When this post topic was agreed upon weeks ago, I had a very specific plan in mind. I wanted to talk about the constant claims of sexism in social media that I hear from colleagues — not enough women presenting at conferences, not enough women published on social media topics in journals, etc.
However, the issue of sexism in business on the Web recently took a different turn in the blogosphere — Freelancer James Chartrand of Men With Pens announced that he is actually a she. I’m not going to get into all of the details here. There are plenty of places where you can learn more. In essence though, “James” was struggling to land the kind of work she wanted, so she decided to use a male pseudonym. Income rose drastically. Now bloggers all over the freelance, blogging, and social media niches are attributing that success to gender bias.
I think they’re full of crap.
A Bit of Background
Just to be up front, I’ve never been a fan of James Chartrand. I never cared for the Men With Pens blog, and was never a regular reader. So unlike clients, closer colleagues, and regular readers of the blog, I don’t have the potential issue of feeling personally betrayed by the lie.
That said, as much as I wasn’t a fan of James, I always respected the fact that “he” was willing to speak his mind openly whether or not I agreed with him. I love people who speak their mind and tell the truth as they see it without constantly worrying about what everyone else thinks of them.
That respect is gone. James was never that person. She wasn’t speaking her mind freely and openly. She was hiding behind a penis. Her opinions were never truly presented as her own, and speaking your mind while wearing a mask simply doesn’t deserve the same kind of respect. I’d much rather have read material from a ballsy woman taking a risk than a coward.
I don’t know how accurate James’ single mom story is. I will say that if it’s true I do genuinely feel bad that any women felt they had to adopt a male persona (not simply a pen name) to make more, or enough, money.
I don’t consider myself a feminist, at least in that I don’t make it my mission to improve the situation of females as a whole. Instead I’m a big believer in taking personal responsibility for your own success and failures. I know many successful female freelance writers. I know plenty of successful male freelance writers. I also know quite a few of both sexes who struggle to get by. I know men who have blogged as women. We have an example here of a woman who blogged as a man. There are also both men and women who blog under pseudonyms without undergoing a virtual sex change. Success in this kind of work doesn’t seem to be heavily gender-specific at all. I think there’s much more to the story than the gender bias issue everyone seems to be talking about.
You’re Your Own Harshest Critic
Look. I don’t buy into all the “visualize yourself as a success and it will happen” crap. Is confidence a part of the equation? Absolutely. But so is everything you do with that confidence. Knowing you deserve more isn’t enough. Knowing you’re qualified for a gig isn’t enough. Plenty of other people probably are too. It’s a part of your job to exude confidence and demonstrate value to clients in your pitch.
I have to wonder how much James’ (she hasn’t revealed her real name yet) perception of gender bias in the freelance world influenced how she behaved as a woman. I also have to wonder how her confidence, approach, tone, and marketing changed when she donned the new man suit. You can’t be two different people but still remain exactly the same.
By James’ account she was going through a pretty desperate time. How many desperate people really put their best foot forward in the freelance market? It would be incredibly difficult to put your focus squarely on a client’s needs when your own needs are so dire. I doubt anyone could realistically say that there isn’t some level of relief in taking on a new persona — getting to step outside your real life and worries to try something new. Don’t try to tell me that had absolutely no effect whatsoever on how James presented him/herself. I don’t think any level-headed person would buy that line.
You can see what I mean by visiting Men with Pens (or even just taking a look at the logo on the right). One of the things that always turned me off of the blog was the hyper-masculinity of the design. It had little to do with the niche. The entire package felt like an overcompensation issue. And it apparently was. It’s not exactly the kind of image a woman would go for if writing as an actual woman. That fact alone shows that the marketing approach changed.
Still, others flocked to the site (and to hire James). Why? Because Men With Pens got something very right — branding. Not only did James’ pen name have a nice flow in and of itself, but Men with Pens presents a pretty straightforward image of what you’re going to get. Did James’ estrogen-laden marketing efforts have the same branding benefits going for it? I highly doubt it — but without the whole story from Ms. Chartrand no one can really know. And that lack of information is precisely what makes gender bias seem so plausible, at least until you put on your critical thinking cap and look at the bigger picture.
