I Am A Grassroots Skeptic: Heidi Anderson

Originally posted on Grassroots Skeptics

Heidi Anderson is the development coordinator for a domestic violence/sexual assault services agency in Spartanburg, South Carolina. She’s written about raising young critical thinkers for Skeptical Inquirer, and she blogs about skepticism, parenting, sexuality, and body image at Fat One In The Middle. She’s here to mark the launch of SheThought.com, a new site celebrating the contributions of women to science and critical thinking.

I have been an activist since I was a child, and always sought fairness and inclusivity for my peers. My entire career in the domestic violence, sexual assault, and gay rights fields has been based on being an advocate for those who need it. Sadly, where I live, these were not always seen as positive traits. I am often seen as combative, for I am not quiet, not subtle, and not shy. When it comes to polite society in the South, I am most certainly NOT feminine.

When I first started thinking of myself as a critical thinker, I looked around the community and saw wonderful, intelligent people with so many important things to say. I also saw that most of them were (white) men. This was in complete contrast to my professional life, which was full of women. But as I thought about it, it became pretty clear that the generation that launched skepticism as a movement was born into an era of white male privilege that has only recently begun to waiver. Therefore, the movement itself still holds onto some of those values.

There was much talk about gender after TAM 7. Not only were Jennifer Oulette and Rebecca Watson the only female speakers, but keynote speaker Bill Prady and skeptic Brian Dunning made jokes that many viewed as sexist. Blogs were written, interviews were done, and many skeptical leaders got defensive when told that they just did not get it.

Then, in January of this year, a single comment on a science blog ignited a debate about the role of sexuality and gender in skepticism between the women themselves. It was a very serious issue with lots of thought put into it, despite the fact that some lame blogger tried to call it a “catfight!”

Luckily, that lame blogger spent a lot of time thinking about women in science, skepticism, and critical thinking, and how there needed to be additional outlets to highlight and foster female leadership. My goal with SheThought.com is not to replace or compete with any other groups, but just to add another place to discuss, promote, encourage, and celebrate women in science, skepticism, and critical thinking.

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