Well, I never.
Sometime over the weekend my CBA Best Feminist Blog nomination (thanks skdadl) got the boot, along with a bunch of conservative blogs. The CBAs appointed a judge with a background in Womens’ Studies, and thus a Bona-Fide Feminist, to make the determination of which of the nominated blogs fit the category, and this one didn’t make the cut.
That’s it, I’m going over to SDA to commiserate with Kate — we may launch a Class Action Human Rights complaint.
(Seriously, it’s okay — I dislike and reject labels of all kinds anyway. But being purged along with SDA, BBW etc., well, I couldn’t resist. Ha!)
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unrepentant old hippie 
Nothing quite as disheartening as being kicked out of a circle jerk is there?
That doesn’t make sense JJ. Let me look into it for you, because if you don’t qualify as a feminist, nobody does.
CF – Yes, as you can see I’m very disheartened. That’s what the “Ha!” at the end was about — my sorrow & disheartenment.
Do I have to put “/snark” at the end of every post so the irony is understood? Smarten the fuck up.
RA – No, thanks anyway but never mind looking into it. I just thought it was funny. It’s true — I’m not a stereotypical feminist at all, there are lots of other blogs that better fit the designation than this one. Being purged along with a bunch of RW blogs was too funny to resist pointing out, though 😆
Wasn’t it Groucho Marx who said he wouldn’t want to join any club that would have him as a member?
You didn’t think the idea of being kicked out of a circle jerk was itself a snarky comment?
I’m losing my touch.
OK, it was moderately amusing 😉
David – Yeah, you get it 😉
I’m in favour next year of collaborating with Acreative Revolution and having the Feminist category run by them. That would solve a lot of problems. I don’t mean “me” personally, but the CBA’s, whoever happens to run them in 2009.
It’s a shame some elements of the right decided to play games this year and mess around with the category, but to be honest there’s been a fair share of grumbling from elements on the left [undeserved in my esteem because the CBA organizers really, really wanted to please the feminists this year and be fair to them].
So yeah, maybe outsourcing next year to ACR and collaborating on the results without a boycott or any grumbling.
RA – No, the CBAs have a good lineup of feminist blogs. I think they did a great job, considering the “challenges” they encountered when they opened the category to nominations. I really don’t care about not being in it, I wouldn’t have won anyway. I just thought it was funny to be nominated and then get swept out with the dregs.
Or maybe I should be taking away a message from this. Hmmm…
Hey Captain F – Sorry for being overly snarly back there, that was out of line. I didn’t get enough sleep last night. Plus I’m a bitch.
S’okay. I like bitches. As some other bitch once said “If you don’t have anything nice to say, come sit by me.”
RA – thanks for the compliment, but an ACR collaboration with the CBA’s won’t be happening.
This isn’t fair. I believe in hearing all sides of the political sphere – except for Faux Noise, hate radio, the NY Post, and the WSJ – and this strikes me as just wrong.
😦
P.S. JJ, why did you move to a different blog? What are the pros of moving here?
JJ,
No, no message. And yes, I do see how it’s odd that you share something in common with Kate McMillan.
Night.
Hey JJ! I was surprised not to see you on the list but at the same time relieved that SDA, Five Feet of F*ck, et all were off the list. I don’t understand how you were put on an elimination list for that category. I would be curious to know the reasoning so I am glad you posted this.
“I’m not a stereotypical feminist at all…”
Neither is anyone else, because there is no such thing.
I don’t care if the “judge” is supposed to be a professor of womens’ studies. Some “expert?” That still only gives her one opinion. One flava. She doesn’t speak for others. I would have liked to be the one to decide for myself who to vote for. Now, though, I’ve lost interest.
When the CBAs get around to defining the categories explicitly in writing, maybe I’ll take another look at them. After all, it’s not just women who are feminists and not just rednecks who are anti-feminist and not just Barbie dolls who try to spoil everyone else’s party.
Don’t you think that SDA and FiveFeetofFeces should be in a ‘special’ category. Like “Best Female Racist Category”? …or something… I’m with CC on this one…putting SDA (sounds like a disease doesn’t it?)in Best Political Blog sucks.
Wow. I didn’t notice that, JJ. Like Beijing York, I was just relieved to see the dreck removed.
