Sexism… Or lack thereof

Folks –
I’ve mostly stayed out of the contentious parts of the “sexism in the Blogosphere” debate, and that isn’t about to change now. However, Meryl did me as an example of sorts of how, perhaps, gender influenced who the Big Boys linked to:
Was it sheer coincidence that NZ Bear shot up to the top of the blogosphere? Or was it sexism, as no female blogger has ever garnered the attention he received quite so quickly? (We’re talking pre-ecosystem—Glenn Reynolds, Bill Quick, and Stephen Green treated Bear like a long-lost brother returned home…)
Well, it’s obviously impossible to say what influenced those fellows to link to me, and I won’t try. Do I believe there was gender-bias involved? No. Can I prove it? Also no.
Except… let’s take a look at all the links I got from Glenn in the early days of my blog:
May 18, 2002 – HEADS ROLLING: Josh Marshall says the 9/11 intelligence problems were more likely systemic than the result of dereliction of duty… And The Bear says we should focus on the bottom line…
May 25, 2002 – AD HOMINEM ALERT: Ben Domenech says that my post on teen sex means I can’t be a father… UPDATE: And N.Z. Bear has some comments on fatherhood.
May 28, 2002 – BLOGGER N.Z. BEAR has a lengthy post on the latest Amnesty International report on human rights…
May 28, 2002 – “HE’S MORE MACHINE NOW THAN MAN:” Hillary Carter continues her feud with Richard “Darth” Bennett… UPDATE: The Bear says much the same. So does Stephen Green.
May 29, 2002 – THE BEAR SAYS I’m wrong about Bill Frist’s HIV/Terrorism speech
May 31, 2002 – BLOGGER N.Z. BEAR has a piece in Salon today. It’s his/her first professional sale. Congrats, Bear!
Wait a minute…
“his/her first professional sale” ?
Kinda difficult to charge Glenn with any trace sexism in my case when he didn’t seem to be clear on my gender until he had already linked to me five times, isn’t it?