Save the date – April 2! » « On the bright side…

I suck at titles

I’m doing a speaking tour in Minnesota in March, and if I don’t come up with a title for my talk soon, my host groups are going to greet me with torches and pitchforks. Okay, it’s not quite that bad yet – but I certainly am being a stereotypically difficult speaker at the moment. There are flyers to be made! It’s odd being on the other side for once.

Anyway, I need your help. I’m absolutely horrible at coming up with creative, witty titles. My talk is basically about:

  1. Why women should give up religion
  2. Why skepticism benefits feminism
  3. Why atheists should be feminists
  4. Why women are underrepresented in atheism, and how to help fix that.

I am so excited to give this talk in rural Minnesota.

But right now my working title is “Atheism & Feminism,” which is embarrassingly awful. Some fun titles my friends have suggested so far include:

  • Dispelling Fallacies and Phallusies
  • Denying The Man In Charge: Hey, It Worked For Suffrage
  • How To Be Cooler Than God: Respect Women
  • God’s Lady Problem: Breaking up with abusive supernatural beings
  • Free Beer At This Talk

…Okay, maybe not that last one, though it would probably be effective.

Any suggestions, my lovely readers?

Save the date – April 2! » « On the bright side…

Comments

  1. Paula says

    I vote for “Dispelling Fallacies and Phallusies” cuz you might bring in some who are not expecting a talk on atheism and feminism and that would be good!

  3. says

    You can make the title interesting by attacking religion in the realm of sexual satisfaction, so you might want to consider an interesting title like “Give up religion and have orgasm.” Anything packaged with sex usually sells well.Religion uses fear and guilt to control people. Fear and guilt inhibit people’s desires to pursue happiness, and fearful women are less likely to have an orgasm.

  4. says

    I like number four as well. If I were giving a similar talk, I’d title it, “If I had a hammer… Smashing the patriarchy and dogma with one weapon”. But that’s way too long.

  5. benjamin_sa says

    I vote: God’s Lady Problem: Breaking up with abusive supernatural beings.But, how about:Why woman don’t leave abusive supernatural spouses?Getting woman to leave theism, feminism in atheism.A significant proportion of atheists are dicks, and how to change that.

  7. breadbox says

    Faith and FeminismFaith vs. Feminism?Women’s God DelusionWhen Faith Goes Pear-ShapedGods Who Hate Women (And the Women Who Love Them)(That last one would probably be too cliché if it weren’t so dated….)

  10. PDX_Greg says

    BTW, among the 5 you listed, I like #1 first (especially after I noticed the cleverness of the -IES in PhallusIES), followed by #4 and #3, in that order.

  12. LegendarySandwich says

    Pretty much all of the ones suggested in the article and in the comments section are good, though, as Paula said originally, it’d probably be best if you went with a title that didn’t explicitly give away that your talk is about atheism and feminism (to reach a broader audience).

  17. Azkyroth says

    Gyah, finally.I emailed you, but just in case, I suggest: “What’s In It For Us? Women, Atheism, Feminism, and Skepticism.” Particularly if you make clear in the surrounding advertising, etc. that you are intending to mostly *answer* that question and it’s not intended as a demand. ^.^

  18. Lodevijk says

    Hmm… but isn’t feminism inherently biased? If you want equality, maybe use the term ‘humanism’. Wittiness is entirely dependent on the people you’ll be talking to, so if they’re all atheists and self-proclaimed free-thinkers, I think you can easily trick them by a title like:”Atheism, Girls, and Beer”You can throw some talk about beer just for the sake of making people listen to you.

  19. Azkyroth says

    Hmm… but isn’t feminism inherently biased?

