My bloggrrrl Shakes Sis and Pandagon co-blogger Amanda Marcotte are just two of the gals featured in an online article on women bloggers at SadieMAG:

“Bloggers add to the public discourse a sense of the immediacy of national politics, undermining the myth that decisions made in D.C. don’t have an immediate impact on average people,” says Melissa McEwan, who blogs on the site Shakespeare”s Sister (www.shakespearessister.blogspot.com). “They bring the passion and vibrancy of average people to the democratic process in a way that has not been visible for quite some time.”

What does a typical day on the blogosphere reveal? On the liberal leaning Rox Populi (www.roxpopuli.com), bloggers skewer the president, opining, “The American public is awake now and many of them are no longer buying the faux Jesus juice,” adding, “Ah, if only this were true.” On the other end of the spectrum, AndRightlySo (www.andrightlyso.com)–whose motto “There is nothing sexier than women who are on the right” firmly states its political affiliation–slings insults at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which “has gone TOO FAR this time” in undermining parental rights. Meanwhile, Suburban Guerilla (www.susiemadrak.com) smirks, “What some journalists won’t do to have a Republican in their bed?” and Feministe (www.feministe.us/blog) warns, “Watch out, Pennsylvania, God’s gonna getcha.”

One of the issues that comes up in the article, which you’ve read before here at the Blend, is the “male bloggers rarely link to female-written sites” issue. It also covers the dilemma among women bloggers about Wonkette, who is, for some reason, still the designated go-to gal blogger by the establishment.

Wonkette (www.wonkette.com) provides a titillating, raunchy collection of inside-the-Beltway gossip–not a website for those who see women as the more refined sex–making Ana Marie Cox, Wonkette’s creator, the go-to gal when mainstream media wants to cite a “women blogger.”

“I think she’s funny,” says Beyerstein, “but it’s kind of frustrating for more serious female bloggers. She’s not a [policy] wonk, she’s an entertainer.” Kathy states it more bluntly: “Any woman blogger on the web can use her sexuality to gain readers. But is that what we want?”

Yet mainstream media pundits and academics regularly invite the dirty-writing Wonkette to comment on issues of blogging or blogging ethics. She “was invited to represent not only women but the liberal blogs. That [annoyed] the hell out of everyone,” Beyerstein says.

While a significant number of female bloggers exist, they often don’t receive the credit given to male bloggers, explains Marcotte. “It’s out-and-out sexism. That comes from my experience switching to Pandagon. For a certain percentage of the audience, there was nothing I could do to make them happy. There was nonstop sniping–obviously coming from resentment that a woman was blogging.”

Anyway, it’s a good read, and I’m sure you’ll have your own impressions to share. At least I hope so…

Amanda has more to say about the topic here.

While I’m at it, check out Shakes Sis’s post, O’Reilly is an Un-American Jackass — I heartily agree on that.