Good Conversation!

Wow, I asked for feedback and I got it! Thanks for the comments and the emails everyone. Here's my take on the situation:

As Barbara O'Brien pointed out, there are essentially three female blogospheres: Progressive, Conservative and Personal Diarists. All three are valid pursuits, of course, but combined they would comprise a huge and unmanageable blogroll. There has to be some categorization if the list is to have value.

I chose to take on this task, but since I'm volunteering my time, enegy and webspace, I feel justified in doing it in a way that makes the most of that contribution. For those of you who don't know me, I am disabled, so my time and attention is limited and valuable to me. I also have very strong and extreme political beliefs, with which I don't expect most people to agree. I try to be open-minded, but I honestly don't see the sense in working against myself. I'm anti-Bush and Pro-Choice and all of my energy is directed in those areas, including this project.

Now, I am very open to the idea of a sister site for conservative bloggers and another for diarists. I'll even lend the name, the design and the space for them IF someone else will manage them. Even with the very kind and generous help I am receiving, this one is all I can handle along with my many other projects.

That being said, "Progressive" is a very broad term. This blogroll already includes Pagans, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists and various other stripes, believer and non. That's a lot of variety. Within the realm of politics, there is a plethora of issues: budget deficits, civil rights, separation of church and state, war and peace, campaign practices, marketing, child care, abortion rights, pay equity, education, size acceptance, taxes, child care, class warfare, society itself.
The scope is breath-taking, and the only way to approach it is to begin with a basic agreement.

The group blogs are included if one participant is a progressive female. So would that include a blog of 20 guys and one feminist? Yes. The guys benefit from working with us, n'est pas? We want to encourage an open and inclusive dialogue - that's why I'm making us easy to find and hard to ignore.

I'm not requiring that everyone agree on every subject. We may butt heads on the Pledge of Allegiance, Social Security, civil unions vs. gay marriage, etc. but this isn't the place to fight the Christian Coalition. We know which side we're on, and we've moved forward to the debate of how to achieve our goals. The Conservatives already seem awfully well organized.

AND - the next time some guy asks you where all the women bloggers are, you can tell them What She Said!