Hyde Park » The “feminine” side of PR blogs

The “feminine” side of PR blogs

In the early days of the Internet one often heard stories, or merely expressions of fears, that someone had chatted with what they thought was a 19-year-old USC cheerleader and nymphomaniac, who later turned out to be a 47-year-old, unemployed, male security guard.

There are a number of PR blogs ostensibly written by women that are prompting similar reactions. I know this is old news to some of you, but the trend does not seem to be abating much.

The most notorious of these blogs is Strumpette, an apparent attempt to capitalize on the old joke that all public relations people are “whores.” Strumpette’s blog is a popular one with men (check out the predominantly male names in the comments).

There is, however, much debate as to whether Strumpette’s author exists, at least in the person of Amanda Chapel. (The name sounds like one of those National Lampoon double-meaning names like Dwight Mannsburden, but I can’t quite decipher it.)

Back in March, when Strumpette first appeared, there was speculation that Strumpette was actually Brian Connolly of the Literati Group.

There is equally strong debate on whether Strumpette is “all in good fun,” or a slap in the face of professional women.

I was particularly amused by this comment regarding Strumpette by Kirsten Osolind, CEO of re:Invention marketing:

“What ‘THIS IS’ is a PR stunt by a man in Chicago who needs to get his butt kicked for insulting professional women in this way. It isn’t funny. And the comments from PR flacks in the industry on the faux site aren’t funny - but they are an example of the discrimination women face in the business world.”

What makes this amusing is that Osolind’s blog sports not only a Photoshopped glam shot, but a totally sincere “shoe of the week” feature. It strikes me as, well, like you know, like Paris Hilton talking trash to Britney Spears or something, ya know?

Less sleazy in name but employing a similar tack is Flackette, who instead of using photos of models on ‘her’ site, uses a Vargas-like illustration to represent ‘herself,’ and makes liberal use of pink in the blog’s color scheme. This is apparently to let us know that a PR professional can be female, attractive and competent. (Note that I make liberal use of quotation marks around the words ’she,’ ‘her,’ etc. in this post. Call me cynical.)

Flackette has also taken on Strumpette.

Note also this comment on Flackette’s blog:

At 12:59 PM, Michael Morton said: “Nice play on the PRostitute! Great insight Flackette. It’s good to have you back blogging. By-the-way, when will you reveal yourself?”

It’s great to see men being so supportive of this noble crusade for women’s rights, especially when they tack on the equivalent of “hey, what are you wearing?” to the message of solidarity.

I’m hoping that this silly trend is just that, and as bloggers become more professional and focus on content expertise and serving a specific audience (other than the audience that watches coin-operated movies in private booths), and readers become more knowledgeable and more selective, gimmicks like these will lose their ability to attract readers. Just to be on the safe side however, I have registered prwhore.com and sleazette.com. These domains are for sale.

Technorati Tags: Strumpette, Amanda Chapel, Flackette , Brian Connelly, Kirsten Osolind

Certainly our (there are 5 of us) “brand” was/is meant to be provocative in the spirit of the “Economics of Attention.” However, that said, we also address serious issues that no one else in PR has the courage to address.

Here… just today, see.

Kind regards,

- Amanda Chapel

PS Osolind and Flackette are weak women who use their sex as a crutch to leverage privilege. Of course, they despise Strumpette. We don’t. And more boys like us.

Hmmm…I find this interesting - from a Dick*less Marketing point of view. First, Kirsten’s blog is real - it represents women far better than Strumpette - which is a poorly focused blog for men. I’m not much interested in Strumpette or Flackette - they may do what they please, and pass it off as PR or marketing to or for women, when it isn’t.

Truth is - women like shoes. If that bothers you, tough. Women like to look pretty - without being marginalized. We can take the heat - just hop over to Blogher and look at some REAL women’s blogs, on any and all subjects. For me, at Dick*less Marketing - I’ll stick to my terms: that Jane is better at shopping than Dick. Oh- lest I forget - I have a caricature on my blog, not a photo. No reason, really. I just like it. My pic is all over the net. Anyone who wants to know what I look like can find out.

Kirsten is a friend - in all honesty - partly because of her affection for shoes, and partly because she understands the concept of women helping women. Which you don’t and which Strumpette doesn’t.

I stand on Harriet Beecher Stowe’s shoulders, remembering this quote, “Women are the real architects of society.” That’s ‘women’ - the gender with the bigger corpus callosum.

Osolind is a weak woman who uses her sex to leverage privilege?

If “Amanda” were a woman, I’d recommend that “she” read “She Wins You Win” by Gail Evans.

I do get so tired of people (men and women) who seek to diminish the work/accomplishments of any good looking woman by claiming that she’s used her looks/sex to get ahead. What’s delishly ironic here, of course, is that the ones doing the complaining are the boys who chose to fictionalize “Amanda” as a very good looking young woman who says she’s slept with her clients.

