and some of those men are atheists. But is there anything about atheism itself that requires atheists to regard women as second-class citizens? As compared to, say, Catholicism?

They have been notably more overtly sexist than associations where there is more balance and where women have had a presence for a longer time.

This has been a particular issue at conventions or national meetings where there tends to be a lot of drinking, people traveling without their spouses, etc.

IMHO, the women should form their own sub-group and attend the meetings with an agenda to change the tone and raise expectations about how women will be treated. Boycotting the meetings sends a message, but will it change the culture?

The RCC has a huge sexual problem, if you want to start there

Do you hear about atheist pedophiles out fiddling kids? Do you hear about atheist organizations covering up and protecting the said pedophiles?

Or perhaps pineapples and grapes, as there is no question that the pedophilia problem is way bigger than this.

But this is an organization that is trying to grow, obtain more legitimacy and be heard by more people. If they are dealing with some issues of sexism within the organization, is that not worth addressing?

Perhaps more. Why do you think that is?

Why do you think that is?

IMHO, DJ Grothe handled this very badly. If he had paid attention to previous rumblings in the skeptical blogosphere, he should have realized that this could be important.

Instead, he went into denial, and equivocation. If woman attendance at TAM this year is markedly down this year I put the responsibility on DJ, whose callous disregard had to be the most insulting and misogynistic attitude.

Grothe has always been a controversial figure in our movement. I like him but have a real problem with his naive and overt libertarianism. Not to raise politics into this... But I am going to nevertheless do that very thing.

Grothe failed here, big time. He should resign as JREF president if he is unable to address a problem which could be very easily resolved.

There are many of us in the skeptic community who are disgusted of the way this was mishandled.

I think Grothe put his politics ahead of the issue. I have lost all respect for him.

I don't know much about this guy, but the women have been making increasingly loud noises for a while. To ignore them, or even worse blow them off, shows poor leadership skills.

Probably not the best name, but something like that. Basically, dozens of volunteers who would be made aware of the issues and volunteer to keep TAM safe for the attendees. They would be the people who complaints could be brought to; they would be the reporters. They would be identifiable by a special TAM badge.

There would be people at the JREF who would take action upon a report. Like in public schools, there would be manditory reporting.

A simple system which would help everybody feel safe. Even if it isn't perfect, it's better than DJ's sticking his fingers in his ears, saying "La-la-la-la! I can't hear you."

I am very disappointed in the JREF, DJ, and Randi on this issue.

brings resolutions for change and talk about being a female atheist in a relatively safe space. They could also provide educational seminars on sexism and sexual harassment. Could be a real asset for any organization facing similar problems.

He just keeps posting the same boring bullshit hoping to deflect from the monstrous institution he defends.

Teh irony is strong with this one.

Clueless.

It's pure deflection.

Being atheist does not make one more likely to do so.

The denial of it is what is most bothersome. They are going to doom themselves if they don't pay attention. If the responses in this thread are any indication, there doesn't seem to be much interest in either recognizing or addressing the problem.

We have lots of problems treating each other fairly and equally.

Some groups of us are doing a better job confronting this, and dealing with it, than others.

Do you suppose that the atheists attending this conference are representative of all atheists? Perhaps, instead of the all-inclusive term "atheists", you could mention the name of the group or the conference. Atheists attending this do not represent atheism. They are merely atheists who belong to some organization.

It's much as if I referred to Catholics as a whole, when what I was really talking about was Catholic leaders, not all Catholics. I don't do that.

In another case, it's Thunderfoot and his supporters.. And the headline belongs to the Washington Post, not me.

PhillyJimi1 wrote:
4:34 AM EDTWell compared to what a bunch of Catholic priests and Penn State have gotten away with, this seems rather tame. As if there isn't a segment of men that act like pigs when they go away to a convention in Vegas. I don't think it is a stretch to say the same thing goes on at almost every convention in Vegas.

And in my own words (again) some men are creepy. The creepiest in my life have been the old "trustworty" christian men.
Do we have to do this every year Rug? Why?

No group has a monoploy on this.

Maybe she is on to something, but she used a meeting as the main focus that is not specifically an atheist meeting. Other than some very non-specific mentioning of other un-named incidents and unnamed forum/blog complaining, she doesn't really lay out any kind argument for atheism having a sexual harassment problem as far as I can tell. I think she makes the mistake of thinking everyone reading this follows the same un-named groups and forums that she does, so people like me have no idea what the hell she is talking about.