Modern Kicks sent me an excellent email in response to yesterday’s post, and so, with his permission I am reproducing it here because I think the content adds something significant to what has already been said.
…I’ve been reading the AJ thing as well, obviously, and I think your remarks on Partisan Review and Greenberg are right to the point. And of course, that whole crew were notable uncredentialed–and (cue sinister music) Communists to boot! Or former Communists of various types, at least. I think a step further can be taken as well. PR, after all, lasted decades, and eventually became the province of academics. What about those little magazines that were started in a fit of enthusiasm, put out 3 issues before the bickering got too intense, and then folded? Many of those are among the most important documents of a particular artistic moment we have precisely because they are not the work of critics comfortably employed at newspapers and magazines, but of those deeply, intimately involved in a particular scene or movement. I get the same feeling at times from reading various blogs as those sorts of documents.
On female bloggers: I actually think the art blog corner of the world does a little better, adjusted for relative size, than other, more prominent areas. Last time I counted, about 20 of the blogs on my blogroll were authored, in whole or in part, by women. I don’t have an exact count, but I think that amounts to 42.7%, and doesn’t include some sites where the gender of the writer is unknown to me. Could be better, but compared to what some call the boys’ club of political blogs, it’s not too bad. There is probably more a problem in who gets links within posts–which drive more traffic–but I’d have to look deeper to know for sure…. Best wishes–
JL, Modern Kicks
On women bloggers: Inspired by Modern Kicks I figured out the percentage of women bloggers on my own blog roll which lands at about 36-38% (I did not include group bloggers exceeding two people members — too difficult to keep track of for the purposes of this “scientific study”, nor did I include bloggers whose gender was unclear.) So, as it turns out, for all my whining about the low numbers, my own blog roll may be part of the problem. I officially issue myself a slap on the wrist for this one. Interestingly, the most prominent political, film, gossip and personal diary bloggers I know are women, even if possibly three out of the fours of these fields are dominated by men. I’m not sure what the numbers are on this, but I’d love to find out. If ever there was a job for the Brainstormers, this would have to be it.
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