I really wish the online writing, blogging and social media communities would put the emphasis where it belongs — taking responsibility for your own success rather than feeling the need to play the role of victim. There’s nothing wrong with using a pen name. But when you have to pretend to be an entirely different person to improve your situation, that’s not taking responsibility — it’s playing a game. I do understand that desperate times call for desperate measures, but the sad thing here is that we’ll never know if James could have been equally successful just being herself if she would have simply worked on the confidence and rethought her personal branding.
How much do you think confidence based in anonymity played into James’ improved success? What about branding? And if you want to blame it all on gender bias, then how do you explain the vast group of successful female freelance writers both on the Web and off? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
View Comments
"On the other hand, if she had just changed her writing voice & branding style and not her name, she probably would have experienced similar success."
I think that's key. You can certainly be a successful female freelance writer. There are plenty of them out there earning six figure incomes, writing for nationally-known publications, etc. (just two possible measures of "success" based on different areas of freelancing). So marketing yourself while using a woman's name in no way means you can't succeed. I just find it sad that James' choice to sport a new gender seems to have so many people forgetting that (not here so far, but elsewhere it's fascinating how many people are willing to jump on the "I was born with a vagina, so woe is me" train rather than looking at their circumstances as individuals -- including how they present themselves, market themselves, and frankly feel about themselves on the professional front.
I agree with you Jenn: success has little to do with hiding behind a male image, but rather is probably the result of a marketing re-think. I'm also tired of women whining about gender bias. If it does exist the thing to do is prove your worth--not whine. I'm sure I'll get flack for it but in my (techie) niche I've never noticed gender bias.
The one thing I have learned is to walk, talk, learn, hear, see and be the truth. The truth of who you are.
Fran
Wow! The whinging never stops. It began in the 1970s with a vengeance and continues today. You find it in every area of life. Not enough women in academe, the military, the sciences, the police, the fire dept, the senate, the movie business, medicine, engineering, physics, sports, computing, leadership roles, etc., ad infinitum.
Sad how women feel the need to tear down other women for their choices. Still.
I disagree completely with most of this article.
I think the article is making a mountain out of a mole hill. What James did is not, and was not intended to be a broad (no pun intended) statement about sexism. Simply put, James was struggling in business and wondered if things would be different if she were a man. Who among us women has not wondered that at least once?
That said, I'd bet money that James' performance was different as a man than as a woman... but not necessarily better.
Finally, as the child of a single mother who works/ed in a heavily male-dominated environment, and works her ass off, and is spectacular at what she does... my mom knows for a fact that she has frequently been paid quite a bit less than her male counterPARTS (pun intended). So if James found a way around that kind of bull----, more power to her. If she was a man, no one would be judging her. Oh wait... isn't that how all this started? ;)
If anyone decided to make a mountain out of a molehill, it was actually James. She made a conscious and strategic decision to announce the "news" not on her own blog to the target audience that should have mattered, but in a significantly bigger outlet (something you don't do unless you're looking for attention).
And while the initial announcement might not have been intended as a broad statement about sexism, comments she made after that announcement have been indeed. The Newsweek article linked above in the post is an example, where James very directly blames former lack of success squarely on sexism rather than taking personal responsibility.
Also keep in mind that when James was pretending to be a man, she penned several blog posts that were downright sexist themselves. One of the biggest issues in this situation wasn't that James felt discriminated against, but that she acted like a complete hypocrite in the process of trying to overcome how she felt she was being treated (why it's laughable when I see women commenting here about sisterhood, in defense of a female who demeaned women in a much broader stroke).
I SO wish I could be real life friends with all you CA runner girls I think Id have a blast running out there with you ladies. Im going to make a visit a part of my vacation plans once I start working again!
"To err is human; to forgive divine." Alexander Pope
I see that when this post was written -- and most of the comments -- the controversy was new and raw. I hope by now it's blown over.
I don't know whether James made some errors of judgment or not. I do think she believed, at the time, that she was taking personal responsibility by assuming the male persona. That must have been a heavy burden that only got heavier as she got more well known. It probably spiralled out of control until she no longer felt she could hide behind the pen name. Since I started with a quote, Sir Walter Scott comes to mind here: "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive." Sounds like she learned this the hard way.
None of it takes away from the quality of her writing and content nor on her quite remarkable teaching skills. I have taken her Damn Fine Writing class (and written about the experience on my blog) and found it enormously valuable, and her interaction with the students in her class was genuine and generous. For that, I hold her in high regard.