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Atheists & Agnostics
In reply to the discussion: Why the New Atheism is a boys' club? [View all]iris27
(1,951 posts)12. Huh - actually looking at the article as a whole, it says exactly that.
"Women are God-fearing and don't challenge institutions. Men, on the other hand, are skeptical and rational, and go out of their way to publicly call bullshit on faith and religion which is why today's well-known secular thinkers, especially in the ranks of the New Atheism movement, are all male.
These statements should sound ridiculous because, of course, they are. From Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists, whose 1963 US supreme court lawsuit brought an end to prayer in public schools, to Sergeant Kathleen Johnson, who started an organisation for atheists in the United States military, to Debbie Goddard, founder of African Americans for Humanism, countless women have worked as successful atheist activists. They've penned books, run organisations and advocated on behalf of religiously repressed citizens. But you might not guess that from the popular portrayal and perception of atheism in America, which overwhelmingly treats the contemporary class of non-God-fearing freethinkers (also known as secularists, skeptics and nonbelievers) as a contentious, showboating boys' club."
It really looks to be mostly a critique of the media coverage surrounding these authors that, as she writes, "combined to create the 'New Atheist' meme".
These statements should sound ridiculous because, of course, they are. From Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists, whose 1963 US supreme court lawsuit brought an end to prayer in public schools, to Sergeant Kathleen Johnson, who started an organisation for atheists in the United States military, to Debbie Goddard, founder of African Americans for Humanism, countless women have worked as successful atheist activists. They've penned books, run organisations and advocated on behalf of religiously repressed citizens. But you might not guess that from the popular portrayal and perception of atheism in America, which overwhelmingly treats the contemporary class of non-God-fearing freethinkers (also known as secularists, skeptics and nonbelievers) as a contentious, showboating boys' club."
It really looks to be mostly a critique of the media coverage surrounding these authors that, as she writes, "combined to create the 'New Atheist' meme".
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i pulled fromt he article that it is just more misogyny even in the atheist realm
seabeyond
Dec 2011
#3
No, I had the same reaction as you did at first. The article is kind of clumsily written, and it's
iris27
Dec 2011
#21
I doubt that the reason women aren't taken seriously is because of Miss USA contestants. (nt)
redqueen
Dec 2011
#28
Richard Dawkins had some scathing remarks to say about Women's Studies departments.
Boston_Chemist
Dec 2011
#26