You know, I would love to hear more from women Atheists

[Taverner]

No offense to Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris and (my fave) Michel Onfray. Yes, I read the Skepchik's story, and all of the discussion that followed it. Once again, I am reminded that some of the most intelligent people can completely miss the bus sometimes.

I have always been a reader of Feminist Lit. Being a dude, I feel that too often the opinion and story from 50% of the human population is missed, ignored and thought at times to not even exist. This is a perspective that can enlighten, enrage, engage and inform. When I (for a very brief time) taught, I would always call on the student who didn't raise their hand.

This perspective is missed, and when attention is drawn to it, it's often dismissed. There should be no excuse for this - the Feminine perspective is not only valid, it is essential to the understanding of the human species. As I pointed out, about 50% of the human species is female. Females have brains, they use them and they work just like us guys' brains do. The bodies may be a little different, but the brain, for the most part, is identical.

What is not, however, is the experience. Women experience the dominant patriarchal culture first hand. There is no "theoretical" there. They feel it, live it, and I am told that at times it can make one feel invisible, or foreign in their own home.

So when it comes to Atheism, why would it be any different? Most religions dictate that women are inferior to men. This is not just hyperbole, this is fact. So coming from experiences where they are taught to think less of themselves, it does not surprise me that Women experience Atheism differently.

Let us take, for example, being propositioned in an elevator. Some men will see this as no harm done, and the intentions could be as pure as snow. However, put yourself in the woman's seat for a second. You are trapped in a claustrophobic box. There is no escape. A man, most likely physically stronger than you, has put you in an awkward spot. Right out of the gate there is the possibility for something bad to happen. The man does not see this - and five minutes of empathy would make him realize that (1) an elevator is a BAD place to try to build someone else's trust and (2) you might not come off as 'safe.'

That's just one example, and it has nothing to do with Atheism per se, but it is everything to do with context, and empathy - two things that are sorely lacking in our culture.

So, back to this issue at hand, yes, I would like to see what women have to say about religion, Atheism, and living a Godless life. I am sure every experience will be different, and every voice will reflect that difference.

[Deep13]

1. +1

[amyrose2712]

2. What exactly are you asking?

I can't say that as a woman I have felt anything specific other then just being ostracized for even CONSIDERING not believing in gawd or one religion or the other.(But I don't think that is anything different then what men get.) On the topic of being hit on in odd places, where can any woman go without being hit on? Really, some guys are creepy. Again that is situational I suppose, many people that I like others would call creepy so who knows. I agree with being creeped out in an elevator, but sometimes I think it depends on your experiences. I have been hit on while puking my guts out in the hospital so, yeah, its tough to get away from. But I was a bartender for 10 years and kinda learned to blow it off and always be aware of my surroundings. Also, when I was on the meat market, I was never one to play coy, if I wanted sex you knew about it.

[Taverner]

13. That's what I want. What you just said.

That's all...

[amyrose2712]

14. Ok then. :)

[ZombieHorde]

3. According to my old sociology of alternative religions class,

religions have more female members than male members. The exception is Satanism, which is mostly male members. Atheism also has much more men than women. The reason offered is these two positions are viewed as riskier than the other options, and according the sociology material we read in class, men are more likely than women to engage in behavior that is perceived as risky.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. There's still a small tendency for British women to be more likely to be religious

even though the figures are pretty close to 50%, so I don't think there's much 'risk' involved.

This poll is pretty typical: 53% Men Christian, 58% Women; 38% Men no religion, 33% Women.

A small difference, though.

[Evoman]

4. I've met very few women who are atheist.

Maybe they just aren't comfort admitting it? I mean, the reason I can be blase about it is that I have about 200 pounds to back up my strong opinions.

Other than my sister, my cousin, and one of my friends, the only "atheists" I personally know are new-agey types who don't believe in "god" but believe in forces, or spirits, or astrology.

[RebelOne]

18. Well, this woman is an atheist as is my daughter. n/t

[madmom]

22. As is this one and her daughter. n/t

[PassingFair]

23. As is THIS one and my TWO daughters.

Ladies, we are doing well in the recruitment
and acquisitions department!

