Say, look: it’s a new organization promoting godless values, called Secular Woman. You should join. I just did, and they didn’t even balk at my Y chromosome!
The Blaze is hot on this story! They say it’s “yet another point of evidence that non-believers are working feverishly to harness and secure power”. They’re wrong. It’s another point of evidence that we’re working steadily and confidently to take over the world.
It seems to me that these “secular women” don’t have grievances against religion so much as they do against biology and men.
They didn’t balk at my Y chromosome either, and it felt good to make a donation to such a worthy cause. Thank you for the link PZ.
1: Not sure if trolling or just stupid.
Thanks for the plug Mr. Myers. We love you and your “Y”.
thunk = ∫ SQRRAWK! d(MQG),
The two need not be mutually exclusive. Far from it, in fact.
How do you figure? I don’t see any men even mentioned on the page. (Except for the absolutely hilarious ‘Testimonial’ from Billy Hallowell of The Blaze there on the front page – even if I wasn’t already inclined to support this organization, the sense of humor on display would have sold me.)
You would think an organization devoted to hating something would at least bring up the object of their hate once in a while.
I’m one of the founders of Secular Woman.
Thanks so much for blogging about us! We’re very happy to have you as a member!
It seems to me that you don’t have a damn clue in your mind.
Pentatomid; why of course. That’s why I didn’t say xor.
Wow, that is an impressive reading list. I love everything I’ve read from it, which sadly isn’t that much. I’d only vaguely heard of Mary Wollstonecraft before, but the blurbs are completely awesome. I feel like consuming those books!
I…didn’t see any of that in their mission statement.
http://www.secularwoman.org/about
It’s always hilarious when someone says something like “It seems to me” without actually explaining anything.
Dokudango, you’re just not reading between the lines properly.
If it’s not for men, it must be about hating them, right?
I wanted to reply to stupidity in the comments like this:
But I can’t bring myself to sign up for an account on a Beck website. Geez, imagine how confused you must be to try running away from something you don’t believe in….
I should start collecting data on the correlation between ‘nyms following the pattern {positive adjective}{atheist|skeptic} and being a douche. I hypothesize the correlation is startlingly high.
Joined. Thanks for spreading the word and pointing me in their direction, PZ!
I keep waiting for critics of the secular movement to do something clever, like a parody of the Guess Who’s American Woman. “Secular Woman, stay away from me.” Yeah, still waiting.
I bookmarked this so when I am less poor I can join myself. :)
What, so poor you can’t afford $20?
OK, here’s a deal, Marilove. Set up a paypal account for yourself. Send me the information. I’ll transfer $20 from my paypal to yours, and then you can sign up!
“… working feverishly to harness and secure power…”
Well, no shit, Sherlock! Just like every other organization/movement/corporation/church/government on the planet! “Power” is what makes things move. Without it, there is no change. Sorry if what we want to do with our power conflicts with what you want to do with your power, but that’s too damn bad. Those with power too often use it to oppress those without. And power is what makes it possible to fight back.
Here, a Ben Franklin quote (can’t go wrong with Ben): “Democracy is two wolves and a rabbit voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed rabbit contesting the vote.”
Oh wait, there it is at the bottom of the second page of their about page.
Dang, those are some scary monsters. Caerie was right, you DO have to read between the lines.
(They will be getting twenty of my dollars come payday anyway.)
And doing so by working inclusively with all the wonderful women, LGBTs, minorities and others teh Blaze has worked so feverishly to disenfranchise.
Our first poster, advancedatheist, had this to say at Blaze:
I was going to comment on it, but I think I’ll let the full idiocy stand on its own.
Yes, the joys of unemployment! :(
And are you serious?
Because you don’t have to do that! But I won’t say no!
Ah! I am turning red over here!
