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Friday Femme Fatale: Social Media, Book Lists & Beth Ditto

by Jen Nedeau

categories: Friday Femme Fatale, Health, Media, News

Published November 06, 2009 @ 11:22AM PT

This weekend I am taking a reprieve from the bright lights of New York City and heading to Washington, DC for a few days to do some speaking at the Pledge2Protect conference and visit old friends.

Additionally, for those who wonder what I do over at my full-time gig, Air America Media, I just published this column today in SmartBrief titled: Can social media save the radio star?

I hope you all are gearing up for some rest and relaxation this weekend as well, but before you unplug completely check out the stories you may have missed in the world of women's rights:

Female Bloggers Noticeably Absent From Technorati Survey

by Jen Nedeau

category: Technology

Published November 05, 2009 @ 01:49PM PT

Earlier this fall, Technorati published a survey called the "2009 State of the Blogosphere." Some of the findings are interesting such as the idea that "Despite being perceived by some as enemies of the traditional media, bloggers actually carry a journalistic pedigree."

I was trained as a journalist and pursued that passion until I realized that there weren't many jobs left in print reporting. Now I'm a blogger and a new media director. Not surprising that I ended up in the communications field, but what is surprising about this survey are the statistics about gender:

  • Two-thirds are male

  • 60% are 18-44

  • The majority are more affluent and educated than the general population

  • 75% have college degrees

  • 40% have graduate degrees

  • One in three has an annual household income of $75K+

  • One in four has an annual household income of $100K+

  • Professional and self-employed bloggers are more affluent: nearly half have an annual household income of $75,000 and one third topped the $100,000 level

  • More than half are married

  • More than half are parents

  • Half are employed full time, however ¾ of professional bloggers are employed full time.

At first glance, it appears that the Technorati methodology failed to include enough women respondents. It seems absolutely erroneous that they only found 1/3 of bloggers are female.

Did they somehow miss the vast network of feminist and "mommy" blogs out there? Or the 1000+ attendance at Blogher?

Marian Wang at Mother Jones takes note of the same results and predicts that the lack of diversity (real or perceived) will only hurt the future of journalism and blogging as a whole:

That's a worse gender imbalance than in American newsrooms, which is saying something. (Mother Jones is a rare exception-by my quick calculation, our editorial department is 61 percent female, but that's hardly the case everywhere.) Women represent only 37 percent of American newspaper staffers, according the American Society of News Editors. And if newspapers are doomed and blogs are to take their place, then this can't be good for the supposed diversity of voices we're getting online.

Here's the methodology from Technorati so you can decide for yourself. Do you think Technorati's statistics are wrong about female bloggers?

Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, conducted an Internet survey from September 4-23, 2009 among 2,828 bloggers nationwide. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 1.84% at the 95% confidence level and larger for subgroups. The following audiences are included throughout this report:

  • All: Entire sample of bloggers

  • Hobbyists (72%)

  • Part-Timers (15%)

  • Corporate (4%)

  • Self Employed (9%)

Technorati data was collected from Technorati's index. Lijit collected data for the 2009 State of the Blogosphere report was from two primary sources. The first is the 11,000 active Lijit publishers that have the Lijit Search Widget installed on their blog. The second is the network of 2.5M blogs that those 11,000 blogs connect to via their Blogroll and other social network connections tracked by Lijit.

The Movement To End Genocide

by Jen Nedeau

category: Global Feminism

Published November 05, 2009 @ 11:57AM PT

For those interested in global women's rights, the Pledge2Protect conference in Washington, DC should be on your agenda this weekend.

From November 6 - 9, Genocide Intervention Network's (GI-NET) student-led division, STAND, is bringing together a powerful network of 1,000 students and community leaders and activists from across the country to Capitol Hill for Pledge2Protect: a conference designed to educate, empower, and highlight the work of activists who are driving the movement to prevent and stop genocide and mass atrocities.

In collaboration with core partners Save Darfur Coalition and The Enough Project, Pledge2Protect aims to eqip activists with grassroots organizing and advocacy skills, plus in-depth education on conflicts of concern.

