Reply #30: Personal experience with a local humanist chapter 20+ years ago.

[no_hypocrisy]

I was a founding member of a local affiliate of the American Humanist Association. I was the editor and publisher of the monthly newsletter. I noticed that the leadership was controlled by three middle-aged to elderly men who were more misathropic than humanist and decided it was time for a change. An election for officers was coming up. I put myself up for president (I think big). I found the most undemocratic procedures -- ever. The same men made themselves the Election Committee and organized the vote by making up one slate of candidates (themselves), presenting it to the group at large and the "democracy" was a "yes-or-no" vote FOR ALL THREE CANDIDATES. No write-ins or oppositional choices. I stormed out of a meeting, calling the whole experience a travesty.

And yes, I did catch a lot of criticism for my outspoken (and necessary) criticism. Later, after I had quit and they took back control of the newsletter, I noticed that the only mention of contributions from the very few women in the group were in terms of "Maryann (the president's wife) made an out-of-this-world Black Forrest Cake for the meeting". My last communication with them was in response: The Humanists of xxx finally have found a niche in the group where women finally can make a difference . . .

It's a shame when you are challenged ONLY because of your gender. Nothing you can say or do will be recognized and you in turn will not truly exist in such a setting.

I'm sure things are somewhat different today, but I found the whole experience to be a sore subject for a group that tells the world how enlightened it is. (I know, I know, a few individuals with power complexes should be overgeneralized to condemn the AHA. I'm not. I'm just saying that even in small groups, you have to fight to be heard.)