    No, though you’d think so given the etymology of the word. >.>

  20. Rmguest says

    Never pass up a golden opportunity to coin a new word/term, perhaps:Skepti-feminismSkepti-feministsSkepti-feminomicsSkeptifemsAtheo-femsFemino-skeptoids (sounds biology-based)

  21. plublesnork says

    I can only think of things that might be considered a bit dickish.”Women and God: The canonical abusive relationship”

  22. says

    I really liked “How To Be Cooler Than God: Respect Women”.The only idea I could come up with is something like “Atheism and feminism are natural allies”. (By the way: your comment system didn’t work in my Opera, Firefox or Chrome browsers. Safari worked though.)

  29. Brian H. says

    I really liked God’s Lady Problem: Breaking up with abusive supernatural beingsOr “No Oh God! Sex & Dissatisfaction With Religion”

  31. sunnybook3 says

    I like “God’s Lady Problem”–that’s a title that would make me want to hear more. From the comments, I also like “Gods Who Hate Women (and the Women Who Love Them),” “When Faith Goes Pear-Shaped” (a nice invocation of current events), and “Yahweh: He’s Just Not That Into You.”

  32. says

    How about:”That’s what SHE said! – A feminists view on Atheism and Religion””That’s what SHE said! – Feminists atheists and escaping the Religious trap”*”That’s what SHE said! – Feminists, Skepticism, Atheism and Religion”*”That’s what SHE said! – Giving women a skeptic voice in Atheism, while avoiding Religion”I like the last two best..- JD

  33. Zuche says

    Unfortunately, all I’ve got is Broads before Gods–not exactly helpful, despite its soundbiting qualities.

  35. the_Siliconopolitan says

    Ack. Bad flashback to FanFiction.Net.I like the classics: “Feminism: The radical notion that women are people too.”

  40. says

    Wow. I totally misread the title of this post the first time and thought it was going to be a WAY NSFW porn related post! Now I am a little disappointed. :(

  41. says

    A surprising number of people like #4… oddly, that’s the one I actually came up with, haha. Maybe I’m not so bad with titles after all.

  46. Steve in SA says

    Completing the ranks of atheism: how to draw more women to atheist meetings… or something along this line. This gives the feeling that we’re not complete without women in our ranks (which of course we aren’t). The idea is to be inclusive instead of trying to turn the tables on men.

  49. J. Mark says

    “Why women NEED religion…Why God loves feminists…Atheism is for men”…A FOX News story…

  50. Steve says

    The fact that all of those titles seem at least witty and fresh indicates that there’s lots of room for lots more talks.When I first scanned this post, I thought the first list was also a list of working titles, and actually, I think “Why Women Should Give Up Religion” is a great title, if it really is apt to your subject, especially in the areas of getting people to notice who wouldn’t already attend out of enthusiasm. It also sounds the most Dawkins-y since it uses the fewest possible words to explain a concept clearly, which is something I love him for always doing so well.(By the way, don’t forget to update your copyright line.)

  53. Mango says

    I like the pun in the first suggestion on your list. If you want to be more blatant,”De-institutionalizing Misogynist Phallusies”

  54. TFM says

    Feminism & Atheism: Natural Allies Against Supernatural SexismFeminism & Atheism: Leveraging a Natural Alliance Against Supernatural SexismFeminism & Atheism: A Match Made in MindsThe second one is on the long side and light on wit, but I think it comes closest to capturing all four bullet points you mentioned, with the bonus of not framing atheism as mere a-Christianity. Plus, there’s “sex” in the title…sort of. Lots of good suggestions already, though, including your own #4, so it’ll be hard to go wrong.

  55. cps says

    Feminism & Atheism: A match made in….um….. Well it’s a match that bloody well needs to be made!

  57. littlething says

    I’m basically reiterating what has already been said, but here are my suggestions anyway:Feminism and Atheism: A Marriage of EqualsBreaking Up [with Jesus] Is Hard to Do: The Challenges Faced by Atheist WomenPhallusies of Faith: Women and Their Misogynist God

  58. LS says

    Normally I’d try to come up with something witty and urbane, but I saw this with 5 minutes left on my lunch break and half a sandwich left. #4 is good though. I would go to that talk. I would point out though that the word “lady” is very important in #4. Without that, it just sounds like someones attempt at being witty about leaving religion in general.

