Secular Woman


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.

Comments

  1. advancedatheist says

    It seems to me that these “secular women” don’t have grievances against religion so much as they do against biology and men.

  2. says

    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.

  3. Stevarious says

    It seems to me that these “secular women” don’t have grievances against religion so much as they do against biology and men.

    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.

  4. cswella says

    It seems to me that these “secular women” don’t have grievances against religion so much as they do against biology and men.

    It seems to me that you don’t have a damn clue in your mind.

  5. furiouslysleepy says

    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!

  6. marilove says

    It’s always hilarious when someone says something like “It seems to me” without actually explaining anything.

  7. says

    Dokudango, you’re just not reading between the lines properly.

    The mission of Secular Woman is to amplify the voice, presence, and influence of non-religious women to the detriment of men. DEATH TO PENIS HAVERS!!!!!

    If it’s not for men, it must be about hating them, right?

  8. michaellatiolais says

    I wanted to reply to stupidity in the comments like this:

    I’ll pray for you, because I was in your shoes once. I was mad a God! I tried to runaway from God! I even tried to deny his existence like you.

    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….

  9. Loqi says

    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.

  10. terrie says

    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.

  11. says

    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!

  12. carpenterman says

    “… 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.”

  13. Stevarious says

    I don’t see any men even mentioned on the page.

    Oh wait, there it is at the bottom of the second page of their about page.

    We insist that women have basic and human rights that are equal to those enjoyed by men, including equal opportunity and equal pay for equal work.

    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.)

  14. rickschauer says

    It’s another point of evidence that we’re working steadily and confidently to take over the world.

    And doing so by working inclusively with all the wonderful women, LGBTs, minorities and others teh Blaze has worked so feverishly to disenfranchise.

  15. mudskipper says

    Our first poster, advancedatheist, had this to say at Blaze:

    But the whole “secular women” thing doesn’t turn me on, because these women seem to have grievances against men and biology, not against religion as such. Patriarchy exists independently from theism, and unlike theism, patriarchy has empirical support: We can’t observe or communicate with gods to see what they want from us, but men have had to live with women all along, and patriarchs just might have some legitimate grievances about women’s behavior.

    I also find their emphasis on contraception and abortion rights exceedingly annoying, because it tells me that these women really, really hate the fact that sexual relations with men can get them pregnant. It just strikes me as a form of self-loathing.

    I was going to comment on it, but I think I’ll let the full idiocy stand on its own.

  16. marilove says

    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!

    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!

  17. pandurata says

    It seems to me that these “secular women” don’t have grievances against religion so much as they do against biology and men.

    How can you not see how they are working against men? They mention them right there on their main Programs-page:

    Annually, we recognize men and women in a variety of categories for their contributions.

    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…

  18. Seabisquick says

    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.

  19. raven says

    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”.

    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.

  20. Illuminata, Genie in the Beer Bottle says

    but men have had to live with women all along, and patriarchs just might have some legitimate grievances about women’s behavior.</blockquote.

    And therefore, bitchez deserve everything from beatings and rape to being paid less for being women. Makes perfect sense!

    if you're a loser coward with bigotry issues, like prematureatheist over here.

  21. fallingwhale says

    “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.

  22. says

    Further this war of the atheists of Athena against Christians, is unconstitutional. Christians need to gather together and sue each and every organization who claims to be atheist over their disregard for the second amendment rights of Christians.

    Holy crap. This is the most gloriously stupid thing I’ve seen all day. I fear exactly how common this stupidity might be, though.

  23. cogito says

    That atheism/athena-worship guy is completely awesome:

    Those women who claim to be atheist are actually believers in Athenian philosophia doctrine. Their claims of no deity are simply false. They worship the same gods and goddesses as those in ancient Greece did and that can be proven without doubt.

  24. gijoel says

    They’re wrong. It’s another point of evidence that we’re working steadily and confidently to take over the world.

    Is it wrong that I read that in the voice of the Brain.

  25. Loqi says

    #31
    …that can’t be real. It’s just too stupid.

    Wait, you read that at the Blaze? I guess it can be real.

  26. Seabisquick says

    “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.

    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!

  27. says

    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.

  28. raven says

    They worship the same gods and goddesses as those in ancient Greece did and that can be proven without doubt.

    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.

  29. says

    You should join. I just did, and they didn’t even balk at my Y chromosome!

    one would hope not, since some women have those pesky Y’s, too.

    Student membership, at $10 (free for the first 25) with a valid student email address ending in .edu

    woohoo! I have one of those!

