The Church Mouse pointed out that his list of blogs to look out for do not include many women. I thought that perhaps I should encourage women to blog a bit more by listing my suggestions.... problem is there are only eight UK women Bloggers that I follow (I think).
Maggi Dawn
Dreaming Beneath the Spires
Significant Truths
Apples of Gold
Seeker
Glorious things
Good in Parts
LLMcalling
So in a bid to do better I thought I would take a leaf out of Mouse's book and list the UK Wikio Top 10 UK Religion Bloggers who are female (the number is the Wikio UK Religion Rating):
1. Islam in Europe
11. Lesley's Blog
?? Maggi Dawn
34. Dreaming Beneath the Spires
38. Revise Reform
40. The Vicar's Wife
Well, I was going to do the top 10, but I got to about 60 in the Wikio Rankings and lost the will to live, very disappointed by how few Religion blogs are written by women - 10%. What does this mean?
(Incidentally, it should be said that the ratings are skewed in relation to the frequency of posts - so my blog is high in the ranking because I have at least two posts a day, but others who post less frequently could attract many more visitors than me per post, but be lower in the ranking).
55 comments:
Eeeek! Better go think of something small but glorious to write about if folks are actually going to come and see. I tend to blog for myself to help me reflect on the good stuff so I'm not particularly bothered about rankings. Perhaps that's a female thing. And there is the time aspect. I am frightened that reading others blogs because I find it encouraging could easily become addictive and take me away from stuff I should be doing in the parish.
And there is the technical aspects too, which I do think male brains are wired up better for. I still haven't made the time to work out how wordpress works but I use it because I don't want to always follow the crowd and use the mighty google empire.
Gloriousthings: I think what you say makes a lot of sense. I (an elderly male blogger) blog for myself rather than for others. That goes for sermons too so I really don't expect anyone to read what I write/speak and am quite happy about that. Really Lesley!
LOL That is all very well but if the Blogosphere is very skewed in terms of gender or theology or whatever then that isn't good....
PS weren't you moaning at me Mike that no one had read you fab sermon that you had posted on your blog?
I'm female and write a blog at http://www.musicademy.com/blog
I know from our susbscriber numbers that our blog is a lot bigger/widely read than many in Wikio's top 20 but for some reason they don't list us within the UK Religion Rating (if anyone knows how to change that please let me know)
Our posts are to do with aspects of worship music. I have a fair number of male guest bloggers but as I oversee it and write the bulk of the posts I think we qualify as female!
I blog about Christianity and am female, but my blog isn't completely religion-focused. It is hard to find UK female Christian bloggers actually so recommendations are always welcome!
Very interesting. Recently I archived one blog and started another (the feed to the old one had got corrupted and the pages were becoming slow in loading; the usual techie problems) and saw the ratings plummet. I actually find that refreshing. I'm not the same person I was five years ago and my blogging reflects that. Maybe female bloggers are by nature less competitive and blog for blog's sake, as it were; or is that feeding into another stereotype?
A good one is: http://hernameislucy.blogspot.com/ and is @lucymills on Twitter.
There's also @Stroopwaffle on Twitter. I don't think she blogs as such but she sometimes uses Twitlonger to post some amazingly fab insights e.g. http://tl.gd/78dpp2
There is also http://dreamsatstake.blogspot.com @dreamsatstake
I blog ... I'm female ... I'm a Christian .... I'm from the UK ... but the blog could be about anything ... though for the past year it has ended with a prayer/hymn/reflection.... I wonder how Church Mouse gathers the information of who is out here ... though there certainly seem to be more male bloggers. I drop in on this one every few days. Thanks.
Twitter labels itself a micro-blogging service, so yes, I think people using Twitter are worthy of the term 'blogger'. In which case there are lots of good UK Christian female bloggers.
Thanks for mentioning my blog as one you follow. I'm with Digital Nun in thinking that I probably blog for blog's sake. I'm not greatly interested in rankings, on the other hand I hope a few people read my posts. Are female bloggers less competitive? I don't think you can generalise.
Sally Coleman: http://sallysjourney.typepad.com/sallys_journey/
ooooh! thanks for the mention (and the enormous picture, which makes me realise I should really change my profile pic!!). Yes I too sort of blog for myself but more and more I am posting questions where I really need help with answers or for more of a debate.
I don't know about other women but I would probably be more competitive if I knew how the whole ranking stuff worked. I have tried to add counters and things to my blog but just can't get them to work, I am sooo not techie minded!
Anyway its good to see some more Christian women blogging, I shall look some of them up!
red :)
Wow! Thanks,Lesley. 4 of these are new to me, so I have some reading to catch up with!
