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Rebecca Watson | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Watson in 2014 | |
| Born | Rebecca Watson (1980-10-18)October 18, 1980 (age 44)[1] United States |
| Alma mater | Boston University |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Known for | Science communication,atheism,feminism |
YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Subscribers | 200 thousand[2] |
| Views | 31.9 million[2] |
Last updated: September 26, 2024 | |
| Website | skepchick |
Rebecca Watson (born October 18, 1980[1]) is an Americanatheistblogger,[3][4][5]vlogger,[6] andYouTuber.[7] She is the founder of the blogSkepchick and former co-host ofThe Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast.
Watson grew up in New Jersey.[8][9]She says she had little interest in science before meeting other skeptics, including magicianJames Randi, while at university.[10]Watson attendedBoston University[8] while also working as amagician.[11]She graduated in 2002 with a degree incommunications.[8]
Watson blogs aboutatheism andfeminist politics, and has been particularly active in critiquing the modern atheist movement (sometimes called "New Atheism") from within, especially regarding the lack of attention given to the role of women in the movement. Primarily active online, she has been described byBuzzFeed as "the first major atheist whose rise has occurred on theweb".[12]
After attending James Randi's skeptic conferenceThe Amaz!ng Meeting, Watson produced apin-up calendar to support the cost for other women to attend the conference.[13][14] She founded the websiteSkepchick in 2005[12][15] as a place to distribute the calendars.[14] New editions of the calendar featuring scientists and skeptics were produced each year[16] until 2007.[17]
The website originally consisted of a forum and a monthlye-zine,Skepchick Magazine, launched in 2006.[18][14] The same year, Watson created ablog that would eventually replace the magazine.[14]Skepchick's stated goal is to "discuss women's issues from a skeptical standpoint".[12][19] The site has a focus on science and skepticism in general rather than atheism in particular.[12] Watson has also contributed articles on skepticism to the blogBostonist.[11]
In 2010,Skepchick partnered with the Women Thinking Free Foundation to host a vaccination drive with the help of the "Hug Me!" campaign at theDragon*Con convention in Atlanta, Georgia.[20][self-published source] Public health staff providedTdap vaccinations free of charge, as well as educational literature promoting immunization.[21] In 2011,Skepchick, theJames Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), and the Women Thinking Free Foundation partnered to offer a similar vaccination clinic at The Amaz!ng Meeting 9 in Las Vegas.[21]
Skepchick won anOckham Award in 2012 for Best Skeptic Blog.[22] In 2017, the site consisted of a network of over 20 bloggers from around the world.[12] In 2023, Watson formally closed the blog network after most writers had moved on to other projects.[14]
Watson regularly appeared on theSkeptics' Guide to the Universe,[23] co-hosting the podcast for nine years.[24] Her first appearance was on episode 33 in March 2006, where she was interviewed about her work onSkepchick. She returned for episode 36 as a regular member of the panel.[25][not specific enough to verify] In December 2014, she announced that she had recorded her final show prior to leaving the organization.[26]
In May 2007, Watson entered thePublic Radio Talent Quest, a contest aimed to find new public radio hosts.[27] Watson's entries won the popular vote in every round,[28] and she was selected along with two other winners to produce a pilot episode for presentation to executives of theCorporation for Public Broadcasting.[9][29]
Watson's pilot,Curiosity, Aroused,[30][31] was an hour-long program focused on science and skepticism.[29] It featured interviews withRichard Saunders of Australian Skeptics and Mystery Investigators, andRichard Wiseman, author of the bookQuirkology and Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at theUniversity of Hertfordshire. She also investigated claims of poisonous amounts of lead in lipstick, went on a ghost tour, and visited a psychic fair.[31]Her show was the only one among the three winners not to be awarded funds for production of a year-long radio program.[32][33]
In 2011, Watson spoke on a panel at theWorld Atheist Convention[3][34] about many women's feelings ofsexual objectification at atheist conferences.[35][36] Following the convention, Watson published avideo blog criticizingsexism within the atheist movement, in which she described being sexually propositioned in anelevator by a male conference attendee.[37][7][38] Watson described socializing with other attendees at a hotel bar until 4:00 a.m., then announcing she was tired and going to bed. After this, a man from the group followed her into an elevator and invited her to his room for coffee, which she declined.[36][23][39] Watson drew a parallel between the incident and her conference talk on sexual objectification the night before,[35][36] saying, "Guys, don't do that".[23][37][36][3] She went on to say:
I was a single woman, in a foreign country, at4 a.m., in a hotel elevator with you—just you—and don't invite me back to your hotel room, right after I have finished talking about how it creeps me out and makes me uncomfortable when men sexualize me in that manner.[35]