Must have been a mistake. Really. I mean when LifeShite calls you (and *ahem* moi) Vicious Abortion Crusaders, that’s yer feminazi spurs, ain’t it?
While you may be a feminist, based on your posts, less than 50% of them deal with women in particular. You do have a lot of intereesting posts on LGBT issues, religious-zealots, and other matters. It looks like you were too broad to be considered for the best “broad” category. Sorry, I had to mention that unfortunate pun.
I do disagree with one person being the arbiter of which blogs post feminist comments. I think the organizers could have found a few more people to advise them.
Perhaps this the feminist category could be changed to best women’s issues blog for next year. I personally find the feminist label too ideologically restrictive. “Best women’s issues blog” can allow for a wider rang of views from both women and men who blog about issues that focus on women’s interests. In theory, a blogger who posts about women’s rights in Afghanistan could run against a pro-life (I’m using the positive term) woman who writes about being against abortion from a woman’s perspective.
So a “feminist” has to be earnestly onto feminist topics, 24/7?
What about just being herself?
Once again, the arbiters of the contest have made fools of themselves. If JJ doesn’t qualify as a feminist, the category ceases to make any sense.
I agree totally, Dr. Dawg.
P2bP – “JJ, why did you move to a different blog? What are the pros of moving here?”
Why? Thinking about moving your blog? 😉
From what I’ve heard, the main benefit is that Weirdpress is always up, compared to Blogger which seems to have a fair amount of downtime. Also more image storage space (3 GB as opposed to blogger’s 1GB), and haloscan-like comment management. Also provides stats, but they’re not as detailed as you get with site meter.
The big downside for me is you can’t write your own code unless you pay for an upgrade. Also no javascript (I think) so the site meters don’t show originating links.
I’m still learning it, though…
RA – “I do see how it’s odd that you share something in common with Kate McMillan.”
It’s not all that odd — on a personal level, I probably have as much in common with Kate as I do with someone with a background in womens’ studies. I just thought it was funny to get rejected from the category, considering that last year I won in 2 categories of the ACR f-word awards.
But so what? There are lots of good femblogs there to vote for.
Beijing – I suspect the reasoning is that I write about whatever turns my crank, not necessarily feminist issues.
I’m not unhappy about this, it sort of confirms my free spirit 😆
chimera – “Stereotypical” was probably a bad word to use. What I meant is that I don’t toe any particular ideological line, so that might make it a little confusing to someone looking at this blog for the first time.
And feminists are supposed to be humourless, aren’t they? 😉
SQ – Actually, SDA is a great blog — in that particular niche. I’m just not sure *that niche* belongs in the same category as Red Tory, CC, Dawg’s Blog etc.
The “Best Blog” category is kind of dumb anyway — it’s so sharply divided along ideological lines that it ends up being more of an assessment of who’s got the biggest wankfest going.
fern hill – Meh. It’s funny, but that’s all. I really don’t care.
skinny dipper – “Perhaps this the feminist category could be changed to best women’s issues blog for next year.”
That might be more appropriate, since “best feminist” blog seems to speak to the blogger’s personal ideology more than the issues she/he blogs about. That’s how the category got so jammed up with anti-feminist blogs in the first place. Who’s to say SUZANNE isn’t a feminist, on some planet? (“Equal rights for unborn women!”)
That said, there are other blogs in the category that run basically the same proportion of “women’s issues” as this one, so I question that criterion. Maybe the judge just didn’t like that post with the Bukowski riff 😉
I think it was all the kitten posts that did you in. Wait, scratch that. It wasn’t the kittens. It was that damn evil parrot.
Dr. Dawg – “So a “feminist” has to be earnestly onto feminist topics, 24/7?”
Other than Birth Pangs, Dammit and a few others, you’d be hard-pressed to find a blog that’s solely about womens’s issues. Even USian feminist standard-bearers like pandagon and feministing delve into the areas of GLBT rights (because womens’ rights are human rights), religious fundamentalism, and right-wingnuttery.
As skinny dipper suggested, maybe the category would be better named women’s issues, then the rest of us who blog about other stuff more than 50% of the time wouldn’t be nominated in the first place.
