In her post "Now the cat can really be let out of the bag," my colleague-in-concept Elisa Camahort evangelizes Bloghercon, bringing us up to speed on her conversations with folks like Mary Hodder, Sylvia Paull, Eleanor Krusewski and Jory des Jardins. Hat-tip to Sylvia Paull for first blogging this idea!
The Queen Bee, as Camahort is known in some circles, has been working on a Bloghercon community manifesto designed to help us dig deep into essential questions of philosophy and strategy. She's produced a must-read post--here's a taster:
"Men, as well as women, have been asking, "Where are the women?" And we have been responding...we're right here. That the same question is being asked now as was asked one year ago or two years ago is frustrating, but the real question is: what, if anything, do women bloggers want to do about it? [Note: latter emphasis added-LS]
There's room in Bloghercon for philosophical discussion on questions like:
-Is blogging genderless? If you didn't know a blogger's name, could you always tell their gender? And does it matter?
-If, as Shelley [See Burningbird--LS] claims, links are the powerful talisman of the male blogger, and to women sometimes a link is just a link, then what do women want to get out of blogging?
-How can such a new medium already have an "old boy's club"? Or is this just a continuation of an existing club? Does certain content make a woman an acceptable mascot for that club, while other kinds of expression will keep us out?
-Do women marginalize themselves without any help from men? What drives us to do that?
Even more importantly, Lisa and I want to have a Bloghercon to take action:
-Do we care if there is and old boy's club-does it affect us? Do we want to be part of that club? Do we want to change the club?
-If we care, then how can women promote women, without being dismissed as a sewing circle? And should we? Is creating a women's network the answer, or do we really seek gender-transparency?
-Where are the other barriers? And what are we trying to break through those barriers to do?
-What would be measurable success? If we had a Bloghercon again in a year what would cause us to pat ourselves on the back and say "job well done"?" Much more here.
So, I repeat, do you want Bloghercon? If so, why and how? Please tell Elisa here and/or add your comments below. She and I are getting together Sunday at our favorite midway cafe to brainstorm further...
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