It’s true! The Trophy Wife™ and I never got our temple recommends, weren’t sealed, and didn’t go through the temple ceremony (which sounds like so much fun), so when the Mormons get their way, our marriage will be invalidated, and I’ll be reduced to bragging about my Trophy Concubine™.
Here’s another odd pink phenomenon. This is a page from a Toys ‘R Us catalog, illustrating some science toys, and note the odd distinctions being made. Both the telescope and the microscope come in special pink versions, just for the girl who is apparently more interested in getting an instrument that matches her nail polish than being functional, and note also (you may have to click through to see the larger image) that in every case the pink model is less powerful than the black and gray model.
There is a message being sent here. Being feminine, being girly, means you belong in a separate category in the science world, and it’s a category that needs less utility and more concern about appearances. I don’t get it, and I don’t understand how these kinds of distinctions persist. If my daughter wanted a telescope for a present, and I passed over the better version to get her the prettier one, I think she’d club me over the head with it and send me back to the store.
And then we’d have to send a rude letter to the manufacturer for shooing girls off into a pink ghetto.
Wow, we’re surrounded now. When will the US follow suit and join Mexico City in the 21st century?
That article has other interesting information: Uruguay has legalized civil unions throughout the country, and several cities scattered throughout South America have done likewise. Good for Latin America, a region working on being more progressive than our little backwater.
I have to recommend this criticism of sexism in the skeptical community: skeptifem points out that while we’re quick to outrage when someone like Bill Maher violates science norms, we seem to shrug off the fact that he’s been rudely anti-woman at times.
When someone does try to share the perspective of being a person of color or a woman in skeptic communities the majority of people in the groups I have encountered dismiss their viewpoint on extremely typical grounds. This article from richarddawkins.net has some really disturbing comments that illustrate exactly what I am getting at; an automatic opposition to the voices of people of color and women. Disagreeing isn’t the problem here, it is the outright dismissal and unwillingness to ask questions in order to understand the point of view she puts forward here. Having an actual discussion, or an actual willingness to understand her and then disagreeing would be a very different picture.
It’s a strange phenomenon. I don’t think the leaders of the atheist movement are consciously anti-feminist at all; it’s more a matter of being confident that equality is the right answer, appreciating everyone, male or female, working to promote rationalism in society, and then smugly assuming we’re done when we’re not. The Big Catches to bring in to an atheist meeting are people like Dawkins and Dennett and Hitchens — people who deserve their popularity and their reputations — but the women of atheism seem to be semi-invisible. Why aren’t we reaching out to, for instance, Susan Jacoby, and making her a more prominent face in atheism? She’s a wonderful writer, produced a book, Freethinkers, that was part of the early wave of godless writings, and every time I’ve heard her speak, she says interesting and challenging things.
The problem isn’t dismissal. It’s casual disregard. It’s being just enough pro-feminist that we lose sight of the real problems that women and people of color face.
One thing that would really help, I think, is if the grassroots spoke out a little bit more to remind us. Tell us who you want to hear who isn’t pale-skinned and full of testosterone; I’m not an organizer of meetings — I just get roped into these things — but one thing we noisy voices of atheism can do is name-drop when we get called, and ask if the inviting organization has considered X, Y, and Z for a lecture, too. So tell me in the comments: who are the deserving voices of the godless community who should be heard as much as the heterogametic ones who get all the press?
Sometimes I find it hard to believe how callous these conservative politicians can be. The governor of Rhode Island has just vetoed a bill that would have allowed a same-sex partner to make funeral arrangements for a dead partner. So imagine this: someone wracked with grief at the loss of someone to whom they had committed a substantial part of their life now gets to also be told that they are locked out of the responsibility of taking care of anything to do with the funeral ceremony. How degrading and insensitive; how vile and intrusive.
Shame on Governor Carcieri. It takes a real man to kick the heart-broken and bereaved at the moment of their deepest hurt, and Carcieri has arranged to do it over and over again for years to come.
It looks like justice was defeated in Maine, but we got a glimmer of success in Washington (Hooray for my home state!). I think everyone who is unhappy with Maine voters should go tromp on this Canadian poll just to get it out of your system.
Do you support same-sex marriage?
Absolutely, yes
21%
Sure, why not?19%
Not really11%
Absolutely, no35%
I don’t care either way14%
What counts next, of course, is for activists in Maine to get back to work. Same for everyone in every state…like Minnesota.
If you’re in Maine, vote NO on 1. This is the law that attempts to repeal civil rights from gay couples.
If you’re in Washington state, vote YES on 71. This is a vote to preserve a law that gives legal protection to gay couples.
Isn’t it amazing that we even have to argue for equality, and that there are people who oppose it?
A couple of Republican district chairmen took it upon themselves to defend Senator Jim DeMint (R, Crazytown). Uh, maybe.
There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves. By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation’s pennies and trying to preserve our country’s wealth and our economy’s viability to give all an opportunity to succeed.
I bet that if you sat those two down and asked them if they knew what was wrong with that first sentence, they’d just look at you all wide-eyed and innocent and tell you they can’t see a bit of bigotry or stereotyping there at all.
And their next sentence would be, “Some of my best friends are Jews!”
And after that, they’d defend their argument…“We’re saying Jim is going to make us all as rich as Jews! That’s a good thing!”
But this judge won’t marry interracial couples.
A Louisiana justice of the peace said he refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple out of concern for any children the couple might have. Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish, says it is his experience that most interracial marriages do not last long.
“I’m not a racist. I just don’t believe in mixing the races that way,” Bardwell told the Associated Press on Thursday. “I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else.”
That last paragraph is a classic. The “I have lots of X friends” is pretty much a cliche, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard the “I let X use my bathroom” excuse. I’d love to know if he would let a gay person use his bathroom, just so we could calibrate his bigotry a little more precisely.
Right now, people are marching on Washington with a reasonable demand: equality under the law for all gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. It’s not much to ask for; it’s simply what every human being in this country ought to expect.
I’m not in Washington DC. I’m sitting in wintery Minnesota. You’re probably snug in your homes, too. So what can you do?
How about getting inspired?
Are you feeling it now? We all should hope for a world where all the differences between us are no obstacle to full participation in civic life by all people; whether you’re gay or godless, black or white, the law should treat us all the same.
Unfortunately, there are people who don’t share that dream and want to constrain minority positions, and make non-heterosexuals second class citizens. Equality is not what they want. We have to act to improve our country.
Contribute to the Support No on 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign. If you live in Maine, vote NO on 1 in the election booth.
On the other side of the country, contribute to the Approve Referendum 71 campaign, and if you live there, vote YES on Ref. 71. I have a lot of family in that state, so I’ll be contributing there, and will also be calling up family and reminding them that they ought to vote FOR this one.
Here in the middle of the country, you can donate to the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition. But you know this is an issue everywhere — look for local groups you can help. You’ve got google, even if you aren’t getting up off your butt today, use it! Contribute! Work with your GLBT friends and neighbors! Make a difference!
(Thanks to MAJeff for sending along the information, and for doing his part to enlighten North Dakota.)
