Reproducing Gender and Race Inequality in the Blawgosphere

Abstract

The use of the Internet and other digital media to disseminate scholarship has great potential for expanding the range of voices in legal scholarship. Legal blogging, in particular, with its shorter, more informal form, seems ideal for encouraging commentary from a diverse group of scholars. This Essay tests this idea by exploring the role of blogging in legal scholarship and the benefits to those scholars who regularly contribute to influential blogs. The Essay also examines the level of participation of women and scholars of color on the most visible academic legal blogs. After noting the predominance of white male scholars as regular contributors on these blogs, the authors analyze the relative lack of diversity in this emerging form of scholarship. They find that the limited participation of female and scholars of color in the upper echelons of the legal blogosphere may be traced to patterns in traditional legal scholarship as well as factors unique to the blogosphere. Finally, the Essay offers suggestions for reversing these trends and creating a more inclusive blogosphere and enriching its potential for lively, informed scholarship.