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The F-Word, Amanda Palmer, & Astroturfing
May. 6th, 2012 10:17 amI was bemused to see that the F-Word (a UK feminist blog) were hailing Amanda Palmer as a feminist icon.
I thought it was pretty common knowledge that, amongst many other things, she mocked "disabled feminists" on national TV in Australia.
As I re-read the post, I suddenly realised what was bugging me about the language, and the content - it read like a press release. There's lots of baseless puff-piece talk about how "great" and "inspiring" Amanda Palmer is, and only a superficial engagement with her work. There's a random plug for a guitar website in the middle of the text.
It is, in fact, a press release. I googled the author, and found that she works in internet marketing.
This article is nothing but astroturfing, and the F-Word need to sort it out, pronto.
Because comments on the F-Word are often left in moderation hell for days, here's what I posted:
Some of Amanda Palmer's music is very feminist. As well as the examples you cite, I'd also mention "Ampersand", which is about heteronormativity and street harassment.
But Palmer herself, a feminist icon? I can't agree with you there.
How about "Evelyn Evelyn", the project she began in 2007? She pretended to have "discovered" a pair of disabled performers, and to be "promoting" their work (http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/392050312/the-story-behind-evelyn-evelyn) - but it turned out that it was just her and a friend dressing up and making fun of conjoined twins. When she was called on it, she used "lol, disabled feminists!" as a punchline on national TV: http://hoydenabouttown.com/20100302.7291/not-your-punchline-amanda-palmer/
Also, why the plug for a guitar company in the middle of your post? Looking at @tahera on Twitter, it seems that you work in internet marketing - and the more I think about how one-sided this post is, the more I think that it's nothing more than a press release.
Yes, a press release. A lot of little errors in this post suddenly make sense to me as well! Someone who'd listened to "Oasis" more than a couple of times would likely notice that the protagonist does not "become a crack whore", as you state - in fact, she gets bullied at school by people using those words, because she was raped and became pregnant.
This is astroturfing. I am disappointed, and hope that the fword will post a retraction and explanation.
I thought it was pretty common knowledge that, amongst many other things, she mocked "disabled feminists" on national TV in Australia.
As I re-read the post, I suddenly realised what was bugging me about the language, and the content - it read like a press release. There's lots of baseless puff-piece talk about how "great" and "inspiring" Amanda Palmer is, and only a superficial engagement with her work. There's a random plug for a guitar website in the middle of the text.
It is, in fact, a press release. I googled the author, and found that she works in internet marketing.
This article is nothing but astroturfing, and the F-Word need to sort it out, pronto.
Because comments on the F-Word are often left in moderation hell for days, here's what I posted:
Some of Amanda Palmer's music is very feminist. As well as the examples you cite, I'd also mention "Ampersand", which is about heteronormativity and street harassment.
But Palmer herself, a feminist icon? I can't agree with you there.
How about "Evelyn Evelyn", the project she began in 2007? She pretended to have "discovered" a pair of disabled performers, and to be "promoting" their work (http://blog.amandapalmer.net/post/392050312/the-story-behind-evelyn-evelyn) - but it turned out that it was just her and a friend dressing up and making fun of conjoined twins. When she was called on it, she used "lol, disabled feminists!" as a punchline on national TV: http://hoydenabouttown.com/20100302.7291/not-your-punchline-amanda-palmer/
Also, why the plug for a guitar company in the middle of your post? Looking at @tahera on Twitter, it seems that you work in internet marketing - and the more I think about how one-sided this post is, the more I think that it's nothing more than a press release.
Yes, a press release. A lot of little errors in this post suddenly make sense to me as well! Someone who'd listened to "Oasis" more than a couple of times would likely notice that the protagonist does not "become a crack whore", as you state - in fact, she gets bullied at school by people using those words, because she was raped and became pregnant.
This is astroturfing. I am disappointed, and hope that the fword will post a retraction and explanation.