How can you not see how they are working against men? They mention them right there on their main Programs-page:
Oh wait…. It’s not a program against men. And they didn’t even put them in the order of “women and men” but “men and women”… Ok, never mind, let’s keep searching…
I asked some of my fellow mans about this “Secular Woman” thing. We all agreed that the Secular aspect was very good, but the “Woman” part is just, kind of, how shall I say it…uppity? I just wished you had consulted us men about it before going ahead and doing this thing. We would have helped you get it right. Now you’ve left a lot of us wondering if you’re going to try to oppress us or something. Or just talking about us while we’re not in the room. At any rate, it’s making everyone here in the locker room pretty jittery. Could you tone it down a little, say by changing the name to “Secular People, Women Welcome Too”? I think everyone gets what they want with that one. Doesn’t rock the boat too much, and it’s still a real nice step up for women. I mean, we’ll even stipulate that even the bitchy feminazis are welcome, so that’s a solid little concession for you. I know, it is very big of us, you’re welcome. {head pat}
Sincerely,
M-I-C-K-E-Y-Why? Because my special chromosome gives me the god-damned right to say so.
This is a twofer.
Glenn Beck’s LDS church hates women and atheists.
Women are extremely subordinate in the Mormon tribes. You can’t go too far up the hierarchial ladder before there is a man supervising the women. And every single higher office can only be held by males.
I’m sure they are watching the current uppity nuns of the RCC and congratulating themselves on how well they oppress their own women.
Oops – the site’s broken, too many Pharyngulites!
What, apart of being a sexist douchewhistle, is “advancedatheist” advanced at?
“I find it amusing the those that proclaim themselves to be atheists are ignorant of their belief in a theistic figure (Athena).”
The Blaze: stupider than we could have ever known.
Holy crap. This is the most gloriously stupid thing I’ve seen all day. I fear exactly how common this stupidity might be, though.
That atheism/athena-worship guy is completely awesome:
Is it wrong that I read that in the voice of the Brain.
#31
…that can’t be real. It’s just too stupid.
Wait, you read that at the Blaze? I guess it can be real.
What the?! All this time I thought I was on an Athenist web site and it turns out to be an Atheist site? Never even heard of atheism before, doesn’t sound like any god I heard of. Merciful Minerva, I’m in the wrong place!
Don’t worry, Seabisquick. Some of the True Believers are still here. And we’ve cast out those heretics who believed in the trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Communist.
This is a huge improvement over the xian Sky Monster at any rate.
Anyone know where the Temple of Athena is? Not the one in Greece, the local one.
Should be up now. Sorry about that.
one would hope not, since some women have those pesky Y’s, too.
woohoo! I have one of those!
O.o
wanting control over one’s bodily functions is self-loathing now?!
Lol.
I suspect he finds reproductive rights “annoying” not because of what he claims, but because BC turns him off (basically, he’s a secular Ross Douchehat), because apparently he derives his self-worth from the ability to knock people up. [/twocanplaythisgame]
Stevarious: I bow to your dedication to tagging.
THEY WANT OUR PRECIOUSSSSS!
second amendment rights of Christians?!
This is very important.
also, the “join” button is broken. did we accidentally pharyngulate it?
Athena being the goddess of wisdom, I figure libraries count. Alternatively, go to your local zoo, where they keep the owls :-)
Oh my. What are they advanced in, stupidity? I’ll continue to claim my right to rule myself, right down to the consequences of my sex life being pure pleasure, thank you.
All right, who’s been trying to keep Christians from joining militias?
Jadehawk:
Hmmm. The amount of books in my house has almost doubled recently…does that mean Chez Caine is a temple now? I really don’t need any temperamental gods showing up.
Yes.
Wanting control of your* precious bodily fluids, on the other hand, is FREEEEEDOOOMMMMMM!!!!
* “you” being presumed male, of course.
Caine,
That has to be one of the most WTF things I have ever read. It is lucky, and indeed you will note a rare and pleasant coincidence, that I read that quoted paragraph through a moderately alcoholically induced haze.
Right, enough reading blogs on my phone in the loo, back to the bar!
TMI!?
Louis
We’re working on that right now. It should be back up shortly.
marilove: yes, I’m serious. I have to do one good deed every day, or the atheist fairy takes away all my magic powers.