  59. littlething says

    I like all three of these. I definitely think that either the title or subtitle should give a clear explanation of what Jen’s going to cover.

  60. says

    How about “I’m a skeptifeminazi with a vagina. Got a problem with that?” (referencing the vagina comment from a few weeks ago… maybe would be lost on your audience)Yeah, my inclination is to be more in-your-face”Stop letting men tell you what to believe and think for yourself!”hmmm maybe”Afraid to give up the spaghetti dinners and the softball league? Take the leap!”

  63. says

    1. Sock It to the Man: Escaping Patriarchy and Theocracy (while losing unwanted pounds of dogma overnight!)2. Gods, and the Women Who Love Them Too Much(variant on an earlier suggestion)3. Good Girls Don’t Hang Out with Bad Belief Systems4. Misogynistic Patriarchal Deities: do they stay up all night wondering why they’re in the doghouse?5. A Woman Needs a God Like a Fish Needs a Bicycle6. Not Tonight, Honey: Just Saying “No” to Dogma7. A Woman’s “Special Place”: why stay with a system that insults your intelligence?(that’s probably too long, and this is probably me jumping the shark, so I’ll quit before I get further behind)

  69. says

    I thought all four titles were great, but I’m particular to 3 and 4. And out of those two, 4 is the one that is most suited to your actual content. So definitely go with four.

  70. jimmyboy99 says

    And I like feminism. It makes the point that there is an unbalanced issue. Much more of an issue on one side than the other. I’m a bloke – I describe myself as a feminist.

  72. says

    My only issue with the term “feminism” is that the ultimate goal is full equality, not the dominance of women over men. That’s why I like “equalism” – the mission is embedded in the term.

  73. Rmguest says

    “Honey, can you pick up another pack of Skeptifems while you’re at the store? I feel a bout of religiosity coming on.”

  74. jimmyboy99 says

    I understand what you are saying here – the term describes the intended outcome. The point that perhaps I didn’t make clearly was that equalism appears to suggest that there is an equal problem.I like feminism because it explicitly recognises the inherent inequality of the problem. ie it’s much bigger for women than men. Also it’s kind of in your face, and is provocative when a bloke adopts this title. I am explicitly choosing to side with a group who endure mockery from many sides. However, contrary to a suggestion from a lad in the pub last year, it has never got me an extra shag. :)

  76. Azkyroth says

    Unfortunately it’s also the screen name of a Pharyngula-and-elsewhere commenter (and reportedly blogger) who’s perhaps unfairly best known for being fanatically anti-pornography and deeply intellectually dishonest (and unskeptical) about it.So maybe this is kind of weirdly appropriate? O.o

  78. Katalina says

    Or, at least, none that’s consensual… the Greek gods were much better at getting it on with unsuspecting women.

  80. Katalina says

    I really like your first one. It really appeals to my logic, as opposed to trying to be clever. I do like cleverness a lot too, but these titles are so clear and indisputable. Nice.

  82. Lynn says

    Who is your audience? Are they church goers, atheist, or a mix? It matters who you are speaking to.~~You Don’t Need Religion to Be A Real Woman~~Break Free from Religion be Your Own Guide~~What has God Done for You Lately~~Fire Up Your Life Without God~~A Beautiful Life Without God~~Real Women Don’t Need God

  88. Ekke says

    Those titles are awesome (I really like #4) but I would like to know what you think of religions with no supernatural elements to them — Reconstructionist Judaism, Ethical Culture, Unitarian Universalism to an extent, as well as Nontheist Quakers. Could you present those as alternatives to the more ‘typical’ religions? Do you accept that many women — I am one such woman — enjoy going to church? And yes, I am a skeptoid, atheist feminist. Do you want women to stop attending church, or do you want us to stop believing in G-d? You can be a godless heathen and still attend church services at your (liberal, humanist) institution of choice.

Leave a Reply