He has been busy.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
The F-word on Tom Martin’s campaign to sue LSE 
Sep 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
His antics stink of a publicity stunt designed to paint him as the innocent, caring, liberal-minded bloke taken hostage by a feminised, man-hating world.… Read the rest
The borders of my world seemed to explode
Sep 16th, 2011 6:03 pm | By Ophelia BensonThere’s nothing like an escape narrative, is there. No Longer Quivering, naturally, is full of them – there’s a lot to escape from, and (happily) a good few women doing the escaping.
Sierra enrolled at a Community College. She took a philosophy course. She worked at Wal-Mart. She felt uncomfortable in her godly clothes.
… Read the restEvery day, I worked an eight-hour shift at Wal-Mart, and despite my best efforts to vary my wardrobe and to solicit comments on being overdressed rather than appearing strange, inevitably somebody noticed that I didn’t wear pants. “It’s Biblical,” I sighed. It was a shortcut other women had taught me to say when I didn’t want to have a long conversation about my dress…
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Daughter of the Patriarchy works her way free
Sep 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Philosophy at Community College; wanting to be authentic; long “Biblical” skirt v jeans; a horde of Message women; apostasy.… Read the rest
Just ask them
Sep 16th, 2011 5:17 pm | By Ophelia BensonIt was slightly surprising to see an article in USA Today that talks about atheism and feminism without sneering at either one.
Now, more than a month after “Elevatorgate” erupted, freethinkers are assessing its meaning. Many acknowledge they have a “woman problem” — men outnumber women at atheist gatherings, both at the podium and in the audiences.
In the audiences is tricky to fix. At the podium is dead easy – just invite them. Invite me, for instance. Invite Katha Pollitt, Wendy Kaminer, Kathryn Joyce, Michelle Goldberg, Janet Heimlich, Vyckie Garrison.
… Read the restAnnie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, notes that while men might fill their gatherings, women often lead freethought organizations. She has directed FFRF’s
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
God damn it, smile!
Sep 16th, 2011 12:11 pm | By Ophelia BensonAh, perfect. Woman is out in the world on a bright sunny day, at the wheel of her car, and a guy in a van shouts out his window at her -
With that one word my amiable Sunday-morning state of mind was
lost in a mushroom cloud of stranger-hate. What crime did I commit to warrant
attention from such a dolt (story of my life)? I was squinting in the sun.
See? See? See? This is what I’m saying. It’s exactly what I’m saying. I was just walking up the street, mind elsewhere, as one does, and as one is allowed to do, and some total stranger shouted at me for not smiling.
I am … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Chocolate ‘as good for you as exercise’
Sep 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Says headline. Article replaces ‘you’ with ‘mice’ and says it would be a leap of faith to say the same effects would be seen in humans.… Read the rest
“Smile!” he said
Sep 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
These hyper-concerned male citizens aren’t exactly smiling when they offer up
their unsolicited advice.… Read the rest
Record numbers of women are living in poverty
Sep 15th, 2011 5:26 pm | By Ophelia BensonTom Martin please note. (Not that he will.)
… Read the restWhen the U.S. Census Bureau released the latest poverty statistics this week, the news was predictably bleak—or at least the news that people were given. But there was a little something the major media omitted from their coverage.
That minor detail? Half the population.
The larger half.
And when it comes to the latest economic data on women, the news is even worse than most people seem to realize. But you couldn’t learn that by reading The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, neither of which even mentioned women in their front-page stories about the rise in the poverty rate, which has soared to its highest level since 1993.
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
USA Today on atheism and sexism
Sep 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Watson, elevator, Dawkins, Jacoby, Gaylor, CFI “Women in Secularism” conference, Hensley, Myers, things getting better.… Read the rest
Women hardest hit by poverty but it’s a secret
Sep 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Neither The New York Times nor The Wall Street Journal even mentioned women in their front-page stories about the rise in the poverty rate.… Read the rest
Even more dialogue with William Hamby
Sep 15th, 2011 4:08 pm | By Ophelia BensonSeptember 15: I somehow overlooked Bill’s last entry so here it is now, six days after it was written.
September 5 or whatever it was: We had an interesting discussion over the past couple of days about atheism and feminism and how to reach the mainstream, so I invited him to do a dialogue here. OB
William Hamby
Ophelia, you’ve brought up something that’s been near and dear to me, but which I’ve kept largely under my hat for a couple of years now. What you called your “branch of the movement” – the nerdy bloggy type – is the branch most directly responsible for the entirety of the movement so far. The iconoclasts, scientists, coffee house philosophy geeks, Aspies … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Attack of the male-blaming biases
Sep 15th, 2011 11:41 am | By Ophelia BensonTom Martin tells us about the tragic misandrist sexism at LSE and in feminism generally.
…a close analysis of the core texts shows all the old, male-blaming biases are still there.
Patriarchy theory – the idea that men typically “dominate” women – is omnipresent, when research shows women tend to boss men interpersonally.
That’s an idiosyncratic and wrong definition of patriarchy. Patriarchy is a system, not a description. It’s a system by which men have authority by right and women are subordinate. It’s not about what happens “typically”; it’s about what it supposed to happen: it’s a web of laws, customs and traditions.
… Read the restTexts highlight misogyny but never misandry, its anti-male equivalent – despite research finding that women verbalise four
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
The normalisation of misogyny is commonplace
Sep 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The objectification and dehumanisation of women is such an inescapable part of popular culture that it necessarily plays a part in the daily interactions of men and women.… Read the rest
Tom Martin replies: men are too so the victims
Sep 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“In a world which verbalises four times more sexism against men than it does against women, it’s high time gender studies set a better example.”… Read the rest
Jonathan Dean defends LSE’s Gender Institute
Sep 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If a gender studies scholar were to put forward a crude “women good, men bad” analysis, it would never stand up to peer scrutiny.… Read the rest
Johann Hari offers a personal apology
Sep 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Admits editing Wikipedia entries “of people I had clashed with in ways that were juvenile or malicious.”… Read the rest
Men are being silenced
Sep 14th, 2011 5:14 pm | By Ophelia BensonA guy is suing LSE for sexism.
The man, 39-year-old Tom Martin, based in London, began pursuing an MSc degree in gender, media and culture at the LSE’s Gender Institute in October 2009. He withdrew six weeks later, citing “anti-male discrimination” in the coursework.
“Its programs actively block men’s discourse and perpetuate the men-bad, women-good dialogue,” Martin told me by phone yesterday. “I want gender studies to be more inclusive for men.”
Its programs block men’s discourse?! Oh.my.god. That’s so terrible, when men have been silenced for so long. What’s that men-bad, women-good dialogue though? I’ve never heard of that. It sounds like a hell of a boring dialogue, as well as kind of stupid.
… Read the restMartin, who calls himself
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Man sues LSE for “sexism”
Sep 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Its programs actively block men’s discourse and perpetuate the men-bad, women-good dialogue.”… Read the rest
You could tell the story in your sleep
Sep 14th, 2011 3:33 pm | By Ophelia BensonAnother familiar story. Religious men walk out of official ceremony in protest because women ___. Their bosses dismiss them. Clerics say it’s an outrage.
The details barely matter; they’re interchangeable. In this case the men were military cadets in Israel; their bosses are their superior officers; the women were singing; the clerics are rabbis.
At some point during the evening, two female soldiers got up to sing. When one
of them began singing solo, dozens of religious soldiers got up and turned to
leave the auditorium.
Pointedly sending the message that the female soldier was a harlot. That should be good for morale.
H/t Ezra Resnick.… Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
