I’ve already replied to someone else who’s raised this very. same. point., which I happen to think is an entirely fair question with respect to Jezebel, especially from an — ahem — “historical” standpoint. And, yes, I do agree that, accordingly, it is hard to take this piece seriously, or as seriously as it ought to…

Jesus, I always forget that Schwyzer was a Jezebel writer. And that many people who criticized him or mentioned any of the more horrible things he’d said or done were quickly banned. It might not be the site’s low point (I’m not sure anything will ever beat the post about how the 12-year-old child Roman Polanski raped…

yes I do think that there are people who enjoy being insulted/offended/attacked.

Frankly, I’m shocked Jezebel is still around and calling itself a feminist website. You lost your street cred the minute you asked the mainstream “What topics would you like us to write about?” And then moved from hilarious, awesome, sharp, nasty critiques of society/men to sub-blogs which are straight up sexist. I’ll…

First, that has nothing to do with my comment whatsoever.

The “not a feminist site” always seemed like a little bit of a convenient cop-out. It seemed to be deployed mostly when the site was getting criticized (perhaps correctly, perhaps incorrectly) for not toeing the feminist party line. I don’t doubt that it’s actually true that the site isn’t explicitly a feminist site,…

It’s also at least a little funny to read something like this piece from a site with a commenting system that allows the writers to promote only those who agree with/flatter them.

I agree, but I don’t understand what this has to do with my comment.

I think it comes down to a disconnect between how the editors/writers see this site and how readers for the most part use it. It isn’t a reliable news source, it isn’t a real hub for any political movements. It’s entertainment and maybe a distraction. Readers react to clickbait-y items with the exact knee-jerk,…

Of course it’s always easier to see the complexity in our own identities and thoughts while simultaneously simplifying and categorizing those of others, but I guess I’m not clear on how Jia’s positioning herself wrt to the notion that stating what type of feminist you are not is insufficient to indicate what kind of…

I am on board with a lot of this, but then on another level it takes your [blogs’s] role in feminism as a movement too seriously. Jezebel isn’t really representative of feminist politics in a lot of ways. I wouldn’t argue that it needs to be, and I think I even remember writers and editors claiming it isn’t a feminist…

I enjoy reading Jezebel as a strictly entertainment site. I don’t think of this space as truly being a feminist site because the representation isn’t nuanced enough. You all love who you love & hate who you hate - defending or pummelling with all the fervor of 1950s era gossip columnists. The only thing that is deep…

I enjoy reading your stuff Jia. I don’t always agree with all of it, but I don’t need to agree with something to enjoy it, and I appreciate that your pieces are thoughtful, thought-provoking, and well-written. They make me think about things in ways I haven’t done so before, which I truly enjoy.

It all needs to be aired out.

There’s a lot here to unpack, but first question now . . .

So, is Jezebel a feminist website or is it not? There are times when stuff gets posted here that gets the writers in hot water and it’s sometimes deflected by saying “we never said we were a feminist website”. So are you making this the official site position now?

This, for me, is the problem.

Is Jez a feminist website? Historically, Jezebel has completely and utterly shied away from every calling itself a feminist site. The tagline has always been “Celebrity, Sex, Fashion for Women. Without Airbrushing” - it started as “pink Gawker” and while it’s tried to move away from that, the recent structural changes…

Interesting how more than half of the population in the US is female yet people are actually more comfortable with anti-racism activism than with pro-feminism activism.

Jez definitely has their scared cows that are off limits. Minaj and the painfully unfunny Amy Schumer immediately come to mind.