I might have hit it a bit too hard when I joined – sorry !!!!11!!1
THAT’S what I did wrong! I did two good deeds in one day and the atheist fairy was like ‘Yoink!’
Dionysus is the true god of wisdom, as when I’ve been following his dictates for long enough, I feel extremely wise.
Of course, it’s hardly surprising that yet again, women wanting to be treated as people has some individuals in an advanced state of panic.
Caine, be careful! Athena has a reputation for trashing places she shows up to!
If you hear peals of thunder and all of the spiders in your town start running away, uh…
…
*thinks*
Put up a sign saying “Aphrodite is prettier” or something.
there are lots of ways to have heterosexual relations without the possibility of pregnancy. Its just damn hard to find a dude who wouldn’t feel totally emasculated by alternatives to pregnancy causing sex. Men construct heterosexual sex as a hierarchy, with fucking at the top and everything else below it in a certain order (rounding the bases is one well known concept of sexual hierarchy). its bullshit. There is no real reason intercourse is seen as “the” sex, but men sure as fuck push for it hard as a result. Many men feel they establish sexual dominance via fucking a woman.
whose fault is that? Why wouldn’t you be angry that dudes try to pressure women into sex that is inherently more dangerous?
The way i see it men make penis-in-vagina sex the norm, and women deal with that. You can fuck off if you don’t like how women deal with that social reality; you aren’t pushing for alternatives after all, just asking women to shut the fuck up about it.
Close to Athena? Are you mad?
Esteleth:
No! I do not want to die of a temper tantrum.
Louis:
This is Pharyngula, there’s no such thing here.
I have signed up, and signed up DaughterSpawn in her own right as well. Marilove, take PZ up on his offer – I’ve read a lot of your comments at Skepchick and you are definitely an asset to any group you want to join…
What, so poor you can’t afford $20?
Wow. Way to show your financial privilege, PZ.
There really are people out here who can’t afford the $20 to join things. There are a lot of us out here. We’re called the working poor.
Welcome to the real world.
@Esteleth #56:
But what about everyone else who dies in the ensuing ten-year war? You know what gods are like!
er… what does “do not trade” mean, or the form to join? [/stupid question]
Aquaria, check your FB messages. Jadehawk, non-profit organizations often trade membership lists, so if I donate to Amnesty, I may get solicitations from Doctors without Borders, Partners in Health, Human Rights Watch, etc. Not horribly unethical, but somewhat annoying nonetheless.
ah! thanks, mattir
Thanks for the heads-up about secularwoman.org.
Joined.
oh, and as a side note… isn’t it a bit awkward to pose “transgender” (as opposed to, for example, “genderqueer”) as something other than male or female?
Sorry, PZ, I got distracted. I will contact you :)
Is this really true? Maybe for the older generation. But I’m 30 and, well, I’ve had plenty of fun.
No dude I’ve ever boinked had a problem with birth control. Most were down-right TERRIFIED of getting me pregnant.
Generational? Regional? I mean, I live in Arizona (my entire life).
I know guys like that exist, I just haven’t met one yet (that I know of).
@Marilove – yeah, that’s always puzzled me as well. I’m turning 50, and even in the dim past of the early 1980s, I knew plenty of guys who were happier with non-pregnancy-risking activities. This can be true even when pregnancy is not an issue (i.e. when married and trying half-heartedly to get pregnant or after sterilization). People are very very odd.
marilove-
I am not referring to birth control pills or condoms or whatever. I am talking about having sex that is not intercourse, that has no possibility of causing pregnancy (mutual masturbation, oral sex, etc).
HOWEVER, there are a lot of men who push to have sex without condoms. that is something most younger women are familiar with (through friends or personally).
As the person who this was directed at, I am pretty sure he was joking. :)
Haven’t experienced that, either! I know it happens, but I do wonder if that’s still generational. I’ve had plenty of oral sex. And while this is not my thing, it seems to me that anal sex (men giving to women) has been on the rise, lately. I’ve had a lot of guys BEG for it, ugh. Even a couple who assumed it was totally normal and that I’m crazy and a prude (got called that at least twice) for not wanting to do that.
