Slog - Comments on Bikers, Rejoice! http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice First, an unrelated open letter to the editors of the P-I: Why, for the love of God, do virtually ALL your blogs by female writers have asinine, jaw-droppingly condescending names (TV Gal, Girl About Town, Mariner Housewife, etc.)? Do you think people wouldn't read a blog by an actual, bona fide grown woman? Are you just trying to annoy me specifically? On to my point: As the P-I's Bus Chick reports, Metro buses are now being equipped with three bike racks instead of two, which anyone who's ever been forced to wait for the next bus in the rain because... Copyright 2008 Tue, 06 Feb 2007 16:33:13 -0800 Sun, 18 Feb 2007 05:32:12 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Enigma YAY! I am quite excited right now.

Enigma

]]> Enigma http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616184 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616184 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 16:48:30 -0800 Comment by DOUG. I wonder where Bus Chick found that photo. Metro suggests that you always load your bike onto the OUTSIDE slot, if vacant.

]]> DOUG. http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616193 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616193 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:01:13 -0800 Comment by Maria Would men get equally upset by reading stories authored by: Bike Boy, Junior Wheelie, Two Wheel Timmy, TV Guy ?

]]> Maria http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616210 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616210 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:17:59 -0800 Comment by You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me No Maria, we are not that touchy... You girls need to lighten up.

Oh, and ECB: “Do you think people wouldn’t read a blog by an actual, bona fide grown woman?” – LOL! Good one!

]]> You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616220 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616220 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:24:14 -0800 Comment by torrentprime Surely, any woman proud enough of or comfortable enough with herself to use the name "Mariner Housewife" can't be a real woman. Or grown. And definitely not a bona fide woman. Cause if a woman's posting handle isn't right by Erica, she's not a real woman. Just like Obama isn't really black.

It's sad when the left does the right's work for them.

]]> torrentprime http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616382 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616382 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 18:03:58 -0800 Comment by Brick McHardslab Erica, you applied at the P-I and got turned down. Once you tire of your "edgy" $35K-a-year job, you'll apply again. And again. Small gene pool.

]]> Brick McHardslab http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616397 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616397 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 18:07:43 -0800 Comment by jamier I have a stupid theory. Except for certain spheres online, like feminist blogs or crafting blogs or mommy blogs, everyone is assumed to be male unless proven otherwise. For example, if I cared, I would automatically assume "torrent prime" and "enigma" are men. I could be wrong, but I'm sure most other people would make the same guess.

I think a lot of women online draw attention to the fact that they're women because people (me) assume they're men otherwise, and because they gain readership by both women and men because they're women. I think this is mostly due to scarcity -- the Internet was mostly founded by nerdy white men and they have a head start on new technologies. Blogging is still dominated by men, and it was much moreso a couple of years ago. If you look at even newer technologies, like podcasting and video blogging, at their beginning just being a woman almost guaranteed success (look at LonelyGirl15, who is incredibly famous for no other reason than for being a somewhat attractive young woman who video blogged. Looking at iTunes, as far as I can tell out of the 25 top podcasts, 4 are hosted by women -- 2 of those are pioneering women in old media (Katie Couric & Terry Gross) and the other two are "Grammar Girl" and "Money Girl."

I'm very sure this will be much better in a couple of years when more women (and men) catch up to early-adopting tech nerds. The first sign this change is happening will be when women write online under names other than female first names or names like "BloggyChick."

]]> jamier http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616445 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616445 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 18:31:23 -0800 Comment by treacle Praise the Lord!
Three bikes per bus!
Hallelujah!

]]> treacle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616611 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616611 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 19:33:03 -0800 Comment by SeattleExile ... Girl You beat me to it, jamier, but that's exactly what I was going to point out. Something like "Mariner Housewife", tho - it does have more than a whiff of jaw-dropping asinine condescension.

]]> SeattleExile ... Girl http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616622 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616622 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 19:48:31 -0800 Comment by Enigma Do you think it's because you're male that you assume all non-gendered psudomymns are men? I tend to assume they're women. But maybe that's my feminist leanings.
For the record, I am a woman.

Enigma

]]> Enigma http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616637 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616637 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 20:25:45 -0800 Comment by mason Erica, this is god's punishment for your hatred of dogs.

