Gwendolyn Beetham and Jessica Valenti, "Introduction" (Page 3 of 4)

Where are the women?

Our contributing authors and bloggers explore various elements surrounding this pivotal question, which was also a main topic of conversation by panelists at the November 2006 panel on women and cyberactivism hosted by Barnard. In "Where are the Women? Pseudonymity and the Public Sphere, Then and Now," Tedra Osell traces the historic roots of women and pseudonymous writing, asking whether the contemporary perception that men dominate the blogosphere might stem from "this question of pseudonymity" and suggesting that "perhaps part of the gap between reality and perception comes from women hiding in plain sight." Clancy Ratcliff describes preoccupation with the question itself as one of the main barriers for women in the blogosphere, arguing that "bloggers' preoccupation with the element of sex in the 'Where are the women?' discussions shows that gender is a "difference that cannot be set aside" and one that "affects weblog conversations before they even begin."

On the other hand, Chris Nolan argues that instead of focusing on the "where are the women" discussions, women should look forward, focusing on how women's voices can contribute to public discourse by taking advantage of new technology. Nolan issues a call to action for "women who really care about politics and public discourse" to support Web sites and other online efforts that speak to women's needs better than mainstream, male-dominated media outlets.

Highlighting one important reason for the use of new technology to move beyond the dominant media discourse, Marie Varghese cites the example of cyberactivism in calling attention to violence against LGBT people of color. Varghese argues that "blogging as an act serves to refocus the lens and add more depth to the available images of queer experiences in the US." Patricia Lange's essay on video blogging also provides evidence that women's use of new technologies is leading to "increased public discourse about formerly uncomfortable, distasteful, or difficult topics in ways that other media methods have not."

Gillian Youngs and Shireen Mitchell provide an in-depth look at some of the barriers to online feminist organizing. Youngs argues that, while "feminism is alive and well, evolving and changing in these cybertimes," divisive social and global inequalities are also in danger of growing if "the kinds of warnings about exclusion that feminist voices articulate are not heard and acted on."

These pieces are only the beginning of the dialogue on issues examined in this edition of The Scholar & Feminist Online. Due to the interactive nature of blogging itself, we have provided a new and exciting way to become involved in the conversation. As contributor Tracy Kennedy reminds us, "feminism has indeed changed . . . [i]n an Internet-saturated culture, feminists need to take on these 'master's tools' of technology and embrace the Web, making it our own" We hope that you will utilize these tools, and that this issue will be the start of a much-needed conversation on the most effective way to utilize this new medium for positive change.