New Annoying and Unnecessary Women's Contest: Ms. Horror Blogosphere 2009

I was asked to enter this and at the last minute I changed my mind because I kind of felt like I was going to be objectified and that I wasn't going to be taken as seriously as a writer if I did it. I figured that it was going to end up being a contest all about tits and I was pretty much on the money. I think it's sad that some of the women in it think it's okay to be purely judged on their tits rather than on their actual talent.

No offense at all to anyone involved but I think the results at this time prove your theory to be false.

As one of the above mentioned contestants, I find it sad that people cannot see this contest as an opportunity to promote some very cool female bloggers. Many who I had not heard of until the contest. I also find it hypocritical that a site that has a stud of the month feature has the cheek to even comment on the contest for being exploitative.

A Mr Horror Blogosphere will be ran by the winner in the interests of parity. Hopefully we can also reflect on one of the main philosophies of feminism (as this seems to be the flag your waving Heidi) which is the right for women to choose without judgement.

www.musingcontinuum.com

Ok, so maybe it's just me, but I like putting a face to an author. I don't think submitting a picture is as much about objectifying women as it is simply putting a face to a name. But I'm just a teenager, so I'm probably wrong.

Thanks for explaining.

Okay, I think I get it. Photos are fine for profiles and interviews, but photos are sexist for profiles and interviews where a competition is involved.

So many rules nowadays, eh? I'm going to have to start writing all this down.

Si l'on vit assez longtemps, on voit que toute victoire se change un jour en de faite.

Okay, guess I'll have to toss in my virtual two cents...

I'm a participant in the contest and accepted entry because, as a relatively new blogger, it seemed like a great opportunity to get a little more exposure from a lot of readers who frequent other sites similar to mine but who, because of my own lack of networking and self-promotion, might not necessarily find my blog. Everybody has their own tastes when it comes to reading, and I hope that my answers in the questionnaire reflected my tendencies as a writer. Like many readers, I found a few new blogs as a result of reading the entries based on the quality of writing within those answers.

Now, the reason I don't normally go bananas to broadcast my musings to the Internet world is because my readership numbers don't really matter to me all that much. I write because I love to do it, because I have a passion for genre cinema, and because I believe my reviews are genuinely entertaining to read and I have a blast doing them. I'd much rather get a warm email from a reader telling me how much he/she enjoys my site than triple digit followers who remain faceless. Because I don't normally focus on myself, I welcomed the chance to introduce who I am by answering a few blog-centric questions about my history, blog, writing, and personality as a horror fan. I took "include a few pictures" as a way to show the face behind the blog. I don't believe anybody expressed too much concern about this and had I instead sent photos of my cats or DVD collection, I imagine Brian would have used them.

All the contestants were provided the list of questions and all of us had the chance to address a very important issue: does image matter to a female blogger? Each of us interpreted this question as it applies to us. I don't post many photos of myself because my blog is about my writing and style. My readers know that. Other bloggers may integrate their personalities (and with that, image) simply because that's the style and approach of their blog. If that's the case, then I hope and believe they all answered it as honestly as they could. As you read the entries, I think you can see understand a little about the blogger based on her answer to that question.

Were the questions geared towards females? Of course. Bang/Marry/Kill certainly gives off a sexual vibe, but I took that question more as a personality and horror preference than as a chance for readers to picture me having sex with Michael Myers. I read many a male-run blog and spend a good deal of time with podcasts and you know what? I would say that I know the romantic inclinations of most of the writers and hosts because it's a personality thing. The nature of blogging is that it incorporates the personality with one's writing. For the most part, I believe my reviews are ungendered but here and there, who I am slips in simply because most blogging takes an informal approach.

I honestly don't know how the votes are going since I've already voted from my computer. My understanding is that the bloggers with higher followings have more votes. So be it. As someone who works hard to crank out insightful but fun reviews and articles three-four times a week but still has less followers than most of my contestants, I didn't expect to win or really come that close. I just wanted the chance to introduce myself to a wider part of the blogging and reading community.

This is getting really long, isn't it?

Sigh.

