Via Ann, this video showing Cindy Chavez, the former vice-mayor of San Jose, discussing gender discrimination in politics, is depressing stuff:
Chavez says the vitriol directed at her gender was considerably worse than anything levied at her race, her politics, or any other facet of her candidacy. You see much the same thing in the blogosphere, where female writers endure attacks of a sort and style that male writers never really face. I've been called an idiot many a time, and even a sell-out, but never quite encountered any of this sort of intimidation, and have never had my picture posted on a male-only message board and had people consider discuss I was worth a "hate fuck" (as happened to one friend). I've no real solutions here, but it's the sort of thing worth pointing out once in awhile.