Anita
I remember doing a post on this 2-3 years ago and having the same problem.
A few others I found along the way:
http://helpiworkwithchildren.blogspot.com/
http://paxtonvic.wordpress.com/
m
http://annedroid-annedroid.blogspot.com/ a prison chaplain
which still isn't very many!
There's http://fragmentz.org @fragmentz on Twitter
Other UK female Tweeters who are Christians (non-clergy): @HellsJBells, @Emily_woods, @Fiona_shields, @boudledidge, @JKRowbory, @Sarah_Gallagher, @AMyrtleTree
thanks for the mention! I used to figure highly on rankings but after a re-design I fell off all of them - am now having a re-re-design...
you might want to check out Anchor and Chaplain -
http://chaplainmediacity.wordpress.com/
Thanks all
I will post again summarising all your recommendations.
Red - I LOVE your profile pic, cheers me up whenever I see it!
@Marie Page. I simply emailed Wikio and asked them reclassify my blog as religion. They took a look and said yes.
I'm a female ordinand blogging sporadically ( which doesn't help!)
at http://fibrefairy.wordpress.com Over the years my blog has morphed from more about fibre & crafts to more about reflection, life & theology, but it could still be about anything!! My take is that I don't have boxes, my theology, my faith are part of my life so I can't say my blog is abut one thing or another, it just is, and I like it like that!
Hi Lesley. Thanks for the link! I have a few female commentators on my blog who also blog. There are a few women on my blogroll too, for example:
Emma Scrivener has a very thoughtful blog at http://emmascrivener.net/category/blog/ where she particularly looks at eating disorders from a Christian perspective.
Hope Eternal is a vicar's wife who blogs recipes at http://hopeeternalcookbook.wordpress.com/
I think women's blogs often cover a wider range of issues than men's ones, so may not show up in the religion rankings. The advantages of being able to multitask....
Oh dear - I'm not very interested in cooking or crafts.. nor knitting and sewing. Tell the truth I was a crap girlie from the day I was born - more interested in cars and aeroplanes and going fast... Still... I will check them out!
I'm on a hiatus from blogging, but my old blog posts are still available at conversationaltheology.wordpress.com
I completely agree with fibrefairy. It's very difficult to define what is meant by "religious" and so it's hard to say whether a blog falls into that category.
Lesley, I'm very disappointed you're not blogging more on cars and aeroplanes...
I have blogged on water engineering (and sewage), although neither of those go very fast, as that was my calling before Vicar's wife-ing.
Lesley - I may be a textile artist(!) but I also like fast cars, loud engines, rugby, rock music, curry, pints and cooked breakfasts. (ref to discussion at http://www.cartoonchurch.com/blog/2011/01/12/men-and-women/)
I'd probably mostly really rather hang out with the boys!
LOL - I was an engineer too.. but in aerospace. I guess I got it out of my system.. you are right I don't blog on it!
Glad to hear it fibrefairy - I always hung out with the lads too..
I started blogging late last year and have a small band of readers.
Great - I now have a list of 15 blogs to recommend!
I think this is a very thoughtful reflection...
I'd highlight Cat Hare, Sarah Dawkins and Ellie Cook.
Lesley,
It is great that you are encouraging Christian Women bloggers.
http://heartsongsearcher.blogspot.com/2011/01/show-me-manna.html Songinheart on twitter.
http://thewoundedbird.blogspot.com/2011/01/i-was-proud.html Granmere Mimi, not a UK blogger, but very active.
http://heather4christ.blogspot.com/2010/12/amazing-christmas.html Heather Siebens US Based Aliveinme on twitter.
And I am sure that there are many more who miss out on the ratings.
'That is all very well but if the Blogosphere is very skewed in terms of gender or theology or whatever then that isn't good....'
Not it's not but just as numbers in the pews isn't the measure of our success neither is hits on a page.
I might have been complaining the other day that no one reads my blog but as you know I am inconsistent. (I shouldn't really have been complaining and now I seem to have three followers rather than two so that's not good!)
LOL
Yikes UKViewer, if we start on the Yanks we'll be here all evening - some very excellent female American Bloggers....
Mike - I love that you are inconsistent :) It is more about links than pageviews, a bit like academic papers - the more referrals they get the higher they are in the ratings
Mike,
Now it is four.
Will it encourage you to be more sporadic? My blog has 9 followers and I worry as I only post about once a month.
There was a bit of discussion about this issue a couple of years back - David Bish made a top 10 after realising that the top 10 UK Christian bloggers was devoid of women - http://thebluefish.org/2008/11/top-10-uk-christian-bloggers-by.html
I don't think many on his list are on yours, but times change! I particularly recommend Carla Harding who works for 24/7 Prayer and mixes reflection, prayer & theology with book & film reviews as well as life in general.