Heidi, I do appreciate your opinion and I totally understand its validity in theory. If someone said "did you know there's a beauty contest for female bloggers?" I'd be pretty offended. And sure, some readers may have taken it that way and voted for who they found to show the hottest photos. But as a blogging friend pointed out, that's a tad insulting to the readers who take the time to read and vote for their favorite writers. Since posting, I've gained a few new readers and have yet to receive a single comment about my looks. I highly doubt that anybody decided to read my site based on a photo of my dressed like Mrs. Peacock. More likely, someone liked my responses to questions about horror and maybe decided to stick around for my reviews of Fear of Clowns and Netherworld.

Madam:

I am aghast at your silly missive defaming B-Sol at the Vault of Horror. Next time, keep it to yourself, or at least check with your subject before rendering your unfounded opinion.

As opposed to what you may think, you are the type of person undermining feminism with this type of drivel. If you only took the time you would have seen that there was nothing offensive or demeaning about the contest. Rather, you decided to insert yourself into the issue, calling out a man of the highest integrity, and do real feminism a disservice.

By attempting to manufacture an issue of objectifying or demeaning women where there was none, and to take down a person of such high caliber in the process, you have, in your own little way, handed the true enemies of feminism and women's rights a little bag of ammunition. Congratulations.

Before this I had never read your blog. Now I shall certainly never read your blog again. Kudos.

RayRay

Hey, thanks for deleting my last message and then taking the time to find and post a photo of my child. It's a great debating tactic and shows real class.

Thanks. It didn't stop me getting a dozen propositions from your readers though.

To save me replying to each and every one - sorry girls, I'm married.

I entered this competition knowing; a) I would not win (for various reasons, including that I blog infrequently & not always about horror but perhaps too that I am not a 'hot' blogger), b) that lots of people probably wouldn't even bother to read my entry or blog posts, but more importantly c) that it would give me the opportunity to respond.

I entered to voice my opinion and whilst not everyone voting in the competition will be aware of either my voice or my blog, there are some people who now are. Sometimes you have to use the system within which the dominant forces operate in order to fight it.

If you care to read my entry, here is the link:
http://thevaultofhorror.blogspot.com/2009/11/ms-horror-blogosphere-entry...

Well, nothing like diving right into an old but sticky subject....

I missed out on the blog contest, but after reading the posts on this thread, just wanted to add in my point of view.

I can see being a bit upset about requiring a picture. Yea, men are visually stimulated and some will vote strictly from that perspective. It's probably the only reason Megan Fox won Sci Fi Best Actress at the Scream Awards (There's four words I never thought I'd use in one sentence: Megan, Fox, Best, Actress) over Eliza Dusku, Katee Sackhoff and Lena Headley.

But what do you expect from the viewers of Spike TV? While that might seem like a blight on us guys in horror land, you have to remember that a lot of us vote for a performance or a piece of work, not the features of the actor or creator.

Maybe I'm being delusional, but I'd like to think that any man taking the time to vote on a blog writing contest will be reading the submissions and not voting on a contestant's photo.

As for the issue requiring a photo, that's a bit touchy. If photos were voluntary and someone with a photo on the site won over someone without a photo.... Well, think of the shitstorm that could generated. So, to put things on an equal footing, you either have to not allow photos (and risk possibly upsetting some of the authors) or require them of everyone.

Like I said, maybe I'm being delusional. But I'd like to think that men voting on a blog writing contest would be more interested in reading the work than looking at the photos.

Heidi, here's a reason for holding such a contest. And I'm not talking about the ones that are obviously beauty contests.

Thousands of bloggers, websites and podcasts are out there and a lot of good work is likely overlooked due to the shear volume of information flooding the internet. Contests like this one might expose people to new, interesting ideas and authors, ones that might have remained in relative obscurity if a contest wasn't being held. For men, it's a chance to see horror from a woman's perspective, something we are not always able to get. For women, it a chance to feel like they are not the only ones with the same interests, and it might inspire them to sit down at the keyboards and start writing themselves.

Just a thought.

And your opinions are why I'm here. It's nice to be involved on a horror website with an opinionated woman, instead of one using the site to sell photos and such. And it's nice that (most of the time) the discussions can be intense, but not degenerate into name calling and such.