Feminist blog category
yes, there should be a feminist blog category for awards. I know the organizers of the upcoming awards are trying to make good for many types of bloggers covering a wide range of beliefs, ideology, special interests, but it really shouldn't be up to who screams the loudest, or who thinks its unfair.
Categories are determined by several things:
Kant gives a good definition: modes of subjective understanding, such as singularity, universality, or particularity, that organize perceptions into knowledge.
Feminism is subjective, as are most blog categories, so the nay-sayers can deal with it. That should not disqualify it.
Singular - yes, represents a distinct social voice (with many tones!)
Organize perceptions into knowledge - regardless of the main topics feminists blog about, that is always the goal of the blogger, from what I see.
To ban this category because people like SUZANNE and runner, and that due who kept attacking feminists on the awards discussion site don't like what feminists have done for our society is bull-crap. That is what bothers me most about what looks like will be a decision not to include a feminist category - it seems like a giving in to people who want to silence feminist. Just look at the comments - they accuse feminists of hate attacks as they launch their own in the same post. They demand an anti-feminist category as though this is a war where each side gets to attack and defend. That is not the point of a category at all - it isn't equal time for all, it's what groupings and interests, and voices exist in the blogosphere and which form distinctive groups? The awards should be for categories that have self-created through our passions, through the need to be heard, through the desire of caring people to promote change, for fun also. If these self-created groups haven't formed, then there is no category for them, and blog awards shouldn't create one just to appear fair.
Part of winning an award should be because the blogger(s) found reasons to create a blog, found an audience interested in what they write, and consistently maintained the blog.
This counter-attack category garbage demeans the awards. To let wingnuts highjack these awards, to let them bully and cheat and freep their way into fake wins is fislthy, and destroys what good awards try to do by recognizing quality and promoting excellence.
I don't know if we should pull out - I agree with most of you, it's a matter of principle, but I am very opposed to letting those effing anti-feminists - some of whom are women - take even these awards over, manipulate them by driving any of us off.
I have to think about it, and listen to all of you as well. If there is some way we can stay in without giving in, it's a bigger victory, in my mind, but I may be missing something.
Thanks for bringing this up
I have a lot to say on the subject myself, and will later when I get some time after work.
Thanks for nominating us, 900ft. J. That meant a lot to us.
saw your post on B&R...
to me, that,s far more effective - make a category ourselves. Boycotting and snarling back - we need to be better than them (the women haters, the wingnuts). We've had to be better just to show we're as good, and we still have a way to go. I want to keep stepping ahead not just for me, but for those who don't have freedoms, and for those who don't yet understand.
I definitely am not saying lay down and take it and say gee, thanks for letting us be around for you to kick, but we should take it on with intelligence, reason, strength, passion, but directed, focused passion.
The nomination - you and your team really deserve it. Another reason why I don't want to see assholes like SUZANNE shoo us off. So, strong journey!!!
It also
Highlighted that the so called "progressives" running it were quite willing to throw fellow bloggers under the bus. They are quite willing to denigrate and try to de-legitimize the work being done about feminism issues, as less important than their own work. It doesn't affect them? If I was going to toss insults around, I would say "how neocon of them".
Oops. and I did. Ah well. After some of the insults they passed around, that's pretty mild.
Powers that be, powers of three, keep me strong during this insanity......
Now now
don't get in a snit, pale. ;)
We are out, regardless, for the reasons pale outlined. I don't expect (nor care) if others leave; this was an internal decision on the part of my team, entirely separate from any "boycott". With that said, I really do hope the organizers come to their senses--though I believe the x-factor in all of this is Stephen Taylor, who, it should be mentioned, is also part of the organizing team. Somehow I doubt he in particular will be willing to bend in this regard.
None of this is at all surprising. The backlash against feminism has been ongoing for quite some time and is so all-encompassing that there appears to be an entire generation ('round my age and younger) who have bought into the notion that feminism is an 'ism' as racism or fascism is. Either that, or just another whiny "special interest" ("if we give a category to you, we have to give one to EVERYBODY!")
Both pale and Prole (and other Canadian Kossacks) are likely all too aware of the pie fight. So many left-leaning men (and, sadly, women) have been conditioned to believe that feminism is antiquated and irrelevant (or, worse, counterproductive and 'misandrist'). Which, to me, highlights why a category celebrating and shining the spotlight on Canadian feminist bloggers of all stripes is so vital: to belie the myths that have become conventional wisdom, even and especially among supposed "allies".
"When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire"
I'm out as well.
CC's post clinched it for me. With all the freefing and shit, no matter what we do, the wingnuts will sabotage things, spin their bs, waste of time. Too bad. Awards can really help others recognize good work, bring valid issues and perspectives out, but the anti-free speech, anti-choice, anti-reality folk just can't go by rules of decency. Oh yeah, you need to have respect for others to do that.
All of you made some good points. Thanks for helping me sort it out at my end.
mattbastard, you're right, unfortunately. REAL Women criticized the House of Commons Committee on the Status of Women for reviewing the government's funding cuts to the Court Challenges Program. That type of ignorance and hatred of women's rights is mind boggling.
So the hell with the wingnuts. They only recycle their own crap among themselves, unless we give them a platform, so pulling out of this award thing is probably best. They won't get validation from us.
"That type of ignorance and hatred of women's rights
is mind-boggling."
REAL are the white female analogues of house negros, eagerly serving de massa at the expense of the field workers, all to better their own lot. Every time I read the latest load of bullshit propaganda from REAL I'm reminded of The Handmaid's Tale. And then I'm further reminded that they and their so-con brethren are the interest groups who have been given a direct pipeline to the PMO, the foundation upon which the Stephen Harper Party wants to build its majority.
This is not the time to be "Canadian" and play nicey-nice with the socons in the interest of bi-partisan comity; they really do hate us and our freedoms.
And we need to push back. Hard.
"When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire"
Two words (one name)
DroppingsRunning is apparently a fan/disciple of Henry Makow. 'Nuff said?(Yeah, I put on teh Hazmat suit and waded into his cesspool)
Everything's cheaper than it looks.
I should also add
that, as I communicated to both pale and prole last night, in the first place I've always subscribed to the the Groucho Marx theory regarding 'clubs'.
Everything's cheaper than it looks.
Some Qs
Who's the 4th operator of the CBAs? Besides Saskboy, NBCD, S. Taylor, isn't there one more? Just curious.
I think (hope, anyway) that this is less a deliberate oversight on the part of the operators than a failure to grow the awards framework with recent changes in the blogosphere. The SWC problems last year mobilized Canadian feminist bloggers... too late in the year to have an impact on the 2006 awards, but it's built up to being a more-than-legitimate category in the intervening 12 months. The backlash wouldn't exist if there was nothing to backlash against.
I'm also disturbed by the Best Blog category -- it's insulting that high-quality blogs like the Vanity Press and TGB are lumped in with a stenchy shithole like SDA. Especially so given the freep factor (although I think Raymi won last year and SDA ended up being about 8th).
And lastly, who was that runner idiot that was trolling the comments over there (at the CBAs)? Anyone know? What a friggin' psycho.
The 'runner' dude, jj?
Actually it's 'Runnings'. His blog (stoplying.ca) is a cesspool of 9-11 CT's. I also checked out his links, and besides the usual 9-11 Truth sites I noticed his link to Henry Makow's CT site (savethemales.ca)- see my comment above.
The Makow connection completely explains the views on feminism that he posted/expressed on the cdnba comments.
Everything's cheaper than it looks.