Sexism in blogs

Yes, unfortunately there are still rampant cases of sexism in this country and I have found some cases online recently in blogs. Blogging is a great vehicle to deliver a message quickly to your audience. I'm certainly not suggesting that we take any of our first amendment rights away here, but I am suggesting that we think before we write. Semantics is important. See Webster's definition here. I especially like this part from the definition: "1: the study of meanings: a: the historical and psychological study and the classification of changes in the signification of words or forms viewed as factors in linguistic development."

Here is the case and the prompting of my blog. I read a blog this morning from a pretty well known business man here in Des Moines. He was calling attention to a new blog called The Women on the Web. In said blog he included a line, "Hats off to these ladies..."

See the issue?

I'll point it out clearly. The word used in the title of the new blog is "women." That word carries great importance and significance. I have not found the word lady or ladies anywhere on that site. Probably because that word is a throwback to the June Cleaver way of life that I thought we moved beyond in the '60s.

The question of the day on WowOWow, The Women on the Web is what four women would you like to see on Mt. Rushmore? This will never happen, but it's fun to think about.

Oh, and one of the comments posted to the blog that I read promoting the WowOWow site was that there needed to be a male version with Michael Jordan as one of the writers. Come on, there are millions of the "male" version in existence already. That's what ESPN, Sports Illustrated and countless others have been doing for a long time.

Call to action: First, you women out there should consider referring to yourselves as women, not "ladies," if we are really going to get somewhere. We teach others how to treat us. Treat yourself with the respect you deserve and men will start treating you with respect. See how it works?