I have a question for the womenfolk. I'm going to TAM in July.
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A couple of the speakers, Lawrence Krauss and Richard Dawkins, have said and defended some boneheaded things about women in the last few months. They are both revered in the atheist/science/skepticism community. Krauss blamed teenage girls who were trafficked for prostitution for extorting one of his benefactors who went to jail for paying underaged girls for sex. "These girls knew what they were doing."
Because once you're exploited once, the hundredth time is okay, I guess.
And a butt ton of dudes are defending Krauss.
Dawkins called a woman hysterical for being angry at The Million Dollar Challenge put forth at a conference: The bet is a million dollars that any person in the audience could find a sex partner (without paying/bribery). Since no men would take the bet, but most women would, that is proof that women have the power in sex relationships.
Dawkins never thought about why. He never thought about the risk women bring to the table, and that it isn't power when you have to consider your health/reputation/social status can be harmed with casual sex. And that saying "no" is a protection of those things, and not always or mostly indicative of lack of drive/desire.
And the question remains, "why don't more women attend these conferences?" And the answer is usually, "because women are magic air fairies who don't think logically." OK, that was an exaggeration. But the usual mansplaining follows, and it's always some sexist evo-psych just-so bullshit.
So my questions: Do you ever feel that the weight of stupid sexism is so heavy, that you just want to pick up a baseball bat and start swinging? How do you keep your sanity?
How do you keep your sanity?
I watch Farscape?
Erm. Okay, that's not fair. But I do go out of my way to find thinkers and writers who deconstruct those sexist assumptions. I read Bitch, and Sociological Images, and Threadbared, and I have a bunch of great feminists on my flist, like Lucy Gillam and Lesley Hall, who are really good at poking holes in those arguments.
And then I do what I can to speak and act in support of women, and I try not to be judgmental (I usually fail), and I try to help my nieces grow up into strong women who know they can do anything, while still recognizing the barriers that society is throwing in front of them.
It sucks. But the alternative (giving in) is worse.
Brave the post office. Certified mail in this circumstance is worth it.
Whoops, already been picked up. I'm getting a refund, so I'm not too concerned. Though it would be nicer to actually get the refund than not, of course.
"A day at a time, I suppose."
(/Omar)--let's pretend that tag closes.
Honestly, I'm not all that sure that I *do* keep my sanity. But it helps me to remember that the arc of history bends towards justice.
And every time you make someone think, it counts, even if it isn't storming a barricade.
But I think that may be why I love knowing that the baddest bad guy on the Wire was a woman with the "Lexus of nailguns,"
-t, how did you find out that your taxes had been rejected? I'm not going to be around this weekend to mail them if I need to, and now I'm getting paranoid.
Timelies all!
The brakes on Gary's car were grinding, so he is dropping the car off at the Nissan dealership tonight and I will go pick him up. First, I have to find out which Nissan dealership...
I feel like right now is a good time to quote Liese's words of wisdom:
Liese: Change happens in the heart, one person wrestling with it at a time, and over time (and probably through backtracks) that one person becomes a different person. And that person is in the world, so you have changed the world.
Do you ever feel that the weight of stupid sexism is so heavy, that you just want to pick up a baseball bat and start swinging? How do you keep your sanity?
Yes. I don't own a baseball bat, just in case.
Liese, that's a marvelous quote.
Burrell, thanks for sharing it.