Watson further commented that fears ofsexual harassment might be keeping women away from atheist meetings.[36] Despite the incident being a minor topic of the video,[7][39] it was followed by a campaign of misogynistic harassment against Watson that came to be known as "Elevatorgate".[37][38][7] Reactions to the video varied, with some supporting Watson's desire for privacy and others accusing Watson of exaggerating the problem and scaring women away from conferences. However, she was supported by many bloggers on the FreethoughtBlogs network founded by writer and biologistPZ Myers, who wrote a supportive post about the incident on his blogPharyngula.[3][23]
The controversy attracted mainstream media attention when biologistRichard Dawkins joined the discussion on Myers's blog,[39] sarcastically comparing Watson's experience to that of an imaginaryMuslim woman.[37][7] Although Watson had not mentioned sexism againstwomen in Islam,[40] Dawkins' comment mocked the supposed indifference of Western feminists to the plight of oppressed women inMuslim-majority countries,[41][42] telling "Muslima" to "stop whining" in the face offemale genital mutilation,intimate partner violence, and the threat ofdeath by stoning and to "grow up, or at least grow a thicker skin".[36]
The result of this exchange led to an extendedinternet flame war[35] nicknamed "Elevatorgate"[6][43][44][45] that has been the subject ofInternet memes.[34] A negative response by the online atheist community to Watson's account of the incident soon spread across several websites, includingReddit, and became highly polarized and heated.[46][47][further explanation needed] The debate steadily grew to include the overall status of women within the secular movement, with most of the movements's prominent figures offering their opinion on whether the elevator incident constituted sexual harassment.[citation needed] The discussion spurred a continued backlash, with commenters online labeling women who spoke up on the subject as "feminazis" and other misogynistic slurs.[39] Watson experienced a campaign of misogynistic harassment[36][23][38][7][6] including threats of rape and murder,[35][39][37] with one man publishing awebsite threatening to kill her.[4]
Dawkins' comments led him to be accused ofmisogyny andIslamophobia.[34] He later explained that he thought Watson had not had any reason to feel threatened,[7] comparing Watson's experience to riding in an elevator with someone chewing gum.[48] Several commentators argued that the incident showed Dawkins' insensitivity to gender-related issues such as sexual violence.[48][49] Religious scholarStephen LeDrew writes that "For the first time since the New Atheism had risen to prominence, [Dawkins] found himself under attack by many of those who had viewed him as a respected leader".[48]David Allen Green criticized Dawkins for dismissing lesser wrongs because bigger wrongs exist.[50] Watson stated that she would no longer buy or endorse Dawkins' books,[23] saying, "to have my concerns—and more so the concerns of other women who have survived rape and sexual assault—dismissed thanks to a rich white man comparing them to the plight of women who have been mutilated, is insulting to all of us".[48]
Religious studies scholars Steven Tomlins andLori G. Beaman argue that the incident highlights a schism over the role of feminism in the atheist movement, with some saying it should take a prominent place in the movement and others calling it divisive.[51] In the wake of this and an incident at aCenter for Inquiry-sponsored event, where female atheists reported gender bias and inappropriate behavior, organizations including theRichard Dawkins Foundation have reviewed their policies regarding sexual harassment and non-discrimination.[46] Dawkins later apologized,[34][49] stating, "There should be no rivalry in victimhood, and I'm sorry I once said something similar to American women complaining of harassment, inviting them to contemplate the suffering of Muslim women by comparison".[52] Watson tweeted in response, "Richard Dawkins just did the blog-equivalent of coughing into his hand while mumbling 'sorry' to me. Eh, I'll take it."[53]
Watson married Sid Rodrigues in a surprise ceremony during The Amaz!ng Meeting in July 2009.[54] In April 2011, she announced that she and Rodrigues were separated and seeking a divorce.[55] She later remarried.[56]
Anouter main-beltasteroid discovered byDavid H. Healy on March 22, 2001, was named153289 Rebeccawatson in her honor.[57][58]
After atheist blogger Rebecca Watson experienced unwanted advances from a man in an elevator at an atheist conference, Richard Dawkins told her to 'stop whining'
In the video, [Watson] mentioned an incident where she had felt unsafe when a man had propositioned her in an elevator late at night. Despite the incident only being a minor topic in the video, it resulted in misogynistic harassment from atheists.
Almost immediately after the vlog appeared, Watson began receiving violent threats on her blog and through e-mail and Twitter. [...] In some respects, Elevatorgate is an extreme example of sexism in the New Atheist Movement because the on-line posts about Watson and her supporters were so venomous.
In what came to be known as Elevatorgate, atheist blogger Rebecca Watson criticized sexism within the community after she was propositioned in an elevator by a man and fellow World Atheist Convention attendee. She faced a concerted harassment campaign for speaking out about her experience.
