Worker Bees Blog

Hmm. So, I was quoted on BusinessWeek.com, which is good I suppose. As with any interview you're always wondering why they picked this or that quote instead of the utter brilliance you uttered a mere seconds before or after, but that neither here nor there.

I hope you don't think I'm being way too anal, but I do want to clarify one little thing.

Here's the segment of the article:

Other women bloggers say they, too, have noticed a difference between the way women and men are discussed on the Web. Elisa Camahort, co-founder of BlogHer, a community for women bloggers, says body parts and sexuality are more frequently included in criticisms aimed at women, particularly prominent women, on the Web. "I think a woman is subject to certain kinds of comments that men wouldn't get," says Camahort.

Still, Camahort says the blogosphere is no more misogynistic than the real world. It's just that the anonymity makes people feel slightly freer, in some forums, to say what they only whisper in real life. "It hasn't been eliminated in the online world, and I don't think it has been eliminated in the offline world either."

Chris Locke, an author and blogger who created a group comment site where a user posted an image of and disparaging comments about Sierra, says that he also doesn't think the blogosphere and online message boards suffer from an overall misogynistic tone. "There is a problem with misogyny in the real world and online, and it really sucks," says Locke. However, he also thinks some may overreact to comments made about women. "I don't think we should be walking on eggshells when we want to say something to a woman that is negative."

It's nit-picky, but I have to point out that saying "Chris Locke, an author and blogger who created a group comment site where a user posted an image of and disparaging comments about Sierra, says that he also doesn't think the blogosphere and online message boards suffer from an overall misogynistic tone." implies that that's what I just said (that the blogosphere and online message boards don't suffer from an overall misogynistic tone.) What I in fact said is that I don't think they are more misogynistic than the real world.

I think the blogosphere and Internet in general are made up of people. And there is a segment of the population who are definitely sexist and even misogynistic. it is not the technology that makes people sexist or misogynistic. It is not the culture of the blogosphere or Internet to be sexist or misogynistic.

But the technology certainly makes it easy to spread and distribute your sexist, misogynistic thoughts, should you have them.

OK, I'm anal, but I did want to point that out.