That said, it’s FUNNY 😆 and I wouldn’t have won anyway, so who cares?
RB – It was probably the gun in the sidebar. I’ll always wonder if things would have turned out differently if I’d gone with the coat hanger instead.
“Other than Birth Pangs, Dammit and a few others, you’d be hard-pressed to find a blog that’s solely about womens’s issues.”
Exactly. The judge had the category rules to go by, and made a call based on blog content.
“Women’s Issues” as a title was shot down last year by a group who felt it was derogatory to the cause of feminism by not using the explicit word “feminism”. Thus the “F-word awards” were born. I shouldn’t have to point this out, since the group who ran those awards are reading this thread.
The main problem is that people are being too title/label-centric. We could have a Best Blogger or Best Word Press hosted blog category, and it would mean what? Jack squat. By trying to please more people by adding more categories, perhaps we’re pleasing fewer by taking peoples attention off of what is really important… and that is winning the right to post a graphic of a cute cartoon beaver on your blog’s sidebar. Har har.
COME ON! It’s a blog awards, it’s not the end of the world, nor the cure to cancer. It’s a fun little competition, where people get to learn about more of the Canadian Blogosphere.
JJ, you’re taking this decision by the judge admirably. I would have made a different call, but since the judge apparently didn’t see 50% or more feminist blog content, they made the tough choice to exclude you from that category. I hope someone nominated you for another category, since you clearly have a fine political blog that is well read.
Saskboy – LOL, it’s okay. If I hadn’t been nominated in the first place it wouldn’t have occurred to me to bitch about not being there. What’s funny about it is getting *cleansed* out of the category along with the likes of BigBlueWave and Blazing Catshit 😆
As I said upthread, there are lots of good feminist blogs there to choose from, and I daresay a lot more deserving of the title than mine.
Carry on 😉
Hilarious.
I guess now we’ll have to make doubly sure you’re eligible for an F-word award this year. 😉
Dr. Prole – You’re going to give Saskboy a nervous breakdown 😉
Seriously, it was funny, but that’s all. If I don’t make the cut with the womens’ studies gang… well, that’s not a totally bad thing, in my view 😆
I feel I need to point out to some people, not JJ, that being nominated (or not) in a blog awards is not calling into question your worth as a person, woman, feminist, writer, and so on. It just means that someone, somewhere in Canada who was brave enough to take on the task of judging the most controversial category in CBA history (I dare say), thought that JJ’s blog didn’t write mostly about feminist issues (as the category requirements stated). It’s obvious that JJ is in favour of women’s rights, and is a feminist, but that was not the criteria for having a blog eligible for the category this year.
If you think it should be for next years competition, perhaps we should change the category’s rules.
It’s all good.
same as last year. 🙂
But, but, but Reality Bites – the parrot isn’t evil anymore. JJ won it’s heart.
Had to be the kittens.;^)
“It’s a fun little competition, where people get to learn about more of the Canadian Blogosphere.”
Nobody will learn anything accurate about the Canadian blogosphere with just this “fun little competition.” If you really want to tout the Canadian blogosphere, you need a Critic’s Choice blog, or something like it, that reviews the different blogs like movie critics review movies. All your “fun little competition” does is take the cliques out of hiding for awhile, where they get to show off their best costumes and company manners. Then, when the competition is over, they go back to the serious business of being themselves, again.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I’m just saying.
pale – D’oh! You guys are being mean! 😆
Seriously, I was nominated in a couple of other categories — it’s all good. At least the CBAs made the attempt and got the category off the ground in spite of being swarmed by wingnuts.
I couldn’t resist calling attention to this incident because I thought it was funny, that’s all.
Let’s be fair.
Bene D – I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… Zachary has fallen back on his Old Ways. He bit me on Sunday night 😦
Chimera – I think all he means is that people can find out about blogs they might not have heard of otherwise. At least that’s the case with the Best Blog category, since it includes non-political blogs.
This is how it was explained to me by the judge.
First of all, this was the best feminist category, not the best blog written by a woman category. Therefore, a blog would not be accepted into the category simply because the writter was a woman.
Second, the blog had to, for the most part, talk about feminism or issues via a feminist lens. Feminism generally being defined as “belief in the political, social, and economic equality of women”. Of course, there were probably some subtleties that somebody in Women’s Studies would know about.
