Do atheists have a sexual harassment problem?
[Do atheists have a sexual harassment problem? by
Kimberly Winston] "(RNS) As skeptics, atheists and humanists prepare to
gather for their largest meeting in Las Vegas this weekend, attendance
by women is expected to be down significantly.
Officials for The Amazing Meeting, or TAM, said Wednesday (July 11) that
women would make up 31 percent of the 1,200 conference attendees, down
from 40 percent the year before. A month before the conference,
pre-registration was only 18 percent women, organizers said.
The explanations are many -- the bad economy, that women, as caregivers,
are less able to get away, and that more men than women identify as
skeptics, whose worldview rejects the supernatural and focuses on
science and rationality.
But in the weeks preceding TAM, another possible explanation has roiled
the nontheist community. Online forums have crackled with charges of
sexism in TAM’s leadership and calls for the ouster of D.J. Grothe, the
male president of the James Randi
Educational Foundation, TAM’s organizer. In
June, Rebecca Watson, a skeptic blogger and speaker, canceled her TAM
appearance because, she said on her blog, she does “not feel welcome or
safe.”
Other nontheists -- both male and female -- have shared stories of
unwanted sexual attention at nontheist gatherings, including
propositions for sex and unwelcome touching. Chatter has ranged from
calls for more women to attend nontheist events to personal attacks on
prominent female skeptics for discussing harassment..." Full text:
Do atheists have a sexual harassment problem?
Ro 1:28
Response to comment [from a Christian]: "Ever visit an atheist forum?"
Yes.