A Sea of White Males

Posted by Mike Chapman on August 8, 2020 at 10:16 am

A major challenge for the burgeoning “netroots” movement in politics will be to make sure that there is a diversity of opinion and involvement. In a report on a recent meeting of Yearly Kos, a gathering of bloggers considered a dominant force in the left-leaning grassroots movement on the internet, it was pointed out by the Washington Post that the participants were predominantly white and male. At that same meeting, former U.S. Senator John Edwards, a candidate for President who has been very active in the blogosphere and other social media venues, and who happens to be a white male, received an overwhelming show of support from the participants. Conversely, U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, obviously not a male, and also a candidate for President, did not receive as favorable a welcome. In fact, she was verbally jeered.

In fairness, the responses each received were reported to be based more on the respective candidate’s positions on the war in Iraq, and relationships with Washington lobbyists, than just on the candidate’s gender. But the article reminded me of a problem that is something many of us white male bloggers don’t think about enough. Even if the participants disagreed with the “woman” on the panel, would a more diverse audience have been so comfortable booing and hissing her? Or would a more representative group have behaved differently with a greater percentage of females participating?

I have yet to be harassed sexually, or in any other way, on a blog. The same Washington Post article reports, however, that “many women bloggers complain of sexism and harassment in the blogosphere.” Frankly, this makes my blood boil. Whoever these guys are, they should be ashamed. I’m hoping we can begin a conversation about how we address this in an effective way. If someone is stopping short of breaking the law, but is clearly harassing someone based on gender, how do we offer a way for would-be and current female bloggers to feel comfortable on line?

Category: In the News, Blogging, Bloggers

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