I also know that some guys push for no condom use, which sucks, but I also haven’t experienced that. Like I said, every guy I’ve gotten naked with has been terrified of getting me pregnant, at least unplanned.
But I acknowledge that everyone’s experiences are different. For the most part, I’d say I’ve been pretty lucky.
that wasn’t about BC, it was about penetrative sex; you know, the kind that tends to result in pregnancy.
most dudes (and many women too, because that’s how patriarchy works) only count PIV sex as real sex, so sex that doesn’t require BC to protect from pregnancy “doesn’t count”
and I should note that dudes like making out and oral and all that stuff, but in the hierarchy of “sex” it’s still not “sex” (think of when one considers themselves not a virgin anymore; it’s generally not after the first blowjob)
Right, Jadehawk, I made an assumption and it was a bit off base, sorry! I just live in an entirely different world, I guess. I also don’t know if it’s fair to say “most dudes”.
But your second comment following that clarifies your point a bit, I think. I think most people think blow jobs aren’t “real” sex. But yeah, I get your point. :)
Join’d. May my meager student membership be of some use ;)
Those people are exceedingly silly. I mean, sex is oral sex’s last name. And the family resemblance is striking.
indeed. But I haven’t seen sticking to non PIV sex proposed as a birth control solution for long term heterosexual couples, not outside of feminist circles anyway. Its pretty fucking crazy when you think about how much effort goes into everyone having one kind of sex, because they’ve been told thats the “real” sex.
Well, Athena was one of the nicer ones in that pantheon. With a few notable blindspots.
And this is one of them! Remember what happened to Troy?
skeptifem:
I know about 10 years ago, Planned Parenthood used to teach the alternatives to PIV sex during their safe sex workshops, but I have no clue if that’s the case anymore.
Also, herp a derp, Audley!
I forgot to mention StarStuff:
*high fives!*
You’ll all love this:
We got an incomplete (= abandoned on PayPal) $4,000 donation from Skanky Cunts Whores at fuckyou@aol.com who lives at the White House.
(I’m now totally changing my ‘nym to “StarStuff, skanky cunt whore”, by the way.)
Hate mail: I love it.
Joined. It was strange, here I am, male, white, possessing more grey hair than I’d like to admit to and yet I joined with ease. What’s going on, where’s the hate for me and my kind? Why, it’s almost like the misogynists are misrepresenting organisations like this! Hard to believe I know….
Will now shut up and let these smart, secular women use my $20 in whatever manner they see fit to make the world a better place for all of us.
It’s too bad Starstuff that they didn’t mess up the abandonment and end up giving you the $4000….
StarStuff:
The funniest part to me is the AOL email address. :D
StarStuff:
Gee, how adorable. And here we have one person after another showing up to defend TF, DJ and the rest, claiming there’s no problem at all, nope.
Hi,
I’m a non-US resident who is trying to sign up as a member. After choosing my country, I’m unable to select a state. When I tried to submit my registration, I get an error message:
“Please correct the following errors in the form fields below:
State is a required field.”
How do I register? Thank you!
Joined! Thanks for getting the word out. I have high hopes for this organization.
Here’s another Y who recently joined :-)
Ah, Skanky Cuntwhore, one of the greats of the silent film era. Who can ever forget her star turn as Thuvia in Griffith’s The Gods of Mars? They say that to this very day, someone leaves a wreath of flowers and an exquisitely crafted glass banth on her grave every year on the anniversary of her death.
I joined last night and the Hubbin will be following suit! In his words “It’s long past time these fucknuts learn to face the obvious. Women are human. And if the women I’ve been lucky to know are any indication, we could ALL do ourselves a favor and start paying close attention to what women have to tell us.”
I love it!
Thanks for all the great comments! marilove, I am the VP of Outreach for Secular Woman, could you please contact me? :-) vpoutreach at secularwoman dot org.
@ Rococo Gecko
If you’re still having problems, can you contact us? Please specify which country you live in, if you choose to contact us.
http://www.secularwoman.org/contact