So, using that basis, there were a few blogs that were removed. JJ’s was one of them.
Since this category tends to be explosive, the CBA Operators are not going to overrule the judge, unless the big rule of the CBA’s are broken, being the blog must be based in Canada or written by a Canadian.
NBCD – It’s okay, really, no thang. I thought it was funny, that’s all.
Although I wouldn’t mind seeing a list of the blogs that were removed besides mine 😆
Indeed — I’ve certainly learned a lot. Like how this unnamed (and unaccountable) 1337 wimminz studiez gatekeeper is apparently so ignorant about the Canadian blogosphere that s/he would boot one of Canada’s most prominent and popular Canadian feminists bloggers, yet (initially, as I see the powers-that-be have since corrected the oversight) allow the nominations of two blogs that aren’t even Canadian to stand (Meryl Yourish and Hoyden About Town, respectively).
Hi-freakin’-larious.
Anyway, I think you should take this diss as a backhanded compliment, even if you ended up getting purged alongside some decidedly unsavoury (to put it mildly) company. 😉
Nah. not mean. Honest. LOL. But my reference was more to say that the F words are on again for this year.
We do it differently. The F words are to celebrate all blogs that are written by feminists from a feminist perspective. Even if it’s something… like a blog about the environment.
I see sasks point this time, (usually I have another opinion) I mean, they narrowed it down to that teeny tiny little window, and now they have to stay within those parameters.
They would be skewered if they hadn’t stayed in there too. Can’t win for losing with the gang on the other side’o’the spectrum.
It’s all good. At the F words the wingnuts are automatically not eligible, so there will never be the game playing and kerfuffles. (You won’t see them even trying. We have moderation) Way less ruffled feathers, and they don’t get their jollies. Win win. 🙂
Its all good.
Whaa? Not being mean, just sayin’.
JJ, I’m with you – I know that ACR would not fit the criteria of a feminist blog as defined by the CBA admins, though us owner/operators definitely consider ourselves feminists, though not women’s studies afficianados.
So settle down, peeps! The fact is, JJ is one of the most ass kickin’ rawk ‘n’ roll feminists on the web, and that doesn’t change because she doesn’t have an adorable beaver on her sidebar that says so.
Mattt – “Anyway, I think you should take this diss as a backhanded compliment”
I do 😆 But I can never resist pointing out humour and irony. It’s a sickness with me 😛
pale – For sure, I don’t see how they could do this category any other way given the amount of resistance it’s met with.
It would be different if there wasn’t so much objection to it on Planet Wingnut, but since there is, the standards for the category have to be pretty exacting. By those standards this blog doesn’t fit, I have no argument with that.
Still, I thought it was funny 😛 to get kicked out along with SUZANNE. Yo! SUZANNE! See that?
prole – “ACR would not fit the criteria of a feminist blog as defined by the CBA admins, though us owner/operators definitely consider ourselves feminists”
Yeah, that’s where I’m at.
At least there is a feminist category this year, and a lot of good blogs to vote for. I understand that the CBA admins are trying to deal with an aggravating situation as best they can.
Who knew this category would be so much trouble? I bet they’re cursing themselves for even adding it.
I wonder if the right wing blogs are asking everyone to boycott the CBA’s over on their side for the folks taking out their obvious attempt to make a mockery of the category.
Just curious. I try not to visit over there if I can help it.
Scott – I was wondering that myself, but I haven’t seen Word One about it so far. Which just goes to show how much of an issue the category really was for them — they were just being assholes and causing the admins more headaches.
OT/ JJ sign into your site meter account go to manager>>html code>>scroll down till you see this For additional step by step instructions on adding Site Meter code to your hosted blog or website please click scroll down to wordpress.com and there are detailed instructions on how to add. /OT
Sorry you aren’t in the category 😦
I have an opinion on the matter of why you were excluded, jj. ( Big surprise that I have an opinion, eh! )
Ok, I am placing my tongue firmly in my cheek … ready …
The reason you were excluded was that you know what a ‘spun bearing’ is.
Some people have it in their heads that women, and by association, feminists, should not know about things technical and therefore manly.
