“Mommy bloggers.”
Yes, as far as the Today Show is concerned we’re a group with quotes. Or air quotes anyway.
We’re inscrutable. We have strange and mysterious ways! We’re a bunch of ka-RAY-zee wimmins doing this new weird thing, all techy and Gen Y-like.
And, after watching the Today Show segment that sprang from what seemed like a thoughtful blogger “round table,” it turns out that, at least in the journalistic words of new Today Show co-host Kathie Lee Gifford, we’re just a bunch of moms who “yap” about diapers and preschools on the web instead of at the playground.
(Pssst. Kathie Lee. Don’t call Arianna Huffington a mommy blogger. I’m pretty sure she can take you out).
So why am I venting about this? I wasn’t involved in the show and no one talked about my record as an alleged duck thief, so why do I care what they said about Kristen and Mir and Jill and Dooce? Obviously, by implication it’s not just about them — it’s about all of us and how, once again, women’s efforts to be a part of the larger societal conversation get marginalized.
More proof that the MSM doesn’t get it. Women who wield blogs and computers!? We’re just SOOooo confusing to them!!!
There’s at least one exception, though.
Former Today Show host and current CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, and her producers, get it. And that could be an ingredient that Katie can use to her benefit as more and more people talk about what she’ll be doing for a living in a few months. She’s figured out that there’s something to be gained by trying to engage this new feminist act, rather than judge us by a particular topic we may write about on any given day.
It’s not that hard, really. There are millions of us out here doing what corporate trainers would call networking and relationship building. And we’re a demographic, but we’re a lot more than that.
We’re women who have been denied a voice in the main stream media for generations and we’re finding a way around it. Don’t want us on your op-ed pages? That’s OK — we’ll start our own. And people will find us. And listen to us. Really.
Even though only a handful bloggers who happen to be mothers are making a living at this blogging thing, it will happen for more us soon enough because marketers and advertisers love demographics. If readers are here and not there, it will happen. So, producers at the Today Show, you might want to re-think how you describe us.
We’ve got blogs that are about a lot more than talking about our children, and we’re not afraid to use them.
Plus, there’s that whole world domination thing. 
May 8th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
It was disappointing.
I was so happy for them to be featured on such a “large stage,” but I was appalled at Kathie Lee’s comments to Dooce, saying she wouldn’t feel right about exposing her family to so many strangers. What a hypocrite.
May 8th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
what i wouldn’t pay to see arianna huffington take out kathie lee gifford!
all the media attention of late being paid to women who blog has been pretty exciting in my opinion. it would seem that they are realizing that we have a pretty loud voice and some power behind it. then along comes that today show segment. while it was fun to see some of my favorite bloggers, it was disappointing to see the slightly amusing and dismissive light that was cast upon the women who happen to be moms who happen to blog.
May 8th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Kathie Lee made herself look, quite frankly, like a dumbass. First, with her little innocent “I don’t know nuthin’ ’bout no computers, Miss Scarlett” act, then with challenging Heather about posting her daughter’s photo on the web, when she herself trotted her children out shamelessly at every opportunity when they were younger. I thought Heather handled her very well, though.
May 8th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
I read lots of blogs and don’t really comment, but I was so inspired by what you said about the way blogs give women a voice, where they once had none. Well done, what you all do is amazing and it will make a difference in the world. And as for Kathie Lee Gifford-I’m from Australia so I haven’t had to deal with her as much as you all, but even i know she uses her kids to show her ‘perfect family’. Gross.
Keep up the good work!
May 8th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
I personally think that every woman needs her own bank account and a blog. Soft skills, like networking around everyday issues ties society together. Competing over turf is what breaks us apart. The stats are out on Forester Research, teenage girls blog more than teenage boys. The next generation of leaders is on the way.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Umm, could I apply to be a doo wap girl for you? I’ll stand behind you and echo the brilliant things you say with a snap of my fingers and a swish of my knees in a hip falsetto?
Great post!
May 10th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
I could not agree with you more. I just cringed watching Kathie Lee’s questions. She was so out of touch. The complete opposite of Katie Couric, who is clearly committed to understanding parent bloggers.
Excellent post.
May 11th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
You said it sister!
Happy Mother’s Day. Hope you, Katie and your three girls had a lovely brunch.