Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Is Blogging a Woman's Sport?

I love blogging. It's basically like keeping a diary that other people can read. I always kept a diary when I was younger. I like to write and writing in a diary always felt cathartic and theraputic. Looking back on my diaries from high school and college, I often feel foolish about what I thought was important at those young ages, but they were important to me at the time. I find the same sort of cathartic therapy nature in blogging. But blogging has a crazy public aspect to it where you can get feedback from people who can relate to what you are going through or who appreciate what you are doing with your life.

I have two blogs. This one is for my writing about how W and I are struggling to start our family. My other one is really more of a day-to-day blog about our lives and also about crafting. I may start one that is purely about crafting so each blog has a definite theme and outlet for the different aspects of my life, but I need to decide if I have enough time to keep up with that much blogging.

So, far I have only met women through blogging. Makes sense really given that my two blogs are about makin babies and makin crafts. I have one guy friend who bloggs about his life, but other than him I don't really find many men in the blog-o-sphere, then again, I don't think I've known many guys who keep diaries either.

So, that leads me to the question, like diary writing, is blogging a woman's sport? Is there something inherent in being female that causes us to want to share our intimate lives with perfect strangers? It could be an interesting gender study.

17 comments:

Echloe said...

This is a good question. I, like you, kept diaries my whole life. And my brothers nor any other man I know ever did. Why is that? As for blogs..... it may be too much in the way of sharing for most men. This is leading me to check out blogs created by men. I usually find blogs related to knitting or fertility. I haven't been interested in anything else. But now I'm curious as to what types of blogs are created by and attractive to other men. Hmmm.

**found you via NaComLeavMo**

Unknown said...

NCLM

I think it is definitely more of a women's sport. Most of the guys I know are so much more private. I like to gab, gab, gab. And my husband is more of the silent and stoic type.

Erin the Bradley Teacher said...

I'm here from NaComLeavMo. I was actually talking about this with my husband last night; I mentioned that I'd read a blog written by a friend of ours who happens to be a man, and he replied "A man who blogs? What's the point?" He had this view that all blogs are about parenting and crafting and cooking, things in which he's not particularly interested in reading about. It is definitely dominated by women, but there are some male bloggers--they just tend to write about other stuff.

Kate said...

Here from NCLM. I think you are right. The two guys I know who blog only keep them when they travel so that everyone knows where they are and what they are doing.

HereWeGoAJen said...

Almost all the blogs I read are by women and all of my regular comment people are women. :)

Kristine said...

I certainly do read more blogs written by women, but, a couple of my favorite parenting blogs are written by men.

Blogs like Dad Gone Mad and MetroDad for example.

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Go NaComLeavMo!

Maybe I'm coming at this from a different angle, but I know several male bloggers. My blog is (mostly) about books and there are several men whose book blogs I check up on regularly. Also, two guys at my work use LiveJournal for personal blogging and keeping up with friends.

So I really think it depends on what part of the blogosphere your from ... but that's just my 2 cents. :)

Jendeis said...

Came here from NaComLeavMo. You ask an interesting question. The only men that I know from blogging are those who confine their blogging solely to sports analysis, rather than those who discuss their daily lives.

I was never able to keep a diary growing up, but fele that blogging has given me a great release. Maybe because of the comments, which you don't get from a diary.

Kristen said...

I love blogging. I never really kept diaries but I have connected with so many amazing women online that I was just drawn into it. I am much more free with my personal feelings and emotions than my husband. I'm sure gender has a good bit to do with it. He is much more private and introverted.

Thanks for visiting my blog! I will be stopping back again soon :)

NCLM

Mara said...

That is a great question. I've kept diaries since I started college, and I love to pull them out, and read back through them, seeing what was so interesting and stressful to me back then.

I don't know a single man who's ever kept a diary. My DH keeps a poetry journal, but writes in it only very infrequently.

I've seen a few blogs created by men. Most are not personal related, though. They seem to be about sports, or photography, anything but their actual life.

Makes you wonder, though, definitely!

(Here via NCLM)

Juicy said...

That is an interesting observation. I know my husband likes to read my blog, but I don't think he'd ever write one. I don't know any guy who would, actually. So I think you're right, blogging is a woman's sport.

I'm bookmarking your blog so I can come back and read more. :)

(from NaComLeavMo)

shawna said...

I would have to say that blogging is mostly for women, based on the men that I know. I don't think that there is any amount of money that would convince my husband to start a blog.

Hope said...

I would say there are more women blogging, just based on the blogs I read...maybe I should branch out :)

My husband won't blog even though he writes beautifully.

Amanda said...

You bring up an interesting point. I've seen a few male blogs on Mel's great list of blogs, but that's about it. Of course, the thought of my husband, brother, or father blogging give me the giggles. As if!

NaComLeavMo

Busted said...

I think men blog just as much, but men's blogs aren't about themselves, as other commenters have noted. They are about sports/politics/hobbies/pop culture, et cetera. At least the blogs I know of written by men. These blogs aren't about the writer - they are about things that interest the writer. Less personal. Hence the fact that you may not "meet them" on this journey.

And now I will hang my head in shame for making such blatant gender generalizations, a habit I usually abhor.

JuliaS said...

An interesting question - I know there are male bloggers out there; though male IF bloggers more of a rarity. It may be more topic specific than activity specific from a gender standpoint.

Good wishes!

*NaComLeavMo*

Vanessa said...

I was never into Diary writing. As for blogging being a woman's sport, I don't know. I know that the blogs I visit tend to be women with similar interests, but I have run across manblogs. My brother has one, although it hasn't been updates in a long long while, and he and a group of friends have a random blog that they all post different links and things on. So they are out there. I wonder what the percentage of male to female blogs is.
..via NaComLeavMo...