Sunday, 3/12:
Increasing Women's Visibility: Whose Butt Should We Be Kicking?
Moderated by your humble correspondent. Levels of nausea experienced were positively Sartrean, friends! But why worry? My panelists had a wealth of experience, diverse points of view, and were among the most clear and concise panelists I heard all week. [But then, I wasn't worried about them.] This was a big topic and it was a short hour. Regretfully, I'm not sure it's possible to answer this question at all, let alone in an hour, especially since it hinges on structural inequalities, perceptions, social expectations, &c. and &c. As a result, our butt kickers really didn't have the chance to fully show their wonderful deep thinking on the not small subject of increasing women's visibility on the web. [Liz, wanna make that wiki?]
I feel quite lucky to have witnessed first hand the thoughtfulness, generosity of spirit, and professionalism of our panelists. A few things will stay w/ me: Tara's humility in noting her own privilege, Jan's no-nonsense (yet compassionate) DIY philosophy, Liz's vigorous and imaginative approach(es), and Virginia's resilience in forging her own path. These are strong and learned women, fine examples for us all, and I have to thank the gals of BlogHer everyday for giving me the opportunity to get to know them. Liz, Tara, Jan, and Virginia, you gals simply rock, and that is no jive.
Thanks, too, to our fired up audience for their enthusiasm, keen analyses, and passion. We were all delighted to participate in such a robust discussion and only wish we could have heard from more of you. Maybe next time they'll give us a couple of hours! And many thanks to Meri and fiancee (sorry, I missed your name), Jerry, Elizabeth, Jim, Dave, Melinda, Skye, Kirk, SteveR, WillR, Ruby, Mr. Jude Law lookalike, mystery SXSW volunteers, Wendy and others for your kind comments after the panel. Conversations continue.
Let's do it again next year!
>>>UPDATE: Elisa liveblogged the panel.
I am sorry I missed your panel! I was next door groupie-ing for Grace. But now that I know who you are (and I wish I'd found out before SXSW!), I remember seeing you on the escalator. (I have a bad habit of reading everybody's name tags, and your name is memorable.)
I do hope to see you at BlogHer, and properly shake hands.
Posted by: Elkit | Friday, 17 March 2006 at 01:23 AM
I'm sorry I missed you, Elke! Dang. But we'll catch up at BlogHer and have a grand old time. That's some fine groupie-ing you did for Grace. If only we were all lucky enough to have groupies! =)
Posted by: ae | Friday, 17 March 2006 at 02:34 AM
I would have gladly groupied for Liz too (and you too), but I haven't figured out how to bilocate yet.
Posted by: Elkit | Friday, 17 March 2006 at 02:42 PM
Elke, well, we could be kind objects of your adoration and locate ourselves in the same place next time! =) Then I'll return the favor and groupie for you.
Posted by: ae | Friday, 17 March 2006 at 05:11 PM
There *was* a Jude Law lookylike, wasn't there? He sat in on the Blogging While Black Revisited panel, as well. (Bit distracting.)
Posted by: Sour Duck | Friday, 17 March 2006 at 07:03 PM
Sour Duck, I'm glad I didn't see him before the panel. Distracting, indeed. 8-D He was also v. nice and polite, which I always appreciate in a human being.
Posted by: ae | Friday, 17 March 2006 at 07:15 PM
Well, I wasn't very nice and polite after that panel - I was all keyed up by it! But I managed to reign it in in order to give you positive feedback on how you did as moderator. ;)
Like the Austin food posts, btw.
Posted by: Sour Duck | Saturday, 18 March 2006 at 08:51 AM
I wish Tara had found the opportunity to continue talking about that privilege issue. I believe she said she had some thoughts about the responsibility that privilege carries - or maybe that's what I'm trying to figure out and I'm projecting!
Posted by: Skye | Wednesday, 22 March 2006 at 09:07 PM
Sour Duck, thanks for the kind words about db's food post. It was fun doing the "research" for it! =)
As for niceness and politeness, I look forward to hearing your thoughts. I know I'll learn something.
Skye, you got Tara's position right, not just wishfull thinking! She did talk briefly about the responsibility toward others, esp. women, that she feels, knowing that she's been given so much. I'd just met Tara 2 nights before that, and I have to tell you, I really dug her. All of our panelists were deeply thoughtful. Sadly, there just wasn't time for them to say everything they could have. Maybe we should take a page out of Sour Duck's book and do a post w/ all of their full ideas. We discussed it, but I'm afraid we've all moved on since then! =)
Posted by: ae | Thursday, 23 March 2006 at 12:18 AM
This was a really great panel and I particularly liked the positive spirit that was evident throughout. I'd seen the title in the programme and thought "Shit, we're going backwards!" -- but the thought from the outset was that we should kick our own asses rather than blaming others, exactly right!
Incidentally, the fiancee's name is Elly (http://www.ellythompson.co.uk) :-)
Posted by: Meri | Thursday, 23 March 2006 at 06:22 AM
Meri, thanks for your kind words and for your thoughtful comments during the session. I got a kick out of your first question, especially! =) I had reservations, too, when I first heard the title, but in another sense: how the heck to cover that whole topic in an hour?! I think our panel did as well as could be done w/in those parameters. And, yes, no one on our panel who didn't believe that women were in charge of their own destinies to a large extent. I would've liked to discuss how to strategize against some of the structural obstacles though.
Hello to Elly the architect, and many future happinesses for you both! It was a pleasure to meet you both at SXSW.
Posted by: ae | Friday, 24 March 2006 at 03:08 AM