The first video from the Women in Secularism conference is up! It’s a panel on the Intersection of Non-Theism and Feminism featuring Annie Laurie Gaylor as moderator, Sikivu Hutchinson, Rebecca Watson, Ophelia Benson, and yours truly:
Blag Hag
Atheism, feminism, geekery
Jennifer,
At the end you were talking about how when female bloggers speak out they get death threats, rape threats, etc. Meanwhile you had a big smile on your face. I wonder if you realized that dichotomy. I correctly or incorrectly identified with it. I grew up in an abusive home and years later as an adult when I talked about abuse that happened to me and others I had the biggest smile on my face. My therapist pointed that out. It like stunned me. I had learned that behavior and now when I talk about such abuse my face matches the gravity of what happened. I give it is proper due and don’t minimize it. Anyway, you did fantastic and you and the other women are my heros. Oh, just to let you know I am male with two wonderful daughters who are their own people and I just love it.
Thanks for posting this– it’s just terrific. All four of you were so very impressive, and I look forward to hearing more from each of you.
To be honest, the discussion surrounding sexism in the skeptical community has made me decide that this isn’t a community I’d like to join. Perhaps it’s Unitarian privilege: I’ve always been surrounded by people who support my atheism, so I haven’t needed an atheist community. That makes me less tolerant of the uglier strains in the community.
I want to be clear that it’s not the posts about sexism that turn me away. There’s sexism everywhere; it’s a fact of life that we have to deal with it. What makes me feel accepted into a community is knowing that the concerns that I raise will be taken seriously. That simply isn’t happening in this community. Reading these blog-debates reminds me of being in graduate school in chemistry in the ’80s. I don’t want to spend my free time arguing with people who congratulate themselves for being rational as they ignore any data that don’t agree with their world views.
The skeptical and scientific communities would do well to remember that (1) logical arguments deriving from false assumptions lead to an incorrect conclusion, no matter how nicely they’re made; and (2) there is an overwhelming body of evidence that unconscious bias exists. As a scientist, one corrects for that in one’s work. Is it too much to ask that one do the same in human interactions?
My frustrations with the skeptical/atheist community notwithstanding, I’ll certainly continue visiting this blog and the blogs of the other women on the panel. Thanks for the very interesting discussion!
If she doesnt like black men thats her business and there is nothing at all wrong about it. Everyone has rights and its her right to not have sex with black men. You people are just trying to make her look bad because you wanna fuck white women and cant. And if you can then why do you care what one person thinks. As for related it to being uneducated im in college and I know black women who wont fuck white men and nobody insults them for it or calls them racist. When the shoe is on the other foot you say nothing but a white woman doesnt wanna have sex with you and you make a big deal of it. When a black woman wont fuck a white man you all smile from ear to ear. Black people are much more racist than white people in this day in age and if you are smart enough to open your eyes you’ll easily see it. And as for the fucking Nigger threatening a white woman because she wont have sex with you hope I never find out who you are bacuse your ass will be fucking extinct along with your homeboys who you’ll most likely bring because I have yet to meet a black man with enough balls to show up alone and settle things man up because when It comes down to it your nothing without your homies and you fucking know it.