As someone who enjoys writing, I've been looking around for a place to put my work out there and publish. So, I started looking around, and I find a influx of magazines that publish "only women writers," or "only Jewish writers," et cetera. And the most common one I'd fit under is woman, so I'll use that one for example. I have vowed to myself that I will NEVER publish in a women writer's only magazine, even if it's my last venue.
Why? Because it's derrogatory and demeaning. There are two things this could be trying to say in my opinion:
1) That women are less than men, so they can't compete with men in the other magazines. They need half of the competition (men) to be eliminated in order for them to publish. I think that women are just as talented as men (as a whole. Each individual is not equally as talented as the next in every area). Women don't need these special magazines to publish. They can publish in the same competition as men.
2) That since there used to be magazines that refused to publish women, we're getting back at the men now. Frankly, we're operating under the assumption that this is a bad thing to do. So, if it is indeed bad, then are we, "as women," going to lower ourselves to that level?
I will publish as a writer, and not play victim with this victimizing venues.
But we see these in other things as well. Scholarships for example.
What are everyone's opinions?
Just because nobody understands you, that doesn't mean you're artistic.