Looking at the Navel Again

If you’re tired of the “white male hegemony” that is the blogosphere, sit your butt down in the chair and write. Otherwise, stop whining!

"It has taken 'mainstream media' a very long time to get to [the] point of inclusion," Jenkins wrote. "My fear is that the overwhelmingly white and male American blogosphere ... will return us to a day where the dialogue about issues was a predominantly white-only one."

After the comment was posted, a couple of the women at the conference—bloggers MacKinnon and Halley Suitt—looked around and saw that there weren't many other women in attendance. Nor were the faces yapping about the failings of Big Media representative of the human quiltwork one would see in the streets of Cambridge or New York City, let alone overseas. They were, however, representative of the top 100 blogs according to the Web site Technorati—a list dominated by bigmouths of the white-male variety.

I can see it now. “New, Fast, Free Blog Software For White Men Only. Never Be Bothered By Those Pesky Broads and Negroes Again!”

Is there going to be a “Lift Every Keyboard and Blog” Conference? “Why Johnny Won’t Blog?” “Take Back the Blog?”

People will engage in the activities that hold their interest, including writing and reading blogs of choice. There are plenty of black blogging voices out there, including Negrophile and our own Conservative Brotherhood and a gazillion female bloggers. Is there going to be a push for a TTLB or Technorati Affirmative Action? A token top 100 spot for each selected group?

Does the blogosphere have a diversity problem?

No, but the people worried about this nonsense do.

So why, when millions of blogs are written by all sorts of people, does the top rung look so homogeneous? It appears that some clubbiness is involved. Suitt puts it more bluntly: "It's white people linking to other white people!"

Oooo! And we know what happens when white people link to each other! Blogcest! Blogs born with deformed blogrolls and cleft trackback options!

Suitt challenged people to each find 10 bloggers who weren't male, white or English-speaking—and link to them. "Don't you think," she says, "that out of 8 million blogs, there could be 50 new voices worth hearing?"

It is an Affirmative Action proposal. Whatever. I can picture my blogroll and think of far more than ten without being totally awake (I’ve given up caffeine for a bit). And thanks Miss (Mr.?) Suitt, but I'll get by on my own merits.

Sure, folks, I’ll accept your links--most of you--and be happy for them. However, I hope you’re linking to me because I say something that interests you, not because you think you “should.”

Harvard sure has a lot of money to waste spend.

(Thanks to La Shawn who's guest-blogging at Vodkapundit)

UPDATE: Cobb, tongue-in-cheek, has an offer for the A-List bloggers,

I hereby submit Cobb for the consideration of all A-List Bloggers as the Head Negro in Blogs. Send me your poor, huddled vanillified readers yearning to breathe diversity. I lift my banner beside the olive greed sidebar!

within a longer, more serious and interesting post on the subject. For my money, Cobb should be on that A-List through sheer quality.

Comments

[Rob]

Hey, I linked to you and La Shawn months ago. I think diversity is important, but only on my own terms. I link to you folks because you're good, not because I'm "supposed to".

The whole thing is a tempest in a teapot. Nothing in the world is less restricted than blogging. Everyone is guaranteed a voice, just not an audience.

[CrankyBeach]

I am a beige-American pigment-challenged female and I have a blog. I read and link to other people's blogs because I find them interesting, not because their writers have pink and purple polka-dots on their skin, or because they have no hair. ;)

[King of Fools]

Well put. I've never given a link based on the color of an individual's skin. I do confess that once in a while I dig through the lower reaches of the ecosystem and look for interesting blogs that need some attention but even then I only link to content that I like.

And this, is a post worth linking to.

[caltechgirl]

I think this whole thing is just a load of tripe. There are a lot of bloggers that I like, and I don't know whether they are white or black or green, for that matter, and some who may be either male or female (although, admittedly this is easier to figure out). And frankly, I am less likely to read he who needs no linkage than other less popular blogs...

[Mr. Bingley]

No, but the people worried about this nonsense do.

Perfectly put.

Funny, I've never concerned myself with a blogger's tan but rather with their words.

But maybe I'm just odd.

[Michael]

I do not worship at the alter of diversity.

I think every is important and should be included if they wish, and certianly not forceably excluded, and have the right to offer up all manner of thoughts and opinions.

[teal lydia wickham marie]

I'm too circumspect to beg or bestow links to my preposterous website. Nobody in their right mind would take my opinions seriously once they saw it. I'm worse than goofy, but at least I know it.
Your linkage has led me to some great blogs I wouldn't have known about otherwise. Thanks!

