This reminds me of how some of the Gawker blogs gleefully milk minor controversies involving Boing Boing, one of the more popular blogs out there, such as their wiping out all the posts by or about sex blogger Violet Blue (who supposedly had a very personal falling-out with BB blogger Xeni Jardin) or took on Comcast as a sponsor (whom they'd previously criticized in several posts). It's not that Jezebel should be above criticism--in particular, hiring Moe was a constant slo-mo train wreck--but Slate's targeting of Nick Denton's treatment of bloggers (unbelievably, they want us to think that the Gawker blogger's life is literally Dickensian) just begs the question of how well the XX bloggers have it, or will have it when they've been around as long as Jezebel. Trying to make yourself look good by ripping on the competition is a mug's game, and probably won't end well.

So I was excited to check out the new zine based on your article. I know the material is not all up yet, but I was dismayed upon reading "How I Got Bored With Feminism" by Terry Castle. This quote here where she explains why it's been better to be a lesbian:

"I didn't have to hold down a miserable poorly-paid job while also caring for children. I'd never had some slob beating me up or threatening me with a knife" is the kind of smug attack on other women in the name of self-expression that just kills me. Is she trying to be weirdly sympathetic, or funny? I just don't know. As someone on the business end of both these problems, it's left a bad taste in my mouth.

In fact, my usual reaction is that it's embarrassingly ill-informed, ill-thought out, and not written for or by adults. But maybe that's just me.

Few of the writers I generally like from the XX blog are listed as contributers on the magazine, and pretty much all of the ones who annoy me are, so I'm willing to watch, but my hopes aren't too high.

... we both -- jinx, 1-2-3 -- asked the same rhetorical question: Don't we have anything better to talk about?

Not everyone has better things to talk about — generally only the thoughtful writers and inspired thinkers.

Any publication, e- or otherwise, whose editorial policy is biased toward whatever contains the most sass and girl-power shibboleths is necessarily going to produce content which is neither thoughtful nor inspired — for the simple reason that that's not what the editors are selecting for.

And so you will get trash-talking mediocrities. And if you celebrate them as "the voice of women online" or what have you, you will be allowing trash and mediocrity to speak for you.

Maybe, eventually, as it dawns on everyone what an offense this is, people will start asking themselves, "Where are there women writers online who are writing stuff that's worth reading?" rather than simply, "Where are there women writers online?"

Maybe I'm just being a sour old meanie. Trashy content-free exploitation rags, for both women and men, are all over the place. So what if Jezebel wants to get in there and mix it up too?

Fine. But then let's agree to talk about it in those terms — reflexive self-perpetuating female identity exploitation — rather than keep wringing our hands about Jezebel's failings in the service of some higher cause.

FTFA

Just the other day, while chatting with Feministing's Jessica Valenti, I said as much when talking more generally about lady-blogs and we both -- jinx, 1-2-3 -- asked the same rhetorical question: Don't we have anything better to talk about?

No actually, no you don't. You see, you're well off, over educated, mostly white American females. You live under the auspices of a society that guarantees you a right to education and a right to work. Your problems, as they are, amount to nothing other than sanctimonious navel gazing, perfunctory college student angst and hysterical witch hunts over some mythical feminist orthodoxy.

Meanwhile, little girls the world over are being sold into child marriages, jailed for holding hands with boys, disfigured for spurning suitors and murdered for daring to open a math textbook.

Oh yes, sure someone might occasionally re-post an A.P. wire story with some nebulous comments railing against the patriarchy, ergo: government, for not doing anything; but they're few and generally sandwiched between crap about how video games are inherently misogynistic or the terrible and soul crushing lack of female movie directors.

When "feminism" has started to stand for the right to be a self absorbed entitled bitch, does it really take a rocket scientist to figure out why less and less women identify themselves as feminist every year?

A movement born from social justice is on the fast track to devolving into a joke. Keep up the good work.

So far it reminds me of that girl who always scolds you for ordering a burger, or taking a photo of a drunk passed out in a bar booth.

Incidentally, Moe was the writer who organized the fund raising in conjunction with Afif Sarhan to help a women's organization fighting "honor killings" in Iraq (I've recently mentioned this here). So much for sweeping character generalizations.

The first headline I see is "Do girls dig star trek?"

Why must women-centered sites be so dumb?

I think the 4th wave feminist web sites that came out of the election are by far and away the future of feminism.

Anyone who expects Slate's XXers to do more than bash women who want real power are in for a let down.

And Jessica of Feministing is so so stuck in the 90s sex in the city type of feminist it sort of hurts.

The we want to join the boy's club 90s model of feminist has had its day and that includes Broadsheet and SlateXX and Feministe. The days of proving to men how much they are adored by feminists is so so over! Everyone gets it! Obama was and is your dreamboat and Hillary is shrill. (The Shrill Hillary bit was courtesy of a Femininting writer.)

Here are some wonderful 4th wave sites for anyone looking to get past the era of begging the boys to like us and let us in.

The New Agenda

Femisex

Uppity Woman

Confluence

Reclusive Leftist