Image by elaisted.
Yesterday I did a short interview with an international mainstream media outlet about the Playboy sexy female blogger list and how I felt about being on it, and the wider discussions it’s sparked about sexualizing women in tech. There’s been a lot said about that list*. But I think it’s important to remember that unless it’s a list like a Forbes list that has a whole huge pile of methodology and data behind it — or is clearly stated opinion from a pundit, media giant or expert — these lists are just vanity posts, and are a standard sort of linkbait. We all know this. And I think that’s not a bad thing: I pretty much love all blogger/vlogger lists because they’re like a bag of delicious snack food that you know isn’t really food but is delicious to devour, a sort-of indulgent pleasure — especially to see if you know who the poeple are on the list, etc. I respect lists that openly state that either a) they have substantiated reasons for the who-what-why of the list, or b) are openly stated personal lists by people who want to present their list as conventional wisdom based on observation and opinion. I’ve thought about this a lot, having my own yearly list that’s based on my year-long researched opinions, and reader-submitted nominations. As to whether I thought the Playboy list was somehow ‘demeaning’ to the women on it (I’ve been asked), see the above photo for my opinion on women, internet sexualization, and power.
The Playboy list was one of those lists that was Playboy’s editorial opinion; and it was actually compiled in May then delayed to July, then the lede was re-written to reflect That Boing Boing Thing. At the same time the Playboy list finally got published, someone came up with a ’50 most influential female bloggers list’ — and the people who did it immediately spammed all the women on the list asking for links and Diggs. I mean, thanks for including me. Again, it’s so easy to fuck up marketing to bloggers, sigh. I emailed them back thanking them and politely asking what their methodology was for making the list, and got silence and tumbleweeds. Shady.
But this week over at Between My Sheets, we’ve got a great list in the making taking form in the post Nominate Some Sexy Bloggers. It’s sweet and very DIY, and I see some incredible female bloggers in the comments — which is my secret guilty pleasure, picking through the comments and making new sex blogger and porn discoveries. Check it out; I’m looking forward to seeing how this list comes out — especially when I compile my sexy geeks list at the end of the year.
* DollyMix had a painful anti-sex feminist rant about the list, and my comment on their post was not published.
Update 07.20: Jack Schofield at Guardian U.K. writes about the methodology-free ‘influential’ list in Which women bloggers are worth a look?
