Of those 1,776 readers, the vast and overwhelming majority were men. The female readers (about 2%) cited the sexism that seems to be pervasive in certain members of the editorial staff’s posts as a reason why more women wouldn’t read the blog. Which explains the conspicuous lack of supermodel references recently.
This, of course, is total bullshit. The soft porn that Robert used to push on his site was not nearly pervasive or offensive enough to be responsible for the lack of female readers. The fact that the blog is about guns is.
The attempts on the part of gun-rights fanatics to claim women are making up a more and more significant part of their world are superficially and obviously false. Here's the proof from the number one most successful and most read gun blog out there.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Look at it this way: Take a website devoted to discussions about cars. Given our cultural attitudes, which sex would you imagine to be more likely to read that site?
ReplyDeleteWe have a culture that portrays men as having greater aptitude in mechanical matters. That's unfair, but that's how things are often presented. What this does is make gearhead sites and publications seem aimed at men. But in the same way that women buy and use cars even when they may not show interest in the mechanical aspects, they also today are buying and using guns. The fact that they aren't reading The Truth About Guns for the most part tells us nothing more than the fact that they aren't generally reading that site.
And before the plague of trolls calls me sexist, I'll say that in no way do I believe that women are incapable of mechanical skill or appreciation. This is a matter of attitude, not aptitude.
We have no interest in the annals of such menial and mundane pursuits as mechanical tasks. Such a pitiful, arduous, and lowly affliction of body and mind as mechanical devices is entirely unsuitable for the fashionable, educated, modern women, and is thus delegated as the bane to the most lowly of servants.
DeleteIt is preposterous to even mention that a women of the literate classes would degrade herself to a level of being lower than that of the maids and servants who scrub filth and grime, to the subhuman world of the machine rat who exists solely furnish the infrastructure to support his betters. Such is those who are the slave to the errands of the machine.
We simply do not care for such a disgusting pursuit as mechanical "skill". I have never touched any machine or device, whether it be a phone, elevator, or a computer, for any other purpose other than to exploit its use.
It is distinctly repugnant that anyone would seek honor in the prostitution of oneself to an object that is not even a beast.
Look, Guy/E.N./Jadegold, or whatever you're calling yourself today, you're not entertaining. In fact, you're boring your audience.
DeleteI belong to none of the aliases that you describe.
DeletePerhaps you may find a form of expression more suitable to that of an infantile mind. Until then, you serve to mark the ridiculousness of your cause.
Right, Pacifica, and I'm the king of all Londinium and wear a shiny hat.
DeleteIn addition to what Greg said, when you have women who DO read gun websites, why would they bother with one that has so much pandering to certain males? Especially when there are gun blogs written by men, and even by women, which don't put out content that offends them?
ReplyDeleteThe lack of female readers on this one blog means nothing. Actually, their response to this information--turning down the content that women said was driving them away--is telling since it shows that they realize that there is a large section of the gun owning demographic that they are missing out on and want to draw in.
But keep on telling yourself that we're liars and women couldn't Possibly be interested in guns. You just make yourself more obvious in your sexism.
I can scarcely tolerate the company of uneducated males such as yourself, and then only at infrequent intervals to exploit their use when another servant is unavailable to serve as a handler to the degenerate scum.
DeleteGuns are only of legitimate use to serve as a means to fulfill the ties associated with three occupations, bodyguards, police, and soldiers. Women of decency have no interest in pursuing any of these lowly occupations of perilous servitude.
You call TTAG "this one blog." You obviously haven't seen their numbers.
DeleteI'm not a TTAG reader, so I'm going off of the information in your post which notes TTAG's readership numbers. Some of the other blogs I read, more or less related to guns, have pretty good representation by women in the comments--don't know their readership numbers since I have no way of finding out, but I can see who actively comments.
DeleteThat's subjective bullshit, "Some of the other blogs I read, more or less related to guns, have pretty good representation by women in the comments."
DeleteSure, T., if you say so.
It's no more subjective for me to look at the participation on the blogs I read than for you to pick out TTAG. No, my sample isn't scientific or particularly broad, but it is enough to suggest that your one example may not be the rule you're trying to make it into.
