bloggers are." However, it's questionable whether women bloggers need to be anywhere in particular. For example, 67% of Livejournal account holders identify themselves as female, and one source claims that Myspace is split 50.2% male-49.8% female.
Women's spaces are not hard to find on the internet. From iVillage.com to Playgirltv.com(NSFW), some female-focused version of almost every internet staple is available, with a Livejournal Community, Myspace page, and Yahoo Group -- or three -- panning and/or promoting each of them. There are even gynocentric search engines. But what do these women's sites accomplish? Kathy Sierra, in in "I am not a woman blogger", suggests that women focusing on their achievements as women may be counterproductive The relabeling, she says, diminishes both "my gender and the labeled thing".
Do separate websites provide a needed comfort zone for women? Do they provide increased visibility? Is increased visibility needed? At least two of the top five Technorati ranked blogs are female-authored. It seems that there are a lot of women who manage just fine in coed cyberspace. Perhaps another gender classification is needed for the people who frequent the women's online spaces: lonely men?
Women's spaces are not hard to find on the internet. From iVillage.com to Playgirltv.com(NSFW), some female-focused version of almost every internet staple is available, with a Livejournal Community, Myspace page, and Yahoo Group -- or three -- panning and/or promoting each of them. There are even gynocentric search engines. But what do these women's sites accomplish? Kathy Sierra, in in "I am not a woman blogger", suggests that women focusing on their achievements as women may be counterproductive The relabeling, she says, diminishes both "my gender and the labeled thing".
Do separate websites provide a needed comfort zone for women? Do they provide increased visibility? Is increased visibility needed? At least two of the top five Technorati ranked blogs are female-authored. It seems that there are a lot of women who manage just fine in coed cyberspace. Perhaps another gender classification is needed for the people who frequent the women's online spaces: lonely men?