The Character of Our Content - Another Lesson For the Real World Courtesy of the Blogosphere
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A recent post by one of my favorite bloggers raised an interesting point for me. Here’s what Pearl wrote on Fresh-perspectives.net:
“I do want to start by saying that I am indeed a female as some of you have expressed concerns and questioned me a number of times. I also want to assure you that it is highly unlikely that this fact of me being a female is going to change this lifetime! phew!”
What this slice of her post concerning her “about me” page got me thinking about is not what gender any particular blogger is, but rather how remarkably gender (and ethnicity and sexual preference etc.) neutral the blogosphere actually is. Do we know, really, who is actually writing the wisdom we so happily absorb? And should we care?
Sure we all have the opportunity to share as much or as little as we wish on our About Me pages, put our actual pics or avatars wherever we choose on our blogs, and bare our souls if that’s what our blogs are about. But in all probability we just never give much thought to the details so much of society focuses on in the real world. And no, I don’t consider the last part of that statement open for debate…that’s just the way it is.
For once, on this blog, I hope and believe I can safely speak for all of us bloggers. Not only does it not matter what box a particular blogger would check on an overly intrusive government form, but indeed our collective focus on the content of our character, and blogs, is one of the most powerfully liberating truths of the sphere itself.
I couldn’t care less if the great tip on wrapping text around an adsense block came from a gay young man in the Philippines or a stay-at-home mom somewhere in Oregon. Of course long before I found blogging I had given up on separating some humans from other humans based on fabricated concepts such as race, or thinking one’s ethnic background made one either more, or less, an equal citizen of this planet. And religion…well, I just wont go there in this post!
Right at this moment, I just checked, I’ve got exactly the same number of women bloggers as men in my RSS reader. For some of them, I’ve seen pics if they chose to publish them (as I have) but for others I don’t know what they look like at all, including my friend Pearl whose post I quoted above as getting me started on this theme. It’s not that I’m congratulating myself for this, I just think it’s kind of cool that I… and we, I’m going to assume… have always just read the words and felt the feelings my friends and role models have shared.
This post could go on for quite a long time if I choose to explore more deeply. Is the US ready for a black president? A woman president? Why are we still watching Darfur? Killing in Tikrit? And what the hell is going on in New Orleans? You get the idea…much to explore, many many posts.
I’ll leave it here though, for now. My first hope is that these thoughts running through my mind now are truly much ado about nothing. I’ve been hearing recently of polls revealing how the newest voting generation is the most tolerant in American history, so maybe a good part of the blogosphere has really not been paying attention, on the web and in life, to these matters…what someone looks like or where they come from or what they believe in… simply because it didn’t occur to them that anybody would or should care. That, I think, would be a good thing.
My second hope is that someone reading this will challenge me on something I’ve written here. I’ve thrown a little meat into the cage, where are the hungry lions?
Sphere: Related Contenttcs @ July 17, 2007
hi Tom.. I am sorry for not being able to stop by here although I read your article and have been trying to find a few minutes to comment!
I believe whole heartedly that most of us bloggers are here to genuinely share knowledge and experiences, and it does not matter to most of us what the person writing those posts looks like, where they live, how old they are or what their academic/social/economic status is! This immensely beautiful nature of blogging world is why most of us continue to blog and have even become addicted… its simply refreshing!
.. but I believe as soon as someone posts their picture, we automatically and perhaps unintentionally start judging whats being said! Thats the way it is, just as in the off-line real life world…but you are right, I also feel the younger generation is much more accepting of each other based on value system…
black president and a woman running for the office certainly attests to the fact times are changing … but I wouldn’t want to elect a black president or a woman president just for the sake making a statement!! I hope Americans still review candidates’ resumes thoroughly…..
Very well said Pearl - I especially like how you made the point about electing anyone to make statement…I agree completely…except for the very last line when you wrote “…still review candidates resumes…” I haven’t seen much evidence of that kind of scrutiny around here in quite a while!