DeleteAnd what is the female readership of your site? Should we take the fact that not many women post here as "proof" that women don't care about gun control?
ReplyDeleteWomen care a lot about gun control, and most want guns off the street.
ReplyDeleteNot in my observation.
DeleteMost women would have also have added "and out of your homes" to her observation.
DeleteWomen, like most Americans have no interest in guns or other machinery of death, and would laud the day when such are removed from society and their hoarders jailed.
We don't understand guns. We have no desire to understand guns. We dislike their bloody consequences, and see no reason why you should be allowed to behave of think any differently.
I doubt you have any observations about women. Stick to what you know, men.
DeleteThe reason gun-rights fanatics push the falsehood that women make up an increasingly significant proportion of their number is simple. They want to normalize their passion. But it's a losing effort. Gun rights is the stuff of insecure and fearful males. There's no getting around it. Individual and anecdotal exceptions notwithstanding, that's the way it is and they know it. And being totally bereft of honesty and integrity, blinded by their bias as they are, they push this nonsense.
ReplyDeleteAnd Mikeb, you're such a brave man, hiding out in a foreign country and working desperately to violate the rights of people you've left behind. You've said this to me many times, so I say it to you: Fuck you.
DeleteTed Nugent (Greg) is such a brave man he and his buddies need guns to protect themselves. He's probably one of those fat white men. He is such a brave man he needs to insult anyone who disagrees with him. He is such a brave man he needs to be a resident troll on this blog. He is such a brave man he needs no facts to rebut facts, graphs, studies, laws, or any other known materials, just his opinion, which of course, is correct and everyone else is wrong. Then there is the friends he picks, always revealing. Ted Nugent (Greg) chooses a scum bag (TN) who jokes about a dead 6 year old boy. Oh yes, Ted Nugent (Greg) is a brave man.
DeleteYay! More baseless slander from Mike! We're all lying when we talk about the increasing number of women in the gun owning community. I'm lying when I describe how over the past few years, half of the women at my church went out and got carry permits. I'm lying about the black, female law students that asked me to teach them to shoot, and then became gun owners. I'm lying about the increasing number of women I see as customers at gun shows instead of as uninterested companions.
DeleteThat, or I'm telling the truth, and Mikeb, who has a habit of talking out of his ass, is defaming all of us while talking out of his ass about the level of female participation in a culture he hates, has nothing to do with, and which is across the Atlantic Ocean from him.
Mike, You are the one totally bereft of honesty and integrity, speaking of that which you do not know because your bias tells you it must be so.
This from the guy who makes jokes about a dead 6 year old boy, go fuck yourself scumbag.
DeleteT., I didn't call you a liar for those handful of cases you've experienced personally. Gun ownership and especially the gun-rights movement is a man's world, always was and still is. The reason is women don't generally suffer from the combination of insecurity and testosterone that's required to dedicate oneself to the sacred fetish item.
DeleteDon't worry, Mikeb. No one will confuse you for a man.
DeleteNo, you didn't specifically call me a liar on those specific cases. What you did was call me, Greg, and every other pro gun person who has noted an increase in women's participation in shooting sports liars for saying so. Sure, you'll allow that we may have a few anecdotal stories of new women shooters, but you insist--based on either anecdotal evidence or your own flawed and unsupported reasoning--that women hate guns and want nothing to do with them and cannot possibly becoming a larger proportion of the gun owning community.
DeleteAnd so you call us liars anytime we contradict your baseless assertions with evidence.
As for your final sentence--dedication to fetish items, etc. Why are you leaving behind the rationality you used to show a little bit of and taking on the terminology, rationalizations, and sheer stupidity of Mistress Jade and our previous Anonymous troll (can't remember the name he started using)?
Just because I don't continually stick it in your face, don't think I have any respect or esteem for gun owners. Even the 50% of you who are qualified and from whom I would never want to take guns, your reasons for being armed and defending the practice so passionately lie in fear, insecurity, inadequacy and a pathological need to feel that you're real big men. Texas Colt carry seems to be the only possible exception to that stereotype around here.
DeleteReally? You know my psychological condition that well huh? This is all news to me. And how do you presume to know that I fit your description, but Texas doesn't?
