Hey ladies! Some dude named Bryan Goldberg wants to ask you this:
“Isn’t it time for a women’s publication that puts world news and politics alongside beauty tips? What about a site that takes an introspective look at the celebrity world, while also having a lot of fun covering it? How about a site that offers career advice and book reviews, while also reporting on fashion trends and popular memes?”
Oh hey, Bryan, let me go one further: “Isn’t it time for a smart, feminist publication that starts with the letters B-u-s-t?”
Because he’s talking about BUST right? I mean, we’ve been doing that crazy editorial mix for — get this — TWENTY YEARS NOW!
Turns out, Mr. Goldberg is indeed talking about a publication that starts with the letters b-u-s-t. Only, it’s not BUST. Nope; Mr. Goldberg is launching his OWN website, called Bustle.com (I mean, come on!).
And just how is bustle.com different from BUST, exactly? Or, for that matter, jezebel.com, xojane.com, thehairpin.com, thefrisky.com, hellogiggles.com, etc.?
I’ll tell you how it’s different. It’s different because Mr. Bryan Goldberg, failed investment banker, one of the founders of sports website bleacher.com, and man of indeterminate age who looks like a child, got a bunch of other men to give him 6.5 million dollars to do it.
And guess what? With 6.5 million dollars he was actually able to launch a website, with a spiffy responsive design, and EVEN hire and pay some ladies to write the site for him. YES, that’s right, he pays them! All because some other men gave him 6.5 million dollars.
Hey, you know what, Bryan? If someone gave BUST 6.5 million dollars we could do a pretty kick-ass amazing website, too. We’d also be able to finally pay our writers what they are worth. We’d finally be able to focus on launching our own responsive design that we’ve been working on for the past year but don’t have the time to really launch because, hell, we’re too understaffed and underpaid and goddamn busy to do all the things we’d like to do!
But investors don’t often give money to women. Nope; they give it to other men. In fact, almost 96% of all investment money in the US goes to men.
Still, the men who gave him money should have known better. Did they believe Goldberg’s pitch that there were no good websites for women? Among others, they were from Google Ventures and Time Warner Investment. And somehow, I doubt there were many ladies who had a say in that decision.
But there’s a silver lining to this, I guess. Because even though men gave the money to Goldberg, he’s hired only women as staff writers, and they will take a big chunk of that money, right? Right?
WRONG! Bustle.com’s writers are expected to produce 4 to 6 posts per day, and for that they will be paid — $100! Waitaminnit Goldberg — being a lady I don’t know that much about business, but doesn’t that come out to a mere $26,000 a year? And no health insurance/paid vacation/paid sick days/water cooler? So what on earth are you going to do with the remaining $5.74 million? Use it to hire 255 more female writers, I hope.
The fact is, Bryan, women don’t need another smart, funny, feminist lady site. We ladies have been out here in the trenches doing that for ages — BUST was started in 1993 and BUST.com was launched in 1995!
But there is something we do need.
If you’re wondering what that is, let me put it to you in the form of a question:
Isn’t it time for a investment firm that puts women’s projects right alongside men’s? What about a firm that takes an introspective look at business plans, while also trying not to be influenced by gender? How about a firm that offers to make a concerted effort to invest more money in female entrepreneurs, while also helping to build a more egalitarian society?
Tip of the hat to Medium.com
