I’m at the MESA conference here in Boston this weekend. Sunday evening, we went to Juan Cole’s presidential address on “Islamophobia and neo-orientalism”. He talked mostly about the former, and generally informatively so.
Tomorrow (or actually, later today, Monday) he and I– along with As’ad Abu-Khalil, Josh Landis, and Abu Aardvaark are all taking part in a panel discussion on blogging the Middle East. I note I’m the only female on the panel (though the chair and organizer, Leila Hudson, is also female.) Ways back when leila approacjhed me about doing the panel I said we needed to talk about gender issues in the blogosphere, and I suppose I feel some responsibility for raising that question, along with a few others.
Is the blogosphere just one more public arena in which the boys always have their hands up first and dominate the conversation? I don’t think it needs to be like that; and I have certainly wlecomed the opportunity to have my own space here, as well as to hear the un-‘media’-ted voices of other women in the blogosphere like Riverbend, Faiza, Laila el-Haddad, Imshin, Yvette (in her day), etc. But I suppose I should think this issue through a bit more before talking about it tomorrow. I also intend to challenge the guys on the panel as to how they try to address (and redress) gender concerns in their blogging.
16 thoughts on “MESA and blogging in Boston”
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Helena –
You miss the whole point. The blogosphere is the most gender (or sex, depending) neutral medium in the history of the universe. We come to this site , not because you are a woman, but because you are informative and interesting. Your gender ( how did we ever let language become so distorted?) / sex is irrelevant. If more women were as informed, interested, and entertaining as you, they would dominate the blogosphere. With internet anonymity, there is no barrier whatsoever. The only thing holding women back on the internet is women.
Helena –
You miss the whole point. The blogosphere is the most gender (or sex, depending) neutral medium in the history of the universe. We come to this site , not because you are a woman, but because you are informative and interesting. Your gender ( how did we ever let language become so distorted?) / sex is irrelevant. If more women were as informed, interested, and entertaining as you, they would dominate the blogosphere. With internet anonymity, there is no barrier whatsoever. The only thing holding women back on the internet is women.
Most of the panelists are academics. Is it true that most specialists on the Middle East are men?
Does a gender bias exist for blogging in general or is it evident only for certain topics?
Isn’t this more of a Middle Eastern Studies “problem” than a blogosphere one? The two most popular leftwing blogs, dKos and Huffington Post, have lots of smart and respected front-pagers who also happen to be women. Another example: Digby. Lots of people still don’t seem to realize that Digby is a woman, yet she remains the blogger’s blogger par eminence!
I’m not discounting sexism or the age-old tendency for boys’ clubs to form anywhere they can, but I think it’s wrong to single out the blogosphere for special criticism.
No, I certainly don’t intend to single out the blogo-(sphere/whatever) for any special criticism regarding its woman-friendliness. As many of you noted (and I indicated) it has been a very welcoming place for a lot of female voices that we otherwise would not have heard. That doesn’t mean, though, that there are no remaining gender-related issues within this portion of the public sphere. The ones that there are are not unique to blogging. They have to do with access issues (to a small degree; and the obstacles here have to do with areas that are not blogging-specific, as such, like amounts of free time within the household and good, affordable access to decent internet connections); and also with issues general to the conduct of a civilized, inclusive discourse (e.g. the not irrational fear many women have of being subjected to nasty feminophobic rantings in some portions of the blogosphere.)
So I might (or might not) talk about those things a bit today. Thanks for helping me think the issue through!
Speaking of the suppression of female blogospheric voices, any word of saudi blogger ‘mystique?’
Following this WaPo piece on blogging in the kingdom, her page seems to have come down, along with all the other blogs mentioned in the article. Unfortunate and more than a little terrifying.
Speaking of the suppression of female blogospheric voices, any word of saudi blogger ‘mystique?’
So concerned about Saudi citizens!!
How long this Family/regime supported and helped to stay these corrupted family spraying money from 71Billion dollars of weapons that never ever see it or used in the history of Saudi just to fears the society for long time.
Or that electronic wall 550Kmlong cost 21Billions dollars on the boarders with Iraq!!!
