thisisUll.com Needs More Female Writers! By Jane Foster

This is something that I couldn't fail to notice, being a regular contributor, and featured writer who also happens to be a woman. Yes, whilst exploring this beloved and ever more exciting website recently, it couldn't escape my attention that there are no less that twenty featured writers on the featured writers page, but only four of them (including myself) are women. This is not due to any kind of selection process by the editors of the site . The sad truth is, the majority of contributions to thisisUll.com come from male writers.

I'd like to say that I was shocked, horrified and appalled at this apparent lack of female input on the site...but I'm afraid my main reaction was initial surprise, then slight annoyance that obviously women couldn't be bothered to contribute, then a slight resignation that they must be suffering from the most common disease in 'ull - apathy. And whilst I accept that this is a disease that seems to affect people generally across our country nowadays, it seems to manifest itself much more often in this city, and is more severely marked in the female sex...

I wonder why this is. It might well be linked to the ridiculous shortage of female musicians in Hull. Not only are most of the band reviews on this site written by men, most of the people in the bands are men too! In fact, one (I have to say, female) reviewer remarked on a music event in Queen's Gardens a while back, that out of the whole day not one of the featured bands contained a female musician. It was a 100% male affair. Anyway, that's enough of the moaning and negativity.

I for one am sick of theories that reek of victim mentality, and banal explanations that never quite reach the point and only succeed in causing backlashes... but if you've stuck with me 'til now, I could tell you my own views on this matter...coming from experience as a female writer and musician myself. I don't doubt for a minute that women are just as creative as men, and capable of being just as successful in their endeavours. But the first thing that springs to mind is a lack of confidence which is still predominant more often in women than in men. I know that when women have contributed to this site they have been a lot more self-effacing and doubtful of their writing skills than the men have. The reason for this low self-opinion I believe is still rooted in our society and common perceptions of what it means to be a woman.

I think of this analogy: to be creative, you have to have quite a lot of mental space. Your mind is like a computer. Out of all the negative thought processes, the stress and the crap that goes on in there, you have to have somewhere for creative ideas to flourish. And if too much of your mental space is taken up with negative thoughts and feelings about your self-worth in other areas, such as your weight and your looks, then there is less space left for your creativity to blossom and grow.

And it is true, even though body fascism affects everyone nowadays, that women still get the sharper end of the deal and are put under the media microscope in ever increasing degrees of magnification. Ever more impossible standards to live up to mean that ever more mental space is being taken up that could be spent on more productive and creative thought. Another thing that uses up mental space is the amount of agonizing that goes on about relationships. Is it me, or do women still do most of the emotional housework?

In relationships when things start to go wrong, it always seems to be the woman who is first to raise the flag to alert their partner that their ship is sinking. And even when they're not, women spend far too much time worrying that it might...see any page of Bridget Jones' Diary for an example of this typical, wasteful neurotic pondering. A number of my female friends have told me that they're always at their most creative when not in a relationship. I can vouch for this personally too, in fact I've always found relationships stifling and oppressive in one way or another - but any mention of this just seems to bring out a chorus of you just haven't found the right man yet!

Maybe I haven't, maybe I never will, and frankly I try not to think about it too much....mental energy wasted once again. But I don't think it's purely coincidental that I've become more creative and confident the more I've managed to free myself from the tyranny of coupledom and the constant invasion of popular media.

I think creativity in writing is like a digestive process. You need to read good material to be inspired. You need stuff going in to influence the stuff coming out. You need a steady intake of quality reading material, and the more you read the more you know how to retain the goodness and expel the crap...(sorry for that rather unattractive analogy). Some publications are damaging to our self-esteem. Women's magazines are the worst culprits of course...I stopped reading them years ago. They make you feel ugly and tell you nothing of any real worth.

I now read things such as New Statesman, though I doubt if many men find that an attractive habit...any rumours of a woman being vaguely interested in politics or current affairs seems to strike fear into men's hearts that you will end up looking like Anne Widdecombe... Anyway, enough said for now, but please...women, this site needs YOU! Pick up a pen, it's mightier than the media...or it could be if you make it...!

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