]]> mason http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616745 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616745 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 20:54:32 -0800 Comment by Bus Chick Erica,

An FYI: The PI didn't give me that name; my husband did (back before he was my husband). It's an actual real nickname that I've had since long before I started blogging. I'm not really sure why folks feel compelled to come up with cute little names for blogs, but I hardly think it's specific to women.

Doug,

Though I generally tend to do my own (bad) photography, I actually got that pic from someone at Metro. ;)

It is conceivable, of course, that the bike in the photo was placed on the rack last but remained on after the other two had been removed.

]]> Bus Chick http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616893 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616893 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:17:23 -0800 Comment by lopsided_wheel I think the prize for worst newspaper blog name has to go to Trauma Mama, the PI's pedestrian safety blog.

]]> lopsided_wheel http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616907 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c616907 City Tue, 06 Feb 2007 22:44:48 -0800 Comment by litlnemo Enigma, I am female and tend to assume all non-gendered 'nyms are male, but I think that's a holdover from back in the old days of BBSes and USENET where I think women really were a minority. Of course, a lot of the women then had non-gendered login names anyway so they wouldn't get hassled.

]]> litlnemo http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617000 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617000 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:16:23 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle @11 - you have to admit, Erica, your karma is biting you on this one. But, good point.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617081 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617081 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 00:48:03 -0800 Comment by eric pms from my atler ego

]]> eric http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617127 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617127 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 01:06:22 -0800 Comment by Bus Chick It occurs to me that I should have left my husband out a discussion about feminism, but hey. (Does it count that he's a feminist?) I may have lost my street cred on this one, but the point I was trying to make earlier is only that the PI is not responsible for the cutesy (or, as you might call them, demeaning) names people choose for their blogs. At least this is true in the case of the reader blogs—I can’t speak for the staff. It is highly possible that the trend indicates some subconscious attempt for women to make themselves (ourselves) more palatable and less threatening. (As a woman of color, I am very familiar with this phenomenon.) I’ve always just thought folks were copying me--or, as my favorite celebrity gossip blogger says: "swagger jacking." ;)

]]> Bus Chick http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617563 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617563 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:38:17 -0800 Comment by jkhi oh

]]> jkhi http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617565 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617565 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:42:50 -0800 Comment by jkhi oh

]]> jkhi http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617566 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617566 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:43:53 -0800 Comment by jkhi oh

]]> jkhi http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617567 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617567 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:44:15 -0800 Comment by Peter W As Bus Chick pointed out... The readers choose the name of their blog. I gave the editor a list of about five different names that I liked and he chose Comics Corner. I don't know how it was for the others, if they gave a list, or just picked one. But it's all reader.

]]> Peter W http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617863 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617863 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 08:46:30 -0800 Comment by ddv Wow, a ECB post on feminism and non-car options. it is a double shot of success for Erica...

]]> ddv http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617865 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617865 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 08:48:06 -0800 Comment by libbertine I find the reaction to ECB's comment pretty interesting. Clearly she's touched a nerve, which is part of what a good journalist does. Keep on truckin', ECB.

PS She's right. Those cutesy names are fucking irritating.

]]> libbertine http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617890 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c617890 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 09:19:05 -0800 Comment by Seth Yes, Erica, once you get one of those seven-figure-salary jobs at the P-I you'll finally be able to afford that small island in the South Pacific you're always talking about.

]]> Seth http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c618226 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c618226 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:45:18 -0800 Comment by ECB I did not apply for a job at the P-I.

]]> ECB http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c618271 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c618271 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:32:18 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle They're just envious of your writing skills, Erica.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c618327 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c618327 City Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:49:19 -0800 Comment by wesbad syhqzomfi zfytqml mexikvugj mcjqbiwf mgqy kxfsitbz ehgmjw amgkenyb

]]> wesbad syhqzomfi http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c637316 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c637316 City Sun, 18 Feb 2007 05:28:21 -0800 Comment by auyqz jnwt ytnwud qehxc iyhme ienjucwxl abgfmpco tgvcmbqn ykxdn [URL]http://www.tzajvrski.stajrxe.com[/URL] eoqwknr fsxho

]]> auyqz jnwt http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c637332 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/bikers_rejoice#c637332 City Sun, 18 Feb 2007 05:32:12 -0800