Personally, I blog, I'm Christian and I'm female - sometimes I blog about church and faith, but I'm far more likely to write about something random. Having said that, I don't think people could read it for long without seeing quite clearly how important my faith is to me.
It might be a British thing. I've noticed in America that there are a phenomenal number of Mormon women who blog about life and their faith. Maybe British Christianity needs to develop more of a blogging culture?
I am a female, mum, daughter, sister, auntie and great auntie, lecturer and curate and I hope friend.
I blog now as the cathedral curate rather than my own blog as doing two blogs, plus everything else I am supposed to do is too much. I tried to blog a little but often, but then Christmas in the Cathedral took over!! so I am now going to be starting again....
Ok Liz and Dotsters - I've added you too :)
I blog about religion (church services and the music we sing) and am female:
www.chorister.wibsite.com
UK Viewer: it will neither discourage nor encourage me but it would be churlish of me not to say thanks.
Lesley: ah but I write academic papers for myself as well. My best ones are definitely those that no one appears to have read (judging by the number of citations)
Thanks Chorister.. on the list..
Lol - wouldn't it be better if people read the paper?
Thanks for the mention Lesley. I am flattered you read my blog - I love yours and read it regularly.
I think it is great to encourage women to blog as it seems more a male dominated activity?
I will have to try to get enter my blog in the Wikio thing - I did try once without success, just not very technical!
I'm a Christian uK blogger, not sure as if I'm as indepth as others but my faith is very much part of my writing.
I love this post and will be checking out the listed Uk bloggers, I read plenty of Amercian ones.
My blog is www.walkingwithangels.wordpress.com
Ok, great Sara
I am publishing the list at 11am...
So what is our conclusion? There seems to be a load of female bloggers out there because all of the comments seem to say "I’m a woman and a Christian and I blog".
They then also seem to say "but I don't keep it consistent, I blog about all sorts of things".
I don't know whether it is Mr or Mrs Church Mouse. I do know that it is rare that Mr(s) Mouse blogs about something other than The CofE.
What about Vicky Beeching?
http://vickybeeching.com/blog/
She is a woman who blogs and is a Christian. She does however spend most of her time talking about charismatic worship music. I guess that doesn't float a particular religious boat although she gets zillions of hits from christians who are charismatic.
Thanks for blogrolling me. Its a joy to see there are lots more recommended blogs to read, and who they are by is irrelevant to me as long as the content is thought provoking , funny or informative. I am sure bloggers like comments however, as this adds value to the occupation!
I wonder how book writers cope. I think I should post a letter to a few to give them value. It's not about the reading, it's about the writing =D
Yes , it is about the writing , but like someone trying to be a Christian without the fellowship of others , it becomes complete when shared, in my view. My father was an unpublished (1940s and 50s) writer of short stories, in my reading group are un published writers . We have had tens of published writers, Lindsay Davis,Peter Robinson etc speaking to my Library reading group of their struggle to get published, and the common thread seems to have been 'its who you know'. In the cyberworld I just dont believe bloggers, some only recently posting for last 12months like Lesley and David Cloake, are doing it for the writing. It must add value to their networking , which to me is just the 21st C word for fellowshipping.
Gloriously Anglican, I am one of a number of UK Christian bloggers who are women and Methodist!
Changing worship:
'I wonder how book writers cope. I think I should post a letter to a few to give them value.'
In my experience they would value this tremendously. When I have got round to doing it (twice in my life) the authors have always written back.
Changing worship and Margaretkiaora
'It's not about the reading, it's about the writing'
Isn't there something in 'not casting your pearls before swine'? Today we are expected to cast our pearls before swine. Indeed it would be deemed 'snobbish' not to do so.
Can you really write just for yourself though? In the final analysis that seems crazy. But sometimes I think I am really just writing for/speaking to God and that includes obscure academic articles on food labelling which I vaguely hope he might be interested in.
Not sure that's going to help you reading group though, Margaertkiaora.
Ha ha - I'm sorry to have caused such an uproar by trying to be funny. I clearly failed.
Thanks Lesley for the mention. There are more Christian women blogging, than the rankings indicate, which is a good thing. I will update my blog with a link to you. Seems we have been hanging out quite a bit over at Adrian's blog, feel like I almost know you...;-)
Glad to find this post! I'd like to recommend another new female Christian blogger at http://cookecrumbs.wordpress.com/
ok, thanks for the recommendation - I'll check it out :)
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