“Isms” Brouhaha in the Vlogosphere
Published by Jonny Goldstein on 11 May 2006 at 6:53 pm.
12 Comments.
Filed under Vlog News.
There has been a spate of spirited sparring on the Yahoo Videoblogging Group and in video form about sexism, big media vs. grassroots media, agism, community, and all kinds of other hot-button issues. It started with a company looking for help finding a female host for a golf themed videoblog by posting on the Yahoo group. From that humble beginning a colossal exchange of posts both video and text ensued. KillerB got the video conversation going with this post, which inspired Ryan Hodson and Jay Dedman to respond with this video. Then things started getting reeeeeally weeeeeird with this post by Richard BF, which incorporated Brittany’s video into a video of himself with his mouth closed with black tape, silently (but very expressively) responding to her video. Things got a little tamer when Casey McKinnon posted her bronchitis tinged reflections on things. Then Bev Sykes chimed in with her very useful chronology of events along with her own take on things. Then things got strange again with this visually and sonically distorted remix of Ryan and Jay’s video by Shannon Noble. Then KillerB came back with a follow up video. Dig in. It’s a feast of isms!
Updates:
From Devlon
From Daniel Liss
From Paul Knight
From Minnesota Stories.
Please note that there’s some profanity, sexual language, and stuff like that in some of these posts, so if that is not something you like, don’t follow the links.
Russ on 12 May 2006 at 5:19 am: 1
Everybody seems to be talking about the hostess.
What about the golf and is it going to be a daily vlog like rocketboom.
Lukas on 12 May 2006 at 9:50 am: 2
Not a video - but a side note on systemic sexism:
http://backinblakk.blogspot.com/2006/05/so-you-want-to-talk-about-sexism.html
Bre Pettis on 12 May 2006 at 11:41 am: 3
Thanks for aggregating this conversation!
clark on 12 May 2006 at 5:41 pm: 4
Thanks Jonny!
It’s for such reasons that I personally do not watch 88slide ((I saw 2 early episodes, after they emailed me, the same day the episode used speedwalking in it, much like American Walker)) Anyway, 88slide most likely started out in this same way: find a hot hostess, put together a money-making formula. You don’t even really get to see the woman’s personality, she’s totally scripted, and I’d be quite surprised if it is not directed by a man. It’s an old school male mind commercial consumer bore. It was bound to happen, and is bound to happen more. And worse. It’s a classic symptom of a “successful” (according to material societal standands) endeavor. It starts out rather pure, and when money, and thus power become involved, so, too does sex. And the next thing you know, the underground goes overground, the big wigs co-opt it, turn it into mindless drivel, make lots of money, and the underground turns to something else that is really interesting. Perhaps the most unfortunate thing is the “masses” who make it possible by watching/consuming it. If people didn’t buy the tabloids, there wouldn’t be tabloids. ?
Toma Chaffer on 12 May 2006 at 7:21 pm: 5
A very noble subject: i.e. just what is it that makes women angry about this present world system - mostly being run into the ground by men? I’ve posted to my vlog a sort of remix/rant of my own on the subject. Thanks for caring!
Monika on 12 May 2006 at 7:47 pm: 6
I just think Paul needs to hear a knob joke told by a woman. Here it is:
http://nurse2be.blogspot.com/2006/05/knob-joke.html
Anne Walk on 13 May 2006 at 8:24 am: 7
here’s mine:
http://tinyurl.com/oy8px
schlomo on 14 May 2006 at 11:22 am: 8
Though I probably shouldn’t have, I responded to the video here.
Markus Sandy on 14 May 2006 at 11:29 pm: 9
Well, you didn’t think I was just gunna sit here and watch did you? I made a screencast.
Jen on 20 May 2006 at 10:46 am: 10
Thanks for writing this up Jonny.
We made a response video as well here: Let’s Do Something Different.
erik on 25 May 2006 at 1:22 pm: 11
And Bottom Union made this one
Brouhaha
Bill C. on 16 Oct 2006 at 7:50 am: 12
Interesting. So what was the conclusion here?
Perhaps an ethical agreement to attempt to publicize golf shows without an attractive female? A ‘new’ initiative to choose a hostess for a show, solely based on what she thinks and how she expresses it? An attempt to maintain the integrity of videoblogging at the expense of losing potential viewers (and in some cases, revenue) that only would have tuned in to your show to watch the hostess, whether she has any lines or not?
What’s the alternative to ‘how things are’ that’s been presented in this discussion? Has this done anything to improve the status, position, visibility or impact of women in the vlogosphere?