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I Read Comics

Thursday, December 11, 2008

OT: Blogging, bloglines, and stupid bloggers

Skip this if you don't want a rant about entitled young male bloggers.

I use Bloglines to read all the blogs I keep up with, especially the scientific/atheist blogs. I subscribed to one called Edger, a group blog by a bunch of college students, a nice mixture of men and women. I was prepared to make some allowances for the stupidity of youth - I certainly had a lot of half-formed and ill-thought-out theories on the world when I was 22, that's for sure. I'm so glad I wasn't blogging then. There's a lot to be said for not sharing your thoughts with the world.

However, I got annoyed at several blogs that were of the "I'm not a feminist, but..." and even commented on one (and got a response that indicated the blogger had no idea what I was talking about). Today was the last straw. One of the make bloggers posted about "The End of Privacy" (a tired topic to begin with), which contained the line

I think the ladies who read my blog will agree that it says a lot about a girl’s sexuality if she buys her lingerie at Victoria’s Secret vs. Fredrick’s of Hollywood vs. a lesser known lingerie outlet (which always have the trashiest stuff).

Oh my dog. Thanks for that completely dickish blanket statement, dude! You should also keep in mind rule number one: don't refer to women as "ladies", especially when you're going to talk down to them like that. And for future reference, when women do stuff, it's not all about you.

I unsubscribed today and I feel so much better for it.

I'm not linking to the blog or entries in question.

There will be a new podcast this weekend.

Jeebus. I need a drink.

3 Comments:

  • Wait, it's not cool to say "ladies" now? Or just in this context?

    Either way, I read that line and few times, and I don't really see what point he's trying to make.

    By Blogger Kenney, at 4:52 PM  

  • The "ladies" who read his blogs probably do agree, because chances are, he's posted stupid shit like this before, and the female readers who had sense started skipping his entries awhile ago. So, he's technically right. ;)

    @Kevin,

    I can't speak for the author, but to me, the term "ladies" carries a whole bunch of historical baggage and imposes certain codes of behavior on women, including a lot of old-fashioned, misogynistic ones which said women may not be interested in following. Also, the way he used it here implies that any woman who disagrees is not a "lady" (i.e., she is a "whore" who probably shops at trashy lingerie stores). Preemptive abusive ad hominem is a really lame "debate" tactic. Also also, he was being a condescending assface.

    By Blogger Meg, at 9:44 PM  

  • Oops, *@Kenney. My reading skills are apparently not so awesome today, sorry!

    By Blogger Meg, at 9:47 PM  

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