I have an astonishing level of ADHD insatiable curiosity that compels me to do all kinds of unrelated crap. When I’m not taking full semesters at uni, I’m starting gender blogs I can hardly maintain, or feeling somewhat guilty for starting blogs I can hardly maintain. Contrary to my original intentions, I’m still the sole writer for this site and I can see it devolving, especially during my current visit with loved ones around whom I cannot think, into a meandering tour of E-land. While I was lamenting this, I considered a few possible new formats for GenderPop:
Sell most of my belongings and live out of my car, making GP a diary updated via stolen wifi connections.
All these options have their merits, but I really do want to keep GenderPop on-topic. I noticed that outlets like a section of the Psychology Today site are picking up similar formats, but I think GP can work as a more transparent and ongoing conversation about gender roles that affect us in both mundane and abstract ways. To challenge each other and ourselves. To analyze. To excite. To bitch. To inspire. But it can only work with more voices, and I’m going to be even more pressed for time starting in a few days.
So the next step for me was to come up with some incentives to write. If you are affected by expectations hurled on you by virtue of your reproductive function, which you surely are, and you have something to say, which you quite possibly do, then you — yes YOU! — can have your very own:
Chance to network with like-minded writers.
FTP space for related uploads.
Really cool pen name of your imagining.
Membership with our editorial e-mail list.
Opportunity to be a pioneer in the direction of the site.
Audience.
Bio on the writers page that can promote your other projects.
Cookies.
About the editorial list: If you decide to write, or are just considering it, you can be a part of a mailing list. I have a ton of ideas for blog entries that I can’t keep up with, so every once in a while I’ll send out possible topics of interest, and other bloggers are welcome to do the same.
You can write as often or infrequently as you like.
Already have a blog? — Posting here as a contributor is win-win, as it will drive traffic to your site. This can mean a cross-posted entry if you like.
If you’d like to be a part, just shoot an e-mail to me at spirella (at) gmail (dot) com. I’ll hook you up with what you need.
In the meantime, take a moment and consider what you would like to see here. What gender-related issues chap your hide? What issues crop up in your relationships? Is pressure put on you based on your sex? How do you feel about birth-control legislation? The treatment of rape survivors? Women in the military? John McCain? Your sex life? Locker-room gender policing? Biology-is-destiny evolutionary theory? That really trite gendered advertisement? Something funny you noticed? Motherhood/fatherhood? Your coworker’s comment the other day? And wouldn’t you like to say something about it?
Boys and girls according to the Dresden Dolls, as seen in their “Shores of California” music video (a parody of David Lee Roth’s “California Girls” video). Bonus points for appearances by comedian Liam Sullivan as Kelly and legend Margaret Cho.
So I’ve been out of state, using my small break to be with family. It’s great. There’s been a lot of story telling, recipe sharing and photo hunting. I’ve also had the stimulation of some spontaneous networking (”Hey! My grandmother’s aunt’s husband’s brother is your dad’s monkey’s uncle!”).
I would love to write an extensive comparative analysis of the gender roles of my Arabic family’s older generation and those of Westerners, but I’m too busy in the kitchen.
So in lieu of real blogging, at which I profoundly suck anyway, I’ve come up with a quicker way to keep things moving.
Thanks to everyone who’s been leaving comments! I’m road tripping for the next couple of weeks so I’m only going to be able to write quick posts. So this is my first drive-by. To start with, who are GP’s readers? And, just wondering, but …
I don’t like to lend readership to the women-as-prey buffoonery of AskMen, the popular hetero men’s interest site that features eruditely crafted tips on screwing with women’s minds so as to hit it then quit it as well as thoughtful lists of hotties they’d do. One might argue that it’s pointless to dwell on these echelons of mediocrity, but the site reels in 5 million readers a month. I usually ignore this stuff, but come on — as someone who has had the great flattery (nuisance) of being casually assigned a numerical value by some dude, I must put forth that this PUA culture is pervasive and fucking retarded.
A few days ago Dan4th of Difference Blog linked to me in a quick list of gender-related blogs (Nice to meet you!). He categorized a few feminist sites, debate-oriented blogs, mens’ douchebaggery hubs and then ourselves before musing about whether bloggers have figured out that examining sex differences is a bad idea. Well, I’m pleasantly surprised to learn of someone else operating on the differences premise, but admittedly, I’ve gone off track lately with the gender debate I intended.
This blog was a wild-hair experiment I started just a few months ago. Originally I set out to look at science trends and maybe some pop culture to add breadth. Once I started, it didn’t take long for me to completely readdress my own hypotheses about gender.
Evolutionary theories were suspiciously beneficial to one sex. My feminist began to show.
See, I’m not an expert. I was miffed by the gender irritations evident in my own life, but I didn’t want to make another feminist site or pop culture extravaganza.
Dan alluded to my lack of disclosure. So allow me to introduce myself. Elisha is my real name (no last name; I’m kind of a big deal). Even though I’m a woman, I’m named after some dude who smote little children with bears. But it’s pronounced as Alicia. A perpetual journalism hack — I mean student — I’m deciding whether to minor in sociology or Mid East studies. I take issue with the illusion of media balance. I have some professional editing experience, but I prefer snarky colloquialisms. I’m a web entrepreneur. I’m fond of playing guitar, living in the city, potty mouthing, bouts of righteousness and big glasses of pinot grigio. I’ve never taken a gender studies course in my life.
Seeing as how I’m so monumentally unqualified, the idea of course seemed perfect. I figured I’d get in some other writers with unique angles — both science and stories. But while there are plenty of points to inspect, gender is a tough cookie to crumble. I think that’s why GenderPop now has a talented staff of writers whose job it is to “write something later”.
And since I have some semblance of a life outside of blogging*, especially during academic semesters, I’m sometimes guilty of lame-ass copy-and-paste Googlisms.
At this point, I’m mostly winging my way through until GP’s voice emerges naturally. I’ve learned not to attempt monolithic entries and to get real. I hope to keep the differences thing going while examining social manifestations; for now I still consider it an experiment. I don’t think I want it to be newsy. I’d rather do featuresque posts. But it’s kicking, and I’m really glad to know of Difference Blog. Me da mucho gusto saber de ti! Maybe some collaborations could be in order?
For everyone else who reads this: I’m always interested in meeting new people and writers. If you have any ideas or would like to contribute, you have my ear! And I really appreciate the people who have found an interest in the blog. Let’s get a conversation going. Pull out a pillow and make yourselves at home. Comments are loved.
Holy shit! This is heart-stopping. The male/female squid relationship is amazing (and hilarious), but I’m really just using that as an excuse to post this short video and get people to see the rest. Absolutely incredible!
David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a color-shifting cuttlefish, a perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a Times Square’s worth of neon light displays from fish who live in the blackest depths of the ocean.
The male squid splits his colors so as to only reveal its kinder, gentler side to the female.