Now see this Saudi What they using the money for….
vadim, how many Pro-Israeli (or Israeli with US documents) working with Saudi and how much money they got from their along the history
the not irrational fear many women have of being subjected to nasty feminophobic rantings in some portions of the blogosphere
Because, of course, no man has ever been subject to a feminist rant, or a rant of any kind.
If the issues you identify are all not about blogging, why would they be blogging issues? So, talk about gender, what is it you’re proposing? We men should write less so some women don’t get afraid that they can’t put their hands up?
Is there any evidence of blog-collectives like Huffington or Kos excluding women?
You seem on first name terms with Juan Cole, whereas he never answers my email (nor should he, I’m not famous, he gets a ton). That’s pretty good company to be in.
the not irrational fear many women have of being subjected to nasty feminophobic rantings in some portions of the blogosphere
Because, of course, no man has ever been subject to a feminist rant, or a rant of any kind.
If the issues you identify are all not about blogging, why would they be blogging issues? So, talk about gender, what is it you’re proposing? We men should write less so some women don’t get afraid that they can’t put their hands up?
Is there any evidence of blog-collectives like Huffington or Kos excluding women?
You seem on first name terms with Juan Cole, whereas he never answers my email (nor should he, I’m not famous, he gets a ton of mail). That’s pretty good company to be in. So, what is the discrimination we’re talking about here?
So concerned about Saudi citizens!!
Of course I am, especially those facing torture (or worse) for expressing their opinions on a web page. Why aren’t you?
Unless the Zionist elders have infiltrated the Saudi mutaween, I don’t see Israel’s relevance here, or that of your arms deal story.
Helena’s post addressed gender issues in the blogosphere. There are few places on earth where gender inequality is more pronounced than in the Saudi Kingdom. Does it concern you in the least that one of their female bloggers may face imprisonment, torture or death merely for expressing her thoughts online? Or is every topic just an excuse to inveigh against the Zionists? Isn’t that just a little bit narrow-minded (not to mention callous?)
Vadim, Mystique’s blog is down and may (or may not) have been blocked in some way by the government. That is a matter of concern. But it is a silly exaggeration for you to say that she may face imprisonment, torture or death merely for expressing her thoughts online. Why do you love to exaggerate about allegations of ill-treatment in Muslim societies? The rights infractions that do happen in Saudi Arabia are bad enough without you propagating completely baseless scare stories like this one.
Many Saudi bloggers, of both genders, have had their sites blocked– and some subsequently unblocked– over the past few months. This is an ongoing issue within their society; and the situation of Saudi bloggers is not helped at all by having ill-informed propagandists like you running round and raising islamophobic tensions.
Why do you love to exaggerate about allegations of ill-treatment in Muslim societies?
There’s nothing islamophobic about drawing attention to human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, any more than remarks criticising Israeli HR abuses are ipso facto antisemitic. I suppose Amnesty International, the UN and HRW are also “Islamophobic” for their dozens of reports on SA, eg:
http://bbsnews.net/bw2003-05-27.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1992027.stm
Amnesty said the criminal justice system facilitated torture – often to extract confessions and enforce discipline
I guess they’re indulging in “silly speculation” as well, since they’re my source of information on SA’s secret trials, detentions & beheadings for crimes like “apostasy, heresy and witchcraft.” Maybe you have contrary, less hysterical information you could share that’s drawn from personal experience. I’d love to read it sometime. Maybe you have a contact in the Saudi government we could write to inquire after the missing bloggers? More information would certain allay my fears. Thanks in advance.
Of course I am, especially those facing torture (or worse) for expressing their opinions on a web page. Why aren’t you?
I can see the “Crocodiles Tears”
Helena
Poor Leila is stuck waiting for Raffah to open.
Today’s post is almost a prose poem at the unfairness and misery of Travelling while Palestinian.
There is nothing we can say.
She just wants to go home.
http://a-mother-from-gaza.blogspot.com/
Very interesting comments..
I actually stopped blogging under the nom du web “Mystique” because I sort of lost my anonymity to only one person. & this alone made me stop blogging, here in Saudi it is very difficult to write freely so imagine if I no longer have the privilege to remain anonymous..