I am going to be attending and speaking at the conference on Saturday. My panel is called, "Internet and Politics: Leveraging the Online Space for Social Change." I am speaking with Alan Rosenblatt,  T. Neil Sroka, and  Tom Burton. I hope it will be an engaging conversation about using online efforts to create conversation around important issues such as the women's rights movement and stop genocide efforts.

For those interested in attending, here are a few other panels relevant to women's rights:

Wars against Women and the Pursuit of Peace: the Case of Darfur

Speakers:

  • Jehanne Henry, Researcher, Africa Division, Human Rights Watch

  • Niemat Ahmadi, Darfuri Liaison Officer, Save Darfur Coalition

  • Rebecca Hamilton, Author of the forthcoming book The Promise of Engagement; Open Society Fellow; Visiting Fellow at the National Security Archives

  • Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, MD, Physician and Professor of Medicine at el-Fasher University in Darfur, Sudan, until recently director at the Amel Center for the Treatment & Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Darfur (RFK Prize Winner)

Featuring fresh reports from the ground in Sudan and Chad, this panel will shed light on the daily challenges faced by Darfuri women who have survived years of displacement, violence, and the endemic use of rape as a weapon of war. Panelists will discuss what the concepts of peace and security would really mean for Darfuri women — addressing areas including protection from violence; mental and physical recovery and health; women’s ability to provide for the basic needs of themselves and their children; pursuing justice for crimes in Darfur; and women’s participation in peace negotiations. Panelists will highlight how the U.S., international community, and activists can impact the daily lives of Darfuri women.

Sexual Gender-Based Violence / Rape as a Weapon of War in Congo

Speakers:

  • Professor Lee Ann De Reus, Professor at Penn State University and Carl Wilkins Fellow

  • Dr. Roger Luhiriri, Human Rights Advocate, Columbia University / Panzi Hospital

Frequently called the “worst place in the world to be a woman”, panelists discuss current efforts to treat sexual gender-based violence and rape in Congo and steps that can be taken to help prevent it.

Let me know if you'll be able to make the conference and please stop by the panel and say "Hello!" You can also follow the conference via Twitter here.

2009 Election: Winning Female Candidates & Democrat Losses

by Jen Nedeau

categories: News, Politics

Published November 04, 2009 @ 08:50AM PT

Yesterday's election was fraught with disappointment for Democrats. Instead of continuing the wave of "change" from just one year ago when Barack Obama was elected President, the 2009 elections delivered several big victories for the GOP: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the victory by Republican challenger Chris Christie for the governorship in New Jersey and then Republican candidate Bob McDonnell who won the Virginia gubernatorial race.

Interestingly, despite these losses, Beau Friedlander at Air America says that this shouldn't be considered a referendum on Obama, but rather an example of just how low the Republicans will go to win elections:

The GOP is racing to the bottom of its own depravity. They’ve stopped at nothing, floating racist memes and lies and distorting facts to achieve goals that are so blatantly pro-business and anti-American as to be laughable--if it weren’t for the fact that their message-making, via Fox News and talk radio, seems to find a home in the hearts and minds of many Americans.

Perhaps the most disappointing news last night was from Maine where voters rescinded the Legislature's approval of same-sex marriage. According to the Associated Press, gay marriage has now lost in all 31 states in which it has been put to a popular vote — a trend that the gay-rights movement had believed it could end in Maine.

In terms of women who won, however, there are several positive stories to break through the depressing news. Here are some of the victories of Women's Campaign Forum's Endorsed Candidates and a few others who I listed last week that ran at the state and local level:

  • Carolyn Comitta (Mayor - West Chester, PA)

  • Stephanie Hausner (Town Council - Clarkstown, NY)

  • Jessica Lappin (New York City Council)

  • Stephanie Miner (Mayor - Syracuse, NY)

  • Stacey Newman (State House MO-73)

  • Kathleen Rice (Nassau County District Attorney, NY)

  • Jill Miller Zimon (Pike Pepper Council)

Congratulations to these ladies who won their races. Now we must move onward to 2010, which will be the bigger election year as it will involve many more races and serve as a true barometer for whether or not President Obama can be re-elected in 2012.

