I am to be part of a presentation this week on blogging and web sites. I have a notion that with free and low cost blogs and web sites available, it makes sense to create them and use them. But not long ago, I found Bailey Poland's book "Haters" in the new books section of the library. I looked it over and downloaded it to my Kindle. It is an examination of online harassment of women. I have tried to locate cases of online harassment by women but have not found any so far.
Roughly speaking and in general terms, it seems to me that women want to be liked. For many women, especially young women, being actively disliked is upsetting. Young mothers and school teachers who are just starting out may be unhappy if a child hisses "I hate you!", even if the feeling seems to have vanished ten minutes later.
The book and the results of a Google search give me pause about recommending an online presence for women. Women have powerful minds and valuable ideas. Their conversational skills are beyond doubt and it seems only basic good sense to me to seek their opinion on all matters. The world as a whole is just beginning to see the value in diversity and gender diversity clears begins with input from both sexes. It seems quite possible to me that many men enjoy challenges and competition and look at doubts and sneers either with disdain or interest. I was surprised to learn that some laws about harassment on the job including a duty by an employer to provide a reasonably safe environment free of harassment and bullying.
A book I read and wrote about nine years ago, called "The Writing or the Sex" by Dale Spender, an Australian woman writer, teacher, feminist and thinker. https://fearfunandfiloz.blogspot.com/2009/05/dale-spender-and-human-communication.html
Her book is impressive but embarrassing for men to face. The book documents situations over the last few centuries when women wrote a book but, it being a time when women writers were not accepted, used a male name as author. When such a book was a success and praised by male critics, sometimes the author revealed that she was a woman. Spender shows that some critics were surprised and re-examined the writing. Guess what? Durned if they didn't find that they had been mistaken and the writing was not very good at all.
