Girls uninterrupted

Then a commenter with the screen name Calraigh wrote that, despite being pregnant, Jolie looked like “an Ethiopian famine victim.” Within minutes, a half-dozen angry readers had made their own snap judgments of Calraigh:
“You’re gross.”
“Are you serious?”

“That comment is inappropriate. I don’t know what website you think you are on, but that is not how we roll.”

The Jezebel blog was founded last spring by Gawker Media as a smart, feisty antidote to traditional women’s magazines (or “glossy insecurity factories,” as Jezebel describes them). It quickly developed a loyal following and has seen an influx of new visitors, after being name-checked on the official blog for Gossip Girl, the prime-time soap opera.

But as Jezebel’s first anniversary approaches on May 21, its readers and editors are learning a lesson right out of high school: popularity has its pitfalls, and mean-girl behaviour is hard to quash.

Some readers, in comments on the site, have accused editors of political bias and misogyny. The editors responded by banishing certain commenters and putting others “on notice” for being nasty or, worse, not funny.

“I feel like Jezebel is a club more than a blog,” wrote Elizabeth Palin, 26, an accountant, who comments under the screen name Muffyn.

All this over a Web site that set out to be—dare one say it?—nice.

Written and edited by a staff of seven women, the blog mixes style commentary and gossip with no-holds-barred posts about politics, the economy, sexism and, certainly, sex.

Recent posts include commentary on Texas polygamists, a discussion about fertility and a critique of Scarlett Johansson’s singing skills. There are regular features such as Pot Psychology, in which Tracie Egan, an editor, answers readers’ sex questions while under the influence of marijuana, and Cover Lies, a send-up of women’s magazines. (One, in April, bore the headline, “Well Isn’t the Cosmo ‘Sexy Issue’ Just a Sexy Breath of Fresh Sexual Sexy Sex Air!”)

Like a digital-age upgrade of Sassy, the 1990s-era indie-feminist teenage magazine, Jezebel appeals to a young, urban demographic, with a roster of editors whose strong voices inspire loyal followings.

Jezebel’s readers—they often call themselves “Jezzies” or “Jezebelles”— are permitted to post to the site after a first prospective comment is approved by a Gawker Media staffer, and must adhere to some basic rules: be witty and relevant, no whining and don’t attack people.

Still, such attacks happen regularly. When Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton won the New Hampshire primary after getting teary-eyed at a campaign event, one Jezebel editor, Ms. Tkacik, fired off a furious rant, accusing women of voting with their emotions. One commenter who uses the screen name SinisterRouge, wrote back: “Seriously, Moe, I know you love Obama. But to say women just up and voted for her because she cries is retarded.”

This March, Holmes publicly banned some commenters she believed had frequently crossed the line. Instead of showing support for Holmes’s decision, many readers declared loyalty to the warned Jezebelles.

These core commenters have become friends online and in real life. In New York, Jezebelles meet regularly for drinks; in mid-April, almost two dozen old-guard Jezebelles from across the country rented a house in Tennessee for a weekend get-together.

“I miss the old days,” said Mary Brewer, one of the old guards who identified herself as an over-35 researcher. “I think we grew really fast, and all of a sudden, it seems like people are just slipping through that shouldn’t be commenting.”

Jezebel’s editors are working to solve its problems. A few weeks ago, Tkacik went out for drinks with SinisterRouge, her sometime sparring partner, in the West Village.

“We sat there and drank and joked,” Tkacik said. “She’s just really funny, totally one of those girls who’ll say whatever.”
-LAUREN LIPTON (NYT)