So one week on from first posting R. Elisabeth Cornwell's essay on the evolutionary reasons why women endure and pass on the bondage of belief, I thought I'd take the temperature of the immense amount of discussion it provoked around the web.
One of the longest threads outside of SG was on the Doctor Who forum, which makes complete sense to me since fans of Sci-Fi seem to be the most mentally prepared to explore the idea of alternative forms of society and culture that aren't based around traditional human religious dogma and ideals.
One of the things I found interesting however, was that as well as sending it to various political and atheist blogs (Raw Story, No Beleifs, Atheist Media, etc), who were more than happy to discuss, repost, link and pass on our article, I also sent it out to a large number of feminist blogs none of which commented or posted a link. I mistakenly thought that feminists might be interested in the roots of their battle against male domination, but I was wrong, they seemed wholeheartedly unready to explore the fact that religion might be the cause of rather than the solution to their ills.
Something that illustrates this dichotomy perfectly is the differing reactions I got to the same post on two LiveJournal message boards. (I know, I know, double posting is a no, no, but I did it in the name of science, so bear with me here.). The first place I posted a summary of and link to the article was in the Atheist Chat group, where a very reasonable discussion ensued. The next place I posted was the Feminist Fury group, where someone calling themselves "a_place_to_pray" opened and closed the debate by writing:
One of the longest threads outside of SG was on the Doctor Who forum, which makes complete sense to me since fans of Sci-Fi seem to be the most mentally prepared to explore the idea of alternative forms of society and culture that aren't based around traditional human religious dogma and ideals.
One of the things I found interesting however, was that as well as sending it to various political and atheist blogs (Raw Story, No Beleifs, Atheist Media, etc), who were more than happy to discuss, repost, link and pass on our article, I also sent it out to a large number of feminist blogs none of which commented or posted a link. I mistakenly thought that feminists might be interested in the roots of their battle against male domination, but I was wrong, they seemed wholeheartedly unready to explore the fact that religion might be the cause of rather than the solution to their ills.
Something that illustrates this dichotomy perfectly is the differing reactions I got to the same post on two LiveJournal message boards. (I know, I know, double posting is a no, no, but I did it in the name of science, so bear with me here.). The first place I posted a summary of and link to the article was in the Atheist Chat group, where a very reasonable discussion ensued. The next place I posted was the Feminist Fury group, where someone calling themselves "a_place_to_pray" opened and closed the debate by writing:
"erm.. you do know that lots of feminists are religious right?"
That says it all really! That response being a fine example of how religion trains its disciples not to think.
Women are so often their own worst enemies. It makes me very sad for our sex. How do you even begin to challenge that line of thought when the minds responsible are so obviously closed? Woman will never attain true equality unless they are willing to challenge the beliefs and rules imposed on them by their patriarchal religious leaders.
accuser:
Preach it, sister!