Why YouTube Atheism Needs Feminism

Sexism is a problem throughout the atheist community. But it's more prominent online, particularly here on YouTube, where many of the most popular atheists are blatant sexists and unapologetic anti-feminists.

Here, in no particular order, is an incomplete list of YouTube channels that promote atheism/secularism/freethought without demeaning women or pandering to antifeminists:

Sikivu Hutchinson

Kevin Logan

Soreta Yuki

Vogter Viking

Peach

Laughing Witch

The Breakfast Club

Matt Dillahunty

TheThinkingAtheist

meridianfrost

FoxxyJazzabelle

The Atheist Voice

David Landon Cole

Captain Andy

Cristina Rad

SweetBabyDeejus

Rebecca Watson

The Messianic Manic

Sincere Kirabo

ThinkStephtically

healthyaddict

AronRa

TheBibleReloaded

devchelle2

The Atheist Experience

Zennistrad1

Kristi Winters

WildwoodClaire1

AtheistMinority

Philip Rose

carazelaya

Philosophy Tube

ToriTheQueer

TheSkepticFeminist

Dick Coughlan

VarmitCoyote

Zinnia Jones

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[kayzak]

I want equal rights for all, but feminism has lost me with its ideology and lack of good answers to the question, "What would you consider the concrete 'end goal' of feminism?" "When will we have arrived and how do you know we've arrived?"

There is no serious metric for measuring success within the feminist movement, and often times I see feminism inserting itself into issues that have nothing to do with it, simply to stay relevant.

We need to live in a world where feminism is NO LONGER RELEVANT. We don't need a world in which feminism lays claim to all social issues in order to stay relevant no matter what.

[AtheistEve]

The misogyny and homophobia in the bible and within the religious mindset were the things that made me realize that all that bibilical twaddle was not only twaddle but dangerous and crippling to the potential flourishing of any human society.

Of course I'm an atheist feminist.

[prototypeatheist]

Of course everyone should be a feminist, in the sense that men and women deserve equal rights, and that women should not be harassed, especially in a manner which makes it obvious the harassment is unique due to their sex. The problem is that some feminists are radicals. You list Laughing Witch at the end of the video. This is a woman who told me that men should completely avoid flirting with or expressing any romantic interest in women at atheist conventions because this is harassment. That's fucking absurd, and it's a huge double standard. She also told me after I participated in a group discussion with Kristi Winters about how to get more women involved in atheist activism that the only reason I wanted more women in the atheist community was so that I could get in their pants.

This is why feminism becomes toxic. To refuse to see this is to remain willfully blind. This isn't an argument against feminism. It's an argument against hypocrisy, radicalism, and irrationality.

[heathermuffins]

Thank you so much for making this video. I have been turned off by a lot of Atheist youtubers who, in the last few years, decided to rail against feminism as a whole. I have been in favor of civil rights movements for all kinds of people since I was a teenager, and now, at 32, am told that I am a Social Justice Warrior as if that concludes the debate of any issue. All I can do is shake my head and laugh at the irony that I would probably welcome a Biblical apocalypse at this point.

[drkmwinters]

I just sat thru a 16 min ad to get access to the content. That is my way of saying thanks for addressing this subject :)

[ShootingStarNeo]

To quote a post on feminism I saw once upon a time: "if your feminism isn't for women of color, queer women, poor women, disabled women... Then who is it even for?"

If your atheism isn't for the most disadvantaged by it, then who is it for, hm?

[ToBeADeku]

I'm gonna start popping some corn. By the time I'm done, TL;DR should've made a response to this.

[alextemplet]

I am very disheartened by how many more dislikes this video has received so far than likes. What is it about the idea that men and women are equal as humans that so many people find so difficult to accept?

[danielpierce]

Thanks for the dose of sanity. 👍 Though I must say that I find the number of dislikes on this video to be somewhat disturbing.

[RavenJay]

I had a sudden jump in subscribers and could not understand why. Now I understand, thanks for the shout out.
Good video

[gothatfunk]

Well Steve, you made a good argument, but i'm not sold.
i am an atheist by incident - its not a label i identify with, so much as an accurate term that describes a single aspect of my point of view.
many people here on yt have labelled me a feminist. again, its not a label i identify with, but neither does misapplication of it towards me bother me, since i tend to agree with a number of classical feminist presuppositions.
for me to embrace the label, i feel i would have to be an activist, which is not really where my focus is. human rights and civil rights matter to me for everyone, irrespective of race, sex, gender, nationality, or any other divisive description. where those concerns converge with feminism, i argue accordingly.
for me, its important not to be sexist or mysogynistic, as a part of striving to be a decent human being. it has little to nothing to do with any social or political movement.
certainly i think feminism, as a concept, is important. it is extremely unfortunate how internet discussions about it tend to become so toxic, and devolve into tribalistic mud slinging.

[adamcreelman]

This vid hits every right note. It's an important conversation as the internet-atheist community matures and starts figuring out if it can be a force for good in the world.

[Eyesuckink]

Thank you Steve,

As a husband, father, son, and brother of many women I couldn't agree more.

[Valkyrie]

Exactly. Well said Steve. As a feminist, and an atheist, I agree with the arguments in your essay. Sexism is blatant in society as a whole and subversive in the atheist community. As you said, if you can't see this then you aren't paying attention. I believe that anti-feminism/sexism by some atheists (male and female) is a hold over from their (strict) religious backgrounds and society as a whole. Could it be that, they have struggled to overcome their indoctrination but do not see their societal sexism/anti-feminism as part of that struggle but accept it as "part of the natural order"?

[MoreParksLessParking]

You know, for a group of people that emphasize and take pride in ideas like thinking for yourself and rationalism, atheists seem to exhibit an awful lot of tribal thinking.

Here's some advice for all of you. Critical thinking is a process, NOT a bunch of opinions and views on certain subjects. Instead of bragging about how you're such a critical thinker simply because you think that religion is "fucking retarded" (which I, by the way, happen to agree with the general message of that statement), try to forget all all about labels like atheists, or christians, or conservative, or liberal, and evaluate the situation based on what you believe is right, instead of relying on the soundness of the opinions of everyone riding the bandwagon.

The sooner you try this out the better it will be every single thing imaginable.

-An by definition.

[greymouse]

Kudos for taking on this topic. I'm glad to hear you speak out on this topic. From the number of dislikes and the chauvinistic tone of many comments, it seems you struck a raw nerve.

[LyndonIrwin]

the thing wit feminism, that as a over all group, is that they do not call out there crazy's, are if one says something that is factually wrong, they generally do not point it out, and if someone dose, they are sexist, and others see this. I think this is the big problem with feminism, if feminist started call out there own, when 1 says or dose thing wrong, a lot more and a lot louder,  I think it would help.

[nicksfree]

I remember subscribing to TJ when starting to explore atheism on YT then quickly becoming disgusted by his obsessive crusade against feminism. I actually learned about your channel from a woman who recommended you to me in the comments on one of his videos, which was by far the best outcome of an augmentative comments string on YT I've ever had.

[KarenAllmond]

Thank you, Steve Shives for addressing this issue.

[cliftonharris]

If nothing else, the like/dislike bar shows the necessity of having this conversation.