DeleteIt's just an impression I get from reading your respective comments. Greg's worse than you, if that helps.
Delete"Don't worry, Mikeb. No one will confuse you for a man."
DeleteCompletely gratuitous insults like that will result in comment moderation as will any whining or complaining about that fact.
How about the women who own guns, however few you want to call it? What psychological issues drive a woman to want to own a gun?
DeleteSo, MIkeb, you can't take what you dish out? You use any insult you can come up with, but get annoyed when it's turned back on you? I didn't start this business of calling people insecure and fearful. You keep repeating that lie.
DeleteHere's a challenge, one of a kind that I've offered before: Prove that I'm mentally unstable or lying, and I'll go away and never return. No speculation. No attempts to turn statements of opinion or interpretation into statements of fact. Prove that I've lied or prove that I'm mentally unstable, and I'll do what I said.
Otherwise, how about you stop tossing out accusations that you can't prove?
Of course, I've seen many times that gun control advocates have no honor.
TN, all we need to know about you psychological make up, is you make jokes about a dead 6 year old. End of story.
DeleteAt the risk of causing moderation, how is Greg's comment gratuitous? It was merely turning around your own insult that you were applying against all of us and which you later said applied to me, but moreso to him. Seems to me that it was within the bailiwick of conversation.
DeleteYou may be right. T., but I don't think so. This one pissed me off too.
Delete"And Mikeb, you're such a brave man, hiding out in a foreign country and working desperately to violate the rights of people you've left behind. You've said this to me many times, so I say it to you: Fuck you."
"hiding out in a foreign country" is a pretty silly insult especially coming from a guy who lives on the cutting edge of intellectual and cultural advancement, Arkansas. And the claim that I've said "fuck you" "many times," is just not true.
But generally, your point is bogus. When I speculate that it's insecurity and fear that drives you to be so into guns, and you respond by saying I'm "not a man" or that I'm "hiding," I suppose you think you can claim it's the same thing.- But it's not. My "insults" are encompassed in a thought-out comment. Yours are gratuitous.
Actually, Greg and I have gotten the big "fuck you" many times. Please, don't make Greg post a listing of links in the past few months.
DeleteAs for the hiding part, it's all in how you interpret someone's motivations for their actions--do we own guns because we enjoy shooting them and find them useful tools for protection, or because we're insecure deviants who can't survive without them?
Similarly, do you live in Europe because you love the culture or got a good job opportunity, or because you felt that you couldn't stand living here anymore with all of the gun ownership?
Mikeb, you have said "fuck you" to me so many times, I've lost count. You've done that in e-mail and here in public. These comments were my turn. Besides, even more often, you call me and others insecure, fearful, selfish, blood-thirsty, and on and on. If you get to pretend to be a psychologist, you have to accept some of the same in return.
DeleteGreg, I have acquiesced to your superior memory in the past, but I have to call you an exaggerating bullshitter to say you've lost count of how many times I've said "fuck you" to you. That would indicate dozens, maybe fifty. Is that what we're talking about or have you conveniently redefined your idea of what "many times" means. When talking about kid shootings even hundreds don't count as many. Have I said "fuck you" even more than that? Or are you full of shit, once again and is Tennessean right there backing you up on the lying bullshit?
DeleteMike,
DeleteI've made no assertions regarding the number of times. I don't feel like taking the time to dig through past comments to tabulate it, but I know I've seen you say it to various pro gun commenters, including myself and Greg, with Greg receiving it most often. The most recent time was during the last round of comment moderation.
No, it's not a daily thing, but it does happen periodically.
T., you're doing that lawyerly backpedaling again. Greg said "many times" and he said so many he's "lost count." Now you've toned it down to "happen periodically."
DeleteIs it so hard for you to agree with me on anything? Is it because we're on opposite sides of the gun rights debate? Greg is 100% wrong on this as I explained in my above comment. He's changed the meaning of "very many" from when I used it to describe kid shootings down to something that would be more accurately described as "happen periodically" or " a handful of times."
Mike,
DeleteYou're the one twisting words, acting like a periodic statement you make is has not happened many times--redefining "very many" in this instance to be the same number as in another instance where the context was different.