on anonymity

It’s really interesting to read these articles by Jeffrey Rosen and Glenn Greenwald together.  Rosen’s article, for those who don’t feel like clicking through eight pages of prose, is entitled “The Web Means the End of Forgetting,” and it’s basically what it sounds like – a discussion of the idea that once something is on the internet (as my mother likes to dramatically intone) it is on the internet FOREVER.  People can’t escape the tracks left by their blogs; their Facebook accounts; even their tweets.

Rosen conveniently elides the idea of privilege online, but I think it’s an important one worth examining.  The idea of “reputation” is one that is almost uniformly far more important for marginalized people – a woman’s sexualized Facebook photo will forever mark her with the scarlet H, but a man’s goofy drunken picture from the same party are evidence of a healthy social life. The article raises some interesting and important issues, but its insistent refusal to address issues of inequality ultimately weakens it to the extent that it’s hardly useful.

in which p is a kid-hating bitch!

You all know what I love?  An exhortion by a non-feminist for feminists to be nicer young ladies,* and just remember how much we love babies.

It’s really telling to me that this person specifically chose a feminist blog on which to lecture people about the appropriate feelings to have towards children.  Because remember, this person has absolutely no idea about the political leanings of the people who have had the temerity to look askance at her toddler.  (Who does sound really fucking amazing!  I am not debating the awesomeness of her kid or anyone else’s!)  What she does know is that there are WOMEN being NON-MATERNAL on the internet, and these ladies need to be lectured and shamed into their rightful place, which is of course cheerfully with child or dutifully self-flagellating for failure to duly reproduce.