:hi:

[madmom]

24. Why yes...yes we are..lol....

:hi:

[onager]

6. Large List Of Awesome Female Atheists...

Compiled by Jen McCreight at BlagHag...who's a pretty awesome female atheist blogger her own self, IMO. These links should keep you busy for a while:

http://www.blaghag.com/2010/01/large-list-of-awesome-female-atheists.html

McCreight put up this list after reading one of those articles claiming that atheism was all POWGs (Privileged Old White Guys).

Not strictly atheism per se, but lots of female atheists seem to hang out at Jezebel.com. ("Jezebel: Celebrity, Sex, Fashion for Women. Without Airbrushing.")

http://jezebel.com/

Yes, I am an ol' white privileged guy myself, but I've read some fascinating discussions at Jezebel. They have some hilarious commenters over there. Though I do tend to skip the fashion and gossip stuff. Unless the gossip is really juicy...

Jezebel is hosted at Gawker, and so is one of my favorite car websites, Jalopnik. How can I put this delicately? The (mostly) guys at Jalopnik include some raging misogynist assholes men who are not exactly...um...inclined toward feminist viewpoints.

So sometimes the Jezebelians and Jalopites fire shots across each other's bows...well, more like a full-blown missile attack, in some cases. But other times, the two groups get along great and cross-link each other's posts. On practical stuff like how to fix a car or how not to be a raging misogynist asshole.

[LAGC]

8. I've been a frequent follower of Greta Christina's blog for quite some time.

http://gretachristina.typepad.com/

She has a great LGBT perspective.

[Warpy]

12. Yeah, we're certainly out there, but a lot of us are very circumspect

in real life because being outside the norms of kinder, kuche, kirche convey very real risks and penalties for women that men don't have to consider facing. I would hazard a guess that while we freely admit it online, most of us reside in that "I'm just not religious" closet in real life. It's just not worth the hassle, otherwise.

I'm "out" only to a very select few people in real life, people of both sexes.

[Odin2005]

7. Something I noticed in my UU congregation is...

...that most of the non-theists (Buddhists excluded) are men and that most of the New Agey and Neo-Pagan types are women.


I think women, on average, tend to rely more on their instinctual "folk psychology" than men are, and this instinct, which gives us an inborn sense of our social reality composed of agents with free will and intentionality, is what leads to religion when it is imposed on non-human entities.

I also suspect that the popular nonsense about "patriarchy suppressing The Goddess" makes male secular humanists look like the bad guys.

[LeftishBrit]

16. Actually...

I never came across this 'patriarchy suppressing the Goddess' mythology until I came to DU and started reading one poster in particular.

[LeftishBrit]

9. I'm a female atheist...

in a country where atheism is relatively common.

I don't think being atheist or religious has much to do with not wanting to be sexually harrassed in the lift! Gender certainly does. I think some men seriously don't realize how vulnerable women can feel in an enclosed place.

I had a colleague once whose antics resulted in the first advice given to any new female in the workplace being: 'Never get into the lift on your own with X.' I actually have no idea what X's religious beliefs, if any, were; but his attitude to women was not very progressive.

[Odin2005]

11. Wow, I didn't know you were a gal!

:hi:

[LeftishBrit]

17. Hi to you!

:hi:

[Deep13]

19. That's just it. Men don't think of that.

Something I read a long time ago is that most assault victims where the assailant is a stranger are men. The reason is that men just don't think about personal security and neglect it. Obviously women can't read minds (although my wife seems to be able to read mine) and have no way of knowing what some dude's intentions are. Men don't think of that.

Here's a safety tip. If you are on an elevator, stay close to the buttons. You will be in control of the elevator car and the emergency button. As others get on ask them which floor they want so you do not need to give up your space.

[LeftishBrit]

10. As regards female atheist bloggers...

apart from the several women at Skepchick, Tessera is a very interesting one:

http://tessera2009.blogspot.com/

And let us not forget Maryam Namazie (being left-wing, atheist, female *and* from Iran is not the easiest combination as you can imagine!)

http://maryamnamazie.com/

[LeftishBrit]

15. Quite sobering...

to see how difficult it is for atheists, especially female ones, in parts of America.

Despite occasional examples of Christian-Right vileness in British politics, the social pressures toward 'godliness' are far less here.

Another female atheist blogger is Ophelia Benson, whose blog Butterflies and Wheels (www.butterfliesandwheels.org) is very interesting from this point of view.

[sakabatou]

20. Then give it up for CompletelyLovely

http://www.youtube.com/user/CompletelyLovely

[Iggo]

21. Aw!

:applause: