Female blogs like Barbie at the Ploughing Championships?

Congratulations to all the bloggers who were featured in the article Blog Her, on page 18 of the Irish Times magazine today.



In a well written article by Aisling McDermott from Beaut.ie, she highlights how when herself and Kirstie started out:

"It was a largely male-dominated world in which our fluffy pink blog stood out like Barbie at the ploughing championships... We were a bit lonely at first, I have to admit... and while there were a few excellent women bloggers in Ireland at the time, sadly you could count them on the fingers of one hand".

My, how things have changed. Andrew, for example, is a big manly man in person. Rugged, handsome and intelligent, he's a modern macho man - I mean no disrespect - but even he, now, is thinking of blogging as a woman, because, as he puts it

I seem to spend a huge amount of my time enjoying blogs written by ladies recently, so why not be one myself?

Indeed, counting out my own must-read blogs there probably are more female voices there than male - and based on this post, more females 'read' me - those blogs tend to be the ones that stick in my head, that enter my thoughts late at night - damn you Alexia, for one - and that constantly seem to raise the bar for creative and imaginative ways of looking at the world.

Indeed, last night I was reminded just how sometimes staid and predictable my own blogging can be, especially when compared to something like An Cathach, a blog I'll definitely be checking into a lot more often.

Similarly the group blogs I read are now somewhat female dominated. For Nine Pounds benefits hugely from the variety of women posting, and The Anti-Room and The Lives of Others show just how strong that perspective can be, especially when contrasted with the somewhat matter-of-fact straight to the point writings of guys who blog, myself very much included.



Bloggers covered in the article include:

• Fatmammycat - "a sharp writer who cleverly explouits the blog format to showcase her formidable talent";
  
  
• Maman Poulet - "If beauty is truth, Maman Poulet is downright gorgeous";
  
  
• Annie Rhiannon - "Disarmingly droll, she spells out the minutiae of her daily life in a way that is touching, honest and can make you laugh out loud";
  
  
• Gaelick - "a new group blog with nine members, dedicated to gay women";
  
  
• Grannymar - "not actually a granny... but is chatty and charming and possibly good at knitting"
  
  
• Redmum - "When I write about things that happen at home, I suppose I look for the humour in situations that often were far from humourous at the time"; and
  
  
• Homebug "Even if you are allergic to Ikea, Hmebug is enough to make you drool, and she may even convince you to love wallpaper".

(Photos by Brenda Fitzsimons)

Ailsing has also given a great shout out to an awful lot of blogs and bloggers in her article, some I read, some I've never even heard of, but will definitely be checking out. I particularly liked the last paragraph which reads

"Of course, everyone knows that quality blogging is not about whether you are a man or a woman, but whether your content is fine enough to consistenly engage your readers.

The Irish Times has realised the importance of blogs as part of the modern media mix, with Jim Carroll, Conor Pope, Harry McGee and Bryan Mukandi blogging away on irishtimes.com. But I'd feel it remiss of me not to pop the question - Madam, where are all the women?"

Personally I feel the Irish blog scene benefits incredibly from the female presence - or, in fact, dominance, and I'm sure the Blog Awards next year will reflect same.

Even better, they're the ones with the best ideas for meet-ups, tweet-ups, are great company for a pint and generally write the posts that make me smile. What's not to like?

And isn't that a great photo of Grannymar? ;o)