And, Amanda, if you’re real, based on your profile, I gotta say that it looks to me like you’re the bimbo leveraging your self-described “perky boobs” to get ahead.

I work with Kirsten Osolind on national public policy issues for the National Association of Women Business Owners.

She’s anything but “weak,” and I’ve routinely found her to be a creative, insightful, and smart woman who doesn’t take herself too seriously.

From what I’ve read… that makes her the exact opposite of what “Amanda” is even if “she” is a woman. Though the Strumpette crew clearly wrote “Amanda’s” bio with tongue planted firmly in cheek, they seem a bit thin skinned when it comes to taking “constructive feedback.”

Bottom line: it’s still a man’s world out there, even if he/they choose to hide behind a woman’s skirts to write about “anarchy” and other issues “no one in PR has the courage to address.”

Courage? To write a pseudonymous blog? Really.

A sign of the times. Shame on you Joel (if you really are a man) writing something about which you know very little, making fun comments about people and companies you really don’t know. You must have been initially VERY proud of your efforts. You don’t know anything about Reinventioninc and its CEO-yet you introduce the blog just to make fun of it. What Reinventioninc does IS REAL and it had nothing to do about the “really cute” little article you wrote. “Photoshopped glam shot”? That comment alone leads me to believe you really are one of those “wicked, jealous” women, or you have too much of a feminine side for a man. Hey-I KNOW KIRSTEN-SHE REALLY IS GLAMOROUS! Then, the comment from a man who calls himself Amanda really is asinine…”Osolind and Flackette are weak women who use their sex as a crutch to leverage privilege.” Wow! Isn’t it wonderful to make silly stupid statements like that! “Weak Women”??”Crutch to leverage privilege”?? A real working women knowing anything about Reinventioninc wouldn’t make a statement like that. WHAT privilege-being able to make a way in this world just like any other person. As if “Amanda” knows anything about what Kirsten’s blog attempts to do. As I said-a sign of the times - unfortunately. I believe we need real women and women-led companies to help this country grow stronger for us a nation. I’m not afraid of giving them some help and props to do that, regardless of these posers.

Joel, that was a really cheap shot at Kirsten Osolind (CEO of Reinventioninc.) and her blog. For the sake of a “funny, cute” article you made snide comments about her and the blog that really aren’t warranted. You don’t know her - I do. To lump her with Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears is shameful. If you took a really good look at her blog-you’d have realized its nearly all serious stuff about the advancement of women. And advancement of women today in business is VERY difficult. The comments about “Photoshopped Glam shot” weren’t called for either. I know Kirsten, and she really IS glamorous! Are you jealous of her good looks (your feminine side)? The comment from “Amanda” really is asinine. “Osolind and Flackette are weak women who use their sex as a crutch to leverage privilege” is an indication that “Amanda” is a male poser. What “privilege”? - the ability to make it in business today by working hard and smart? That’s a male opinion. Smart women in business know better and know how hard it is. Altogether, not your best effort for journalism.

Have you seen the butterfly on Kirsten site? Excuse me… It’s a douche commercial. I (we) believe in equal rights. Absolutely. But there’s a place where the drone of unique victimhood works counter to the cause. Pardon me but I actually have men friends; And I do not need to focus exclusively on people with vaginas to validate myself or my business.

With regard to using a pseudonymous vehicle… you bet. We are not about to speak the truth and subsequently incur the venomous wrath of the Witches of Eastwick.

- Amanda

Joel,

I’m not going to lecture you. But I will say that your comment about my quote on Flackette’s blog is completely misguided. Flackette and I have been friends for a while now, even before my comment. I am not angry or upset (not that I would expect you to care if I was), but I would like to set the record straight.

At the time of my comment, Flackette did not have a complete bio on her blog. The “By-the-way, when will you reveal yourself,” comment was directed at the incompleteness of her bio - that, and the fact that in the bio she mentioned that she would reveal her identity soon.

So your insinuation about me being something of a dirty, old man is unfair and not based on any research.

Research; is that a new word to you? Your post could have benefited from some research. Before making a comment like that, you should have at least contacted me to make sure you were interpreting my comment correctly. But apparently you let your own emotions and opinions shade the truth. Which prompts me to ask, where was your mind when you were reading the post – in the gutter?

You’re obviously an intelligent person. How else could you have accomplished the milestones you have in your career? It’s just too bad that you are completely wrong in this post. This is the first time I have been to your blog and it is also the last.

Remember… research.

Best of luck in life.

Michael,

I took your comment out of context and was therefore totally off base. My insinuation was indeed misguided and underserved and I apologize to you for that.

I do care, and hope that I have neither angered you nor anyone else. I believe that one of the aims of any good blog is to stimulate a spirited discussion, but it is never my intention to do so with inaccuracies or unwarranted attacks.

Joel

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