    I also find their emphasis on contraception and abortion rights exceedingly annoying, because it tells me that these women really, really hate the fact that sexual relations with men can get them pregnant. It just strikes me as a form of self-loathing.

    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]

  30. Rey Fox says

    Stevarious: I bow to your dedication to tagging.

    “yet another point of evidence that non-believers are working feverishly to harness and secure power”

    THEY WANT OUR PRECIOUSSSSS!

  31. Rey Fox says

    But the whole “secular women” thing doesn’t turn me on

    This is very important.

  32. says

    I also find their emphasis on contraception and abortion rights exceedingly annoying, because it tells me that these women really, really hate the fact that sexual relations with men can get them pregnant. It just strikes me as a form of self-loathing.

    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.

  33. 'Tis Himself says

    Christians need to gather together and sue each and every organization who claims to be atheist over their disregard for the second amendment rights of Christians.

    All right, who’s been trying to keep Christians from joining militias?

  34. says

    Jadehawk:

    Athena being the goddess of wisdom, I figure libraries count.

    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.

  35. Sili says

    wanting control over one’s bodily functions is self-loathing now?!

    Yes.

    Wanting control of your* precious bodily fluids, on the other hand, is FREEEEEDOOOMMMMMM!!!!

    * “you” being presumed male, of course.

  36. Louis says

    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

  37. says

    marilove: yes, I’m serious. I have to do one good deed every day, or the atheist fairy takes away all my magic powers.

  38. says

    also, the “join” button is broken. did we accidentally pharyngulate it?

    I might have hit it a bit too hard when I joined – sorry !!!!11!!1

  39. Stevarious says

    marilove: yes, I’m serious. I have to do one good deed every day, or the atheist fairy takes away all my magic powers.

    THAT’S what I did wrong! I did two good deeds in one day and the atheist fairy was like ‘Yoink!’

  40. Agent Silversmith, Vendor of +5 Vorpal Feather Dusters says

    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.

  41. Esteleth, Raging Dyke of Fuck Mountain says

    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.

  42. says

    I also find their emphasis on contraception and abortion rights exceedingly annoying, because it tells me that these women really, really hate the fact that sexual relations with men can get them pregnant.

    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.

  43. Gnumann, quisling of the MRA nation says

    Put up a sign saying “Aphrodite is prettier” or something.

    Close to Athena? Are you mad?

  44. Mattir says

    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…

  45. Aquaria says

    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.

  46. Rich Woods says

    @Esteleth #56:

    Put up a sign saying “Aphrodite is prettier” or something.

    But what about everyone else who dies in the ensuing ten-year war? You know what gods are like!

  47. Mattir says

    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.

  48. marilove says

    Its just damn hard to find a dude who wouldn’t feel totally emasculated by alternatives to pregnancy causing sex.

    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).

  49. Mattir says

    @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.

  50. says

    No dude I’ve ever boinked had a problem with birth control. Most were down-right TERRIFIED of getting me pregnant

    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).

  51. marilove says

    Aquaria
    29 June 2012 at 5:15 pm
    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.

    As the person who this was directed at, I am pretty sure he was joking. :)

  52. marilove says

    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).

    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.

  53. says

    No dude I’ve ever boinked had a problem with birth control. Most were down-right TERRIFIED of getting me pregnant.

    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”

  54. says

    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)

  55. marilove says

    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. :)

  56. Into the Sky says

    Those people are exceedingly silly. I mean, sex is oral sex’s last name. And the family resemblance is striking.

  57. says

    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.

  58. Amphiox says

    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.

    Well, Athena was one of the nicer ones in that pantheon. With a few notable blindspots.

    Put up a sign saying “Aphrodite is prettier” or something.

    And this is one of them! Remember what happened to Troy?

  59. says

    skeptifem:

    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.

    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.

  60. FossilFishy (Νεοπτόλεμος's spellchecker) says

    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.

  61. Amphiox says

    It’s too bad Starstuff that they didn’t mess up the abandonment and end up giving you the $4000….

  62. says

    StarStuff:

    We got an incomplete (= abandoned on PayPal) $4,000 donation from Skanky Cunts Whores at fuckyou@aol.com who lives at the White House.

    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.

  63. Rococo Gecko says

    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!

  64. Steel Medusa says

    Joined! Thanks for getting the word out. I have high hopes for this organization.

  65. says

    (I’m now totally changing my ‘nym to “StarStuff, skanky cunt whore”, by the way.)

    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.

  66. says

    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!

  67. says

    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.