I was posting a response to a comment by a gilas girl tonight when it dawned on me -- virtually all my favorite posters at dKos are women. I looked at my diary watchlist: two men and six women. I love Armando's stuff, the way he wears his heart on his sleeve. I've gotten to know DCDemocrat quite well, but much of that is offline, through his yeomanlike work in West Virginia. And Carnacki, I swear he's my twin brother (except on gun control). I'm sure there are others that I'm leaving out, so like they say at the Academy Awards, I apologize if I've forgotten you. Not to mention the obvious ones like DemFromCT and Meteor Blades.
But on the X chromosome side of things, there's Maryscott O'Connor, Plutonium Page, a gilas girl, mcjoan, daria g, and concernedamerican (a true friend in more than the blog fashion -- she opened her home to me, a complete stranger, on Election Day). And again, there's a lot of other women I'm forgetting. And the obvious DHinMI.
On balance, I gotta say it, the women have it -- or at least more of it. Maryscott is funny and angry and passionate and personal and political and, quite frankly, someone I want to have the good fortune to meet someday. Page is more quirky and goofy than Maryscott, but just as smart and wiseass -- I want to hang with her too. a gilas girl, daria g and mcjoan are a big part of the institutional memory of this place when there were 300 instead of 30,000 Kossacks, and they're all inspiring and funny and all the things any of us could ever want as sparring partners, sounding boards and comic relief. I had just gotten to be a fan of a gilas girl when she bailed for a while, and I was crushed. She's been back a bit more recently, and I think that's great. And Daria still likes me even though I called one of her comments "shit." That's the way it should be -- pounce on the comment, not the person.
All of this flies in the face of the fact that there's a lot more men online than women, and it appears that this holds here too. So what gives? Apart from the fact that I'm just a really cool guy who loves and respects women -- I mean, that's a given. ;-)
Having given it some thought, here's my theory. With women, I think in general we get more of the actual person in their posts than we do with men. All of my favorites mentioned above are willing to put themselves out there -- not a pose, not a fake front, but the real person, warts and all. Not that there's many warts on these women -- they are smart and tough and dedicated to making this world a better place, one diary and one comment at a time.
I think the guys here could use a lesson. Less style, less macho posturing or clever phrasing in your diaries and comments, and more substance.
Who are you? Why should we care what you think? What experiences and feelings (oooh, a touchy feely guy! run!) and emotions (argh!) do you have that make your opinion worth remembering? A good example of this is Liberal Rakassan's diary today about his experiences in Iraq. Didn't agree with every opinion he expressed, but by God, you couldn't read it without realizing that this was a guy with a special ability to communicate not just the facts, but the emotions and the fears and the "you are there" aspect of wartime. One of the best diaries I've read in a long time. Looking forward to reading more from him.
And, guys, a bit more humor wouldn't hurt either. I've just discovered Cheers & Jeers from Bill in Portland Maine, and boy, is he clever and funny and outrageous. I try to stop in every morning, drop in a cheer or a jeer, and read the funny goings on. More of this type of attitude would be nice. Don't be so grim; the news is bad enough without more rancor or attitude.
So for now, let's celebrate the opposite sex. We all deserve it. Guys, let's hear it. Who do you love? Ladies? How about you? Who does it for you? The floor is open for nominations.