When Life Throws You Manolos, Walk the Talk

WE INTERRUPT THIS HUMOROUS BLOG JUST BECAUSE VAGINAS WITH BRAINS EVERYWHERE HAVE SOMETHING TO SPEW ... OR SQUIRT ... OR GOD FORBID -- SPEAK!

I'm taking off my heels and showing my calloused feet. It aint easy walkin' or bloggin' in stilletos, trust me. And as my regular readers know, occasionally I kick back and write as Maria, the author of this blog, and not as Manola.

Surely, something far more serious other than the bank heist in my neighborhood must've happened this week for me to remove the mask of fiction and simply state: it's not funny anymore.

Bear with this narrative maze -- it's all connected in a Mrs. Dalloway kind of way.

To wit: I've been pondering the whole Kathy Sierra issue for days on end, but that story is stuck in my other hard drive, which I can't even access via firewire G4-to-Powerbook cable, because my monitor decided to pull an Anna Nicole on me ... oh, so bad. Anna, I know you'd laugh with me.

So the post I've been writing for days might as well be a used tampon at this point. My Mac dealer is going to hook me up with a bail of Twitter and a new 19" wide screen flat, drop off point somewhere between the beach and the Bahamas, wink wink.

So in the meantime, working from my lapdance, I'm just going to tell you what's on my mind, straight up no chaser -- via a different IP address.

THROW IN THE THONG, BUT BRING IN THE THINK

This week, against all desire and compulsion, I've got to cover Exxxotica, the "adult entertainment business" convention (it's not PC to call it porn, don't ya know). I'm going to be up to my ass in ass (as if that were possible) -- objectively. The last thing I want to do is interview a bunch of porn stars, but work beckons.

What does this have to do with Kathy Sierra? Well go read about it at Hugh's and then come back for an extra serving of truly fried vice.

Listen: where do we draw the line with pornography that is healthy and pornography that's used to criminally threaten, undermine and humiliate human beings? Pornography that is unwarranted, unsolicited, uninvited and simply out of the question?

I write about sex. Kathy doesn't. It's not fair. Yet, I'm mortified. Yes, simply mortified that a completely innocuous blog such as Kathy's would be subject to such a response not only from strangers, but from peers.

Let's not beat around the proverbial bush, shall we? Is the internet really safe for women? Is cyberspace some kind of hallowed burqua in a world of macho men who can't take women with brains?

At the core of this question: can women really trust the safety net of the so-called net? Must we pander to clowns who seek to suffocate our voices via a medium that is all at once too friendly and too dangerous? Should we reconsider the position of anonimity, when the the social media is gaining ground?

Kathy's story hit hard. It's simply unnerving to any woman writer -- regardless of her medium -- and let alone to one who uses the internet as her source of expression and income. Suddenly, thanks to some death threats that involved sexual violence, she's kaput.

And yes -- my SoFla girl bloggers -- pay attention!

SILICON VALLEY AINT JUST ANOTHER WORD FOR CLEAVAGE

It all makes sense to me now, thanks to a conversation I had with wonderful Stephanie last night on the horn: she gave me the skinny on what it's like to be a female in the tech world, let alone a blogger. And seriously, could it be true? Hasn't the glass ceiling been shattered?

Apparently not.

Not in Silicon Valley or beyond.

And it doesn't matter: it's simply unconscionable that any woman who puts herself out there for professional reasons should be subject to such harrasment.

This isn't just about Kathy: this is about the Charlotte Brontes, the Virginia Woolfs, the Jean Rhyses, the Gertrude Steins, the Frida Kahlos and of course a thousand and then some amazing women who've spoken their minds suddenly not being able to speak their minds for fear of their lives.

And it has me thinking: you know, at least there's a certain honesty in porn. You know what you're getting behind the beaded curtain. But in the professional world of blogging and technology, we should all be equals, no matter what the size of our boobs ... or dicks.

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME to the so-called technology world that cannot honor its participants in a compassionate, enlightened manner. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME that ego is a sex organ and not a personality trait. SHAME, SHAME, SHAME that the industry that claims to bring people together treats women like chattle.

What's wrong in a world where porn stars respect each other and bloggers don't?

FUCKED UP!

And that's all I have to say about that ... for now.

tags: kathy sierra, women's rights, tech, blogging