[Steve]

I am one of them, you know, the uh, white male. When I am out surfin' the blogs or looking into opinion I am very very often in female, or American anti-Castro Cuban websites and blogs. I spend little time with white males and I don't do this consiously, it is just the way it has worked out over the few months I've had my own computer. I think I was originally introduced to this site by Michelle Malkin which is a good site to find out right away if anything is up out there.

[Chevy Rose]

I can't remember the first blog I read, but as I went 'linking' around, I bookmarked those that I read and liked/agreed with/laughed at. Color of skin has never been a factor for me, it's color of heart. Mean or vulgar people I don't bookmark or link. God made the fields of flowers in all colors, when will the fools realized that we're his most prized bouquet and get over their "racism-tool" used to divide?

[Old Grouch]

Oooo! And we know what happens when white people link to each other! Blogcest! Blogs born with deformed blogrolls and cleft trackback options!

ROTFL!!!

[Fiwit]

Hmmm... Let me look in the mirror...

OK, I'm a white female. Now, let me just check my blogroll...

Hmmm.... what do I see here? Baldilocks (listed as a "must read"), LaShawn Barber, Messy Christian (Malaysian), and assorted others who may or may not be caucasian (some I know are, but others I've no clue about, nor do I care).

Now let me go a step further and check my bookmarks, under the bloggers folder... What do I see here? Oh my! Lots of folks thatI found through Juliette & LaShawn, as well as from various milblogs, many of whom challenge my thinking and stretch my concepts of my world and myself. A diversity of ideas, as well as genders, races, and ethnicities.

But I guess since I can't specify the percentage of each gender, race and/or ethnicity, to guarantee that my bookmarks represent the demographics of the USA, it doesn't matter.

Ah, well... good thing I'm not worried about diversity as much as I'm worried about finding good reading online. For that, I always know where to go, and Juliette's is one of only 2 blogs that are on my bookmarks toolbar - You ROCK, lady. And not just because you chose my branch of the service.

p.s.
Like "Old Grouch," I also enjoyed the graph about Blogcest. Priceless.

[The RaBBiT]

Girl, ever since you phoned in to Uncle Hugh's radio show a month or so ago I've been a big fan and wanted to blogroll you - trouble is, first I had to create a blog. I believe in fighting the soft bigotry of low expectations by opening up the blogosphere not only to gifted blacks, browns, whites, women, men, boys and girls, but also to rabbits and other species who have good manual dexterity and earned high verbal scores on their SAT's. Love your blog, got you blogrolled, and I promise to send both of my readers your way.

[Jared]

Yep. For us white males, it's all about the Blogotry. Bligotry?

Well said, as usual, Juliette!

[Bane]

I can't tell you how many times I have been reading and enjoying a blog for some time and then the person writes something about themselves, and I'm startled to find out they are some different color or sex than I had assumed.

The only thing I can tell for sure, unless they post their photo (ahem) is whether they are a liberal or not. That always seeps through like a bad smell.

Chevy Rose, don't follow my link. I am both mean, and vulgar.

[Pearl]

I've been reading blogs for almost 3 years now. I have my favorites list and after reading this entry, I decided to check it. I have to limit my list because 3 hours a day spent reading and clicking on links is the most I can devote. Have to be disciplined or I'd never get out from in front of the screen.

10 favorites in order of reading from list:
Instapundit
Roger Simon
Tim Blair
Baldilocks
Right Side of the Rainbow
The Anchoress
Michelle Malkin
Frontpage Magazine (does this qualify?)
Betsy's Page
Victor Davis Hanson

There are about 10 more that I regular go to, but on a daily basis, the above are must reads. The only bias I have seems to be my conservative bias.

[Rae]

"Ain't I a woman?" is the first thing that comes to my mind.

[baldilocks]

Bane is right. ;-)

Thanks Pearl!

[Two cents]

I'm a reader (but I can give it up any time I want to) and I condemn OldFart for getting his comment in before me RE:

Oooo! And we know what happens when white people link to each other! Blogcest! Blogs born with deformed blogrolls and cleft trackback options!

ROFLMBO (I don't use bad words). And I have a day job and can't always let my heroes (like baldilocks) know how awesome their words are right away!

Thanks for your comments and analysis and blessed common sense, Baldilocks. Your blog is a joy to read.

[Claire]

*applause*