There has been some discussion of harassment of women at skeptical events such as The Amazing Meeting (TAM). The worry is that women will stop coming to these events, understandably, because they aren't there to get hit on. It seems some guys can't take no for an answer. At Cognitive Dissonance I posted the following comment to their excellent support for women: "I appreciate you position on feminism in the skeptical communities. I think you made many great points and I hope you got through to some thick heads. Sometimes the blunt truth is the best. DJ Grothe's handeling of this hasn't been very impressive to me. My 20-something daughter and I are paid up for TAM this year again before I realized this issue. We had an awesome time last year with 40% female attendance. I hope to hell that this year isn't an 18% female sausage fest. If that happens I'm not going back, like you said, I'm paying a lot of money I can't really afford to be there. I'm not there to hit on anyone (my gal would be sad), I want to listen and talk to anyone with something interesting to say. Having the other half of the population show up doubles those chances! I do hope that women realize staying away doesn't help their position, they have to stand up to sexism and harassment. Make noise, make it clear why and how it is wrong. Avoiding it won't solve it. I'll stand with them if they are there. I applaud you for standing with them clearly and loudly. Thanks!"
At Skepchick I found that Rebecca Watson won't be at TAM this year and I commented: "Rebecca, at Cognitive Dissonance I posted the following comment to their excellent support for women: "I appreciate you position on feminism in the skeptical communities. I think you made many great points and I hope you got through to some thick heads. Sometimes the blunt truth is the best. DJ Grothe's handeling of this hasn't been very impressive to me (I am just learning how unimpressive). My 20-something daughter and I are paid up for TAM this year again before I realized this issue. We had an awesome time last year with 40% female attendance. I hope to hell that this year isn't an 18% female sausage fest. If that happens I'm not going back, like you said, I'm paying a lot of money I can't really afford to be there. I'm not there to hit on anyone (my gal would be sad), I want to listen and talk to anyone with something interesting to say. Having the other half of the population show up doubles those chances! I do hope that women realize staying away doesn't help their position, they have to stand up to sexism and harassment. Make noise, make it clear why and how it is wrong. Avoiding it won't solve it. I'll stand with them if they are there. I applaud you for standing with them clearly and loudly. Thanks!" I am sad you won't be there this year, I was looking forward to meeting you if I could screw up my courage. My daughter isn't one to back down for something like this and I am sure she still wants to go. And I understand the point you make not appearing. It is a good point. As a manager in a large corporation with a high percentage of women engineers and staff, harassment is NOT tolerated. It is reenforced yearly and serious. It is clear and no nonsense. No wink-wink smirks and management to the top supports it. The culture has definitely changed in the 30 years I've been there. I didn't realize this level of tough love is necessary at TAM and elsewhere. Rebecca, thanks for what you do and keep it up!"
