During the recent GodBlogCon gathering in Los Angeles, someone said offhandedly that, of course, the lion's share of blog commenters were bound to be male because blogging is such a techie sort of thing. I turned to Lores Rizkalla and said, "That's funny. I think that something like two-thirds to three-quarters of my commenters are women."
I haven't bothered counting. But that ratio still seems close to accurate to me. I wonder why that would be. Any ideas?
I asked my son this evening and the smart aleck told me, "It's because you're effeminate." (Not that there's anything wrong with that, as Jerry Seinfeld might say.) After I stopped laughing, he looked at me with that winsome smile of his and said, "You walked into that one, Dad."
So, what do you think? Why does this blog seem to violate the ordinary experience, especially for blogs written by males, of attracting more female than male commenters?
4 comments:
Well I, being one of your regular viewers, am afraid to comment now. If your average viewer is female, then that would make me look more to be effiminate, not you...
Adam:
Let's not even go there.
Thanks for your regular "patronage" and thanks for your comment.
I stopped by your blog and really enjoyed your most recent post. You address an important issue: the unncessary pitting of faith versus science. I will visit again.
Blessings!
Mark
I have more female commenters. My husband does also. We both have blogs, and I comment more than he does. I think it's an emotional thing; that's just a guess. I don't know where they got their stats from, but I think men comment on political blogs more often.
Stargazer:
Because politics is a way of keeping score, I'm inclined to agree that political blogs are more likely to draw male than female commenters. Males are less likely to be collaborative and more into rigid systems from which winners and losers emerge. Whether that's the result of nature or nurture, who knows? (The desire to win isn't the only reason that people get involved in politics, to be sure. But it is one reason that some get involved.)
Lores:
Thank you for taking the time to deliver such thoughtful comments!
If this place is a site where people, male or female, can come and feel welcomed even if they may disagree with what I say, then I think that part of the promise of blogging is fulfilled. Whether that always happens is a completely different question.
Of course, I'd be honored if you wanted to use some version of the question I posed in this post at your blog.
God bless...and thanks to all the commenters!
Mark
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