Why aren't there more outspoken female atheists?

[Pale Blue Dot]

Ozone_Man's post got me thinking about this. Most of the major public faces of atheism are male - off the top of my head only Julia Sweeney comes to mind as a major public female atheist. Why is that? Are women more likely to be religious? Less likely to be skeptical? Less likely to think about such things? Are their voices being drowned out, either due to sexism or some other reason? Is there something else I'm missing? Or have I just not looked hard enough to find female atheist voices?

I'm curious as to what everyone thinks.

(I've noticed the same trend in skepticism.)

[PassingFair]

1. Ellen Johnson is the head of the American Atheists.

Annie Laurie Gaylor and her mother head up the Freedom from Religion Foundation,
and don't forget Madelyn Murray O'Hair!

Gloria Steinem is a frequent spokesperson for the American Humanists.

I guess I just notice these things.....

Men, as usual, make all the money....

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. "Men, as usual, make all the money...."

Very true.

I forgot about Annie Laurie Gaylor, probably because I'm not a big fan of her radio show/podcast.

[PassingFair]

3. Her group does more to fight for separation of church and state...

than any other that I know of.

I LOVE the newsletters.

I haven't heard any of her podcasts, though....

People for the American Way is great too!

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. It's a great group.

I support everything they do.

Their radio show, however, is like a bad parody of NPR. It is exactly the opposite of hip.

[TZ]

5. alot of skeptics/atheists are also scientists

And despite getting better, the sex ratios are still male biased. As for the women in the field...most have to be double as good as many of their male colleagues and often feel that they shouldn't rock the boat.
Being an outspoken athiest can still get you in trouble. I've met many female scientists who I think may be atheist/agnostic but go to church in attempt to conform to societal norms. When you have to work hard just to advance your chosen career, making political statements that are very public is the LAST thing you want to do.

[More Than A Feeling]

6. Susan Jacoby and Jennifer Michael Hecht

Writers of Freethinkers and Doubt, respectively. Angelina Jolie is a Randroid, for that matter Ayn Rand herself, plus Madelyn Murray O'Hair, the original modern "outspoken atheist" Ayaan Hirschi Ali. Natalie Angier, another author.

That's just off the top of my head.

[Warpy]

7. Uh, if you haven't noticed lately, this is still a patriarchal culture

and women speaking out on anything is still a bit of a rarity.

There is no shortage of women atheists if my friends and family are any indication. There is a shortage of venues for us to speak out about it as well as a lot of consequences men never face when we do, something that keeps us in the tactful, "I'm not religious," ghetto.

It's only in blessed anonymity online that we are allowed to speak freely about it, and then only if we have gender ambiguous names.

[ozone_man]

10. I think that's it.

And what Evoman says. Women have enough obstacles to overcome in a male dominated world without adding more difficulties.

Also, I think it's more of a confrontational male thing to write a book as Dawkins, Harris, Hitchens, and Dennett have done. They are in safer position to handle the return fire.

I think most women authors would prefer to approach the subject in a more subtle way. Through science or nature writings perhaps, or other indirect ways.

In the fantasy genre, Gena Rowlands' Harry Potter books received criticism from the church, complaining of the witchcraft that they teach, while Philip Pullman takes the subject of the church head on with Golden Compass series. So, each in their own way are anti-Christian. One in a subtle way, one not.

[PassingFair]

17. Er...I think you mean J K Rowling....

Although Gena Rowlands IS a hero of mine, and
I wouldn't be surprised in the LEAST if she was an atheist!

[Book Lover]

18. Thank you for posting this

so I didn't have to.

[Evoman]

8. That's because it's hard enough being an outpsoken atheist when your 6 feet, 190 pounds.

Women are fucked over enough in our society...you can't exactly expect them to add atheist to the heap of shit they are already dealing with.

[qb]

9. Here's a great site to explore...

it is mostly men, but there are quite a few atheist women there.

http://www.celebatheists.com/?title=Category:Atheist

Also check out Annie Laurie Gaylor's book, "No Gods, No Masters", the first collection of the writings of historic and contemporary women freethinkers.

http://ffrf.org/shop/books/details.php?cat=fbooks&ID=FB8

[enki23]

11. maybe there are plenty, but they're less likely to be on camera

on edit, yeah. what warpy said.

[progressoid]

12. Paula Poundstone!

Sorry , not an answer to your query. She just popped into my head when I read your post.

[Warpy]

13. Kathy Griffin

She has spoken out a few times and been SLAMMED for it. It's hurt her career.

I'm grateful to Bravo for keeping her out there. She's one of the best comediennes ever.

[varkam]

14. I thought she got a big publicity boost from the whole "Suck it, Jesus" comment. eom

[Warpy]

15. She did, but there are still more of them than there are of us

so her publicity hurt her more than helping her.

Like I said, women face consequences men don't ever have to think about.

[varkam]

19. I don't think that the consequences from that comment

or, more precisely, any negative consequences stemming from that comment had anything to do with her being a woman but rather the offensiveness that some perceived that comment to convey.

[TZ]

20. I dunno

Lets compare Sinead O'Connor's career being basically over after she ripped up the picture of the Pope on SNL.
Compared to way back when the Beatles said they "Were bigger than Jesus". There was controversy. But their careers were okay after that. Sinead O'Connor not so much. Remember most fundies believe that women are the original sinner all the way back to Eve so I think they are MUCh harder on them, already considering them born with the likely hood of corruption.

[varkam]

22. Yeah...but Griffin's career is not over.

Far from it. According to her in her latest comedy special (after the suck it jesus comment) she's doing quite well. :shrug:

[Warpy]

24. Men will never understand the different forms of discrimination

that women face every day. They'll deny the consequences are different until they die because to admit them is to admit complicity in a system that has silenced and degraded women for thousands of years.

Changing your thinking is the hardest thing in the world to do, especially when that thinking makes your life easier.

[PassingFair]

16. I LOVE her for that one!

I laugh every time I thing about it..

:rofl:

Male or female, THAT kind of irreverence is UNHEARD of!!

[MedleyMisty]

25. Don't hang out with younger people much, eh?

I've heard it all my life at school and online. :) Which is why I get confuzzled when people claim that I live in the Bible Belt and that everyone around me is some bible-thumping fundie - it's like, dude, I live here, and most people I know like to make the most shocking to fundies fun of religion that they can.

I think there's some serious generational disconnects going on.

[pink-o]

21. If you mean in the public, it's because women don't have as much social power as men

But aside from my ex-husband, the only atheists/agnostics I know are women. My mother told me when I was 12 that she didn't believe in God and I almost fell outta my chair at the dinner table. 40 years later, I'm right there with her!

Does anyone really think atheist women go to church just to stay under the radar? Personally, that would be agony! I'll go to funerals out of respect for my friends, but I despise every minute of listening to some jerk tell lies to the bereved family about a better life with Jesus! I couldn't go to an ordinary Sunday sermon without getting tossed on my ear when I got as mad as hell and couldn't take it anymore!

[Imperialism Inc.]

23. Lori Lipman Brown is our congressional lobbyist .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lori_Lipman_Brown

She works for the Secular Coalition for America.