‘Course it’s bullcrap – women and feminists can know about anything – they are people after all.
Because you don’t write, in most part, about ” women’s issues” the narrowness of the category excludes you. What are women’s issues anyway ?? I say they are everything.
“Feminism generally being defined as “belief in the political, social, and economic equality of women”. ” – This is BCDipper’s quote.
I’ve never really pondered the definition of feminism, and I suppose that one is as good as any, but it seems a little … narrow.
Gee, I dunno, Interesting how the definition of feminism has suddenly become so exact that if you don’t qualify as a feminist blogger, I’m not sure I can call myself a GLBT blogger. It’s not the only thing I blog about, and I’m sure I don’t do it to many people’s satisfaction.
” mean when LifeShite calls you (and *ahem* moi) Vicious Abortion Crusaders, that’s yer feminazi spurs, ain’t it?”
I dunno. I think to them a VAC would include just about anyone who hasn’t ever picketed an abortion clinic.
AR – No big thing, really. But funny, very funny.
(Re sitemeter — I do have it on my blog, but wordpress doesn’t allow javascript so there’s no originating links shown in the stats. Frankly, I think WP should ditch their stats — I don’t find them all that informative.)
willy b – “The reason you were excluded was that you know what a ’spun bearing’ is.”
Gee, they didn’t have to blow a gasket over it 😉
I think they’re stuck between a rock & a rock — if they don’t define the category narrowly, there’s less reason to exclude some of the more absurd nominations. If it’s defined so narrowly that even I don’t make the cut, then there’s no way anyone can argue that some of the anti-feminist bloggers should be included.
It’s all good, there’s lots to vote for.
Bruce – Yeah, that’s exactly where this is coming from. You blog about a variety of things too, but using the feminist blog criteria, you might be rejected from the GLBT category. Whereas someone like Mark at Slap blogs exclusively about gay rights issues, so he’d be considered a bona-fide GLBT blogger.
Fortunately, the GLBT category didn’t face the same challenges that the feminist category did — no conservatives swarmed in to nominate non-gays in that category.
Meh. No biggie.
RB – Yeah, actually lifeshite broadens the category significantly. If you’re not a fetus fetishist, you’re a vicious abortion crusader… it’s that simple.
But … but … that was my nomination! They rejected my nom!
Sorry to get here so late, JJ. Yes, it’s all good and there are lots of wonderful blogs to vote for, but sheesh — some expert in women’s studies is telling me — moi! — that I don’t know a feminist when I read one? Of all the noive.
I never qualify either because I spend too much time being decadent and depraved with a bunch of guys, and I’m hardly a preponderance at our place, so that’s fair.
But wow. If some of these experts could have been girls back in the day, eh? Was it even possible to imagine a JJ in, say, 1955? Maybe just barely, because that’s about when girls and women like JJ finally started to use their own heads as battering rams to break through all the ceilings and insist, damn it, that they could do bricklefritzin’ anything teh boyz can do — which is what JJ does now. If being JJ isn’t essence of feminism, then there is no such thing.
Ok. I’ll stop being earnest and intense here. Well, no, I probably won’t, but I am laughing at the thought of you and Kate and co bunking together. Give ’em hell, chick!
So, I guess the personal isn’t political anymore, eh? CBA = A Big Joke
skdadl – Us old 2nd Wavers might need to school those Womens’ Studies chicks, eh? 😆
Seriously — thanks for the nomination. I can see their point though, if someone’s blog is judged as a feminist blog just because that blogger is a feminist (and not necessarily because of what they write about), then it might be too easy to justify nominating someone who just happens to own a uterus.
“I am laughing at the thought of you and Kate and co bunking together”
Actually, Kate and I would have much to discuss — the best way to tape a gastank for painting flames on it, the relative merits of rimfire versus centerfire ammo… just not politics 😆
regina mom – If it hadn’t been for all the objection to the category, there’d be no need for such stringent guidelines.
It’s too bad that some people, especially those who are already shoo-ins in other categories, felt the need to corrupt things. It didn’t serve any purpose, the category still stands. And likely next year the admins will just ignore attempts to sideline it and make their own determinations without feeling the need to bring in an impartial judge.
No biggie.