Desperate Times Calls for Desperate Catholics

by Jen Nedeau

categories: Global Feminism, News

Published November 03, 2009 @ 07:34PM PT

As someone who was raised Catholic, went to 15 years of Catholic school and is still asked to rise at eight o'clock in the morning when I visit my parents to go to church, the following news is quite the shocking revelation: the Catholic Church is now accepting applications from Anglicans.

For those who are not well-versed Christianity, here's a quick definition of an Anglican: those who historically protest the Catholic Church and have been traditionally more liberal on their stances on the ordination of women bishops, gay priests and gay marriage.

But it looks like desperate times in the church call for desperate Catholics as being reported by Laura Flanders at Grit TV:

Now facing flagging attendance and shrinking contributions, some of that hard-lining is going soft. Given the chance to fill some empty pews, by allowing conservative Anglicans into the ranks, the Catholic Church is backing off. Those conservative Anglicans are disaffected by their own church's more liberal stances on contraception, gay rights and women's autonomy but they're not about to excommunicate pro choicers - not yet. So suddenly, Rome is willing to do as the Anglicans do.... and call debate over reproductive rights a difference of opinion. Heck, they're even willing to create loopholes to let married clergy stay married.

Fancy that. So what about all those fights over all those years? What about all those denied a place in their faith, and most of all, those who died due to botched and politicized abortions? All those who were forced to bear children against their will, or were infected with HIV due to lies about condoms - or no sex ed at all? Now we find out they suffered simply over a difference of opinion?

I personally believe that everyone needs a sense of spirituality and often religion can provide that. When I was growing up, the Church gave me an understanding of the concept of having faith and I gained an understanding of social justice and community service that I still appreciate to this day. However, the stances of the Catholic Church toward women definitely make even the Christmas carol hard to sing. It's a good thing to see the Catholic church opening up to other ideas about what the Bible means, but is it too little, too late?

Top 10 Feminist Twitter Lists

by Jen Nedeau

category: Technology

Published November 02, 2009 @ 09:37AM PT

Well then. Twitter has rolled out yet another popularity tool to keep users addicted to the microblogging platform: Twitter lists.

To me, the lists are useful because they can help organize interest groups, offer a branding structure for companies, offer transparency about who is working with who and drive user generated recommendations that everyone can benefit from.

On the flip-side, these lists can add additional elements of hierarchy to the social media space, which contradicts the purpose of social media in my mind to be the greatest equalizer of information.

Regardless of my qualms, I do want to share some of the feminist Twitters lists being made so we can all continue to elevate women's voices in the online space.

Here are ten of the best female-friendly Twitter lists chosen based on volume of people listed, the creator of the list and objective of the list. It's not a terribly scientific process but tried to use my best judgment.

Just hit "Follow" to add these lists to your profile and click through some of the users to find new people to stay in touch with. Feel free to add additional lists you think should be here in the comments section.

  1. Women In Politics & Technology (@Sairy)

  2. Feminist Inspiration (@Illusionists)

  3. Women, Girls and Feminism (@Glopan)

  4. Feminists (@MeganCarpentier)

  5. Awesome Women (@RandomDeanna)

  6. Feminism (@Radical Feminist)

  7. Allies in Women's Rights (@RevoltRealWomen)

  8. Feminist Resources (@ShelbyKnox)

  9. Black Women in Social Media (@BlogDiva)

  10. Parents and  Parenting (@AnnDouglas)

Friday Femme Fatale: Gore Vidal, Gen Y Women & Transphobia

by Jen Nedeau

categories: Friday Femme Fatale, Media, News, Sex

Published October 31, 2009 @ 09:32AM PT

Ok, so this is more like a Saturday Femme Fatale - but I didn't want to let anyone down who is looking for the most interesting links in the feminist sphere from the past week.

Without further delay, here's this week's list:

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