5 Feet of Fury

Blogging While Female, Part II (or: Warren Kinsella must have carpel tunnel syndrome by now)

Ann Althouse, Emily Zanotti (sooooo teeny-tiny!), Mary Katherine Ham, LaShawn Barber — and me.

LaShawn Barber:

“I think we’re just subject to a different kind of vitriol. I think people know which buttons to push. You start criticizing a woman who is getting older, a woman who may be overweight — it’s really visually oriented when it comes to women. Instead of challenging your ideas, they start criticizing the way your look. I hate to say it, but that probably does get to women more than it does men.”

Mary Katherine Ham:

“You’re going to get nasty emails, no matter what. But yes, I think there is an element of the critical feedback you get (as a woman) that is more misogynistic and sexual than men generally get.

…For whatever reason, whenever people get angry, they feel the need to go sexual, to talk about people’s looks — especially, if you are putting yourself out there on TV and video and making that part of your job. You have to expect that people are going to comment on it. So yeah, people get rude. But, the internet can be a rude place and that’s the price of free speech…”