Sex And Skepticism
The Token Skeptic podcast features an ongoing series of podcasts on this topic and related issues (links to mp3):
On Women and Paranormal Belief – Part One
On Pink Microscopes – A Strange Quarks Submission (science, gender issues and education)
On Women, Myths, Feminism and Skepticism – Live Dragon*Con Panel
On Updates And The Stars Are Her Laboratory (interview with astrophysicist Belinda Nicholson)
On Reaching Out Reasonably – Panel From QEDCon (Dr Janis Bennion, Dr Eugenie Scott, Dr Sile Lane, David Kirby and Kylie Sturgess)
On Trial By Ordeal – Witch-Hunting And Superstition
On Skepticism And Cosmetic Claims (Rosemary Nixon)
On Women’s Intuition And Myths In Psychology (Dr Scott Lilienfeld)
On One Woman’s Struggle For Secularism – Taslima Nasrin
On The Placebo Protest (Science Communication Part Three – interview with Desiree Schell)
On Big Pharma – Interview With Dr Leslie Cannold and Michael McRae
On Chronic Illness, Deaf Culture And Skepticism – Interview With Joey Haban
On The Separation Between Scientific Truth And Belief – Interview With Dr Pamela Gay
On Infidels And Nomads – An Interview With Ayaan Hirsi Ali Conducted By Reverend Canon Frank Sheehan
On Saving Your Breath For Running Ponies – An Interview With Bec Crew For Science Week
On Science At Home – An Interview With Deb Hodgkin
On Miracle Detectives – Interview With Dr Indre Viskontas
Superstitions, Sex and Skepticism
Female Representation At Paranormal Research Conferences - in response to a query about parapsychology conventions, I wrote the following about some of the more traditional aspects and some that might be new in regards to the M/F balance in presenting.
On Women, Paranormal Belief And When Yahoo Answers (Wrong) – ‘Why are men always more skeptical than women?‘ ‘Why do women tend towards “woo”?‘ – after three conferences where I have addressed this question, here’s a summary of some of the research and factors. Part of my dissertation on paranormal beliefs done for my M.Ed.
Women and Superstitions – Part One – The beginning of my ‘literature review online’ regarding sex, gender, superstition, age, current paranormal belief scales and their popularity.
Women and Superstitions – Part Two – Yes, there’s more! Getting into cultural differences, economic and social reasons to be into the weird.
Women and Superstitions – Part Three – Taking the study onto the beliefs of young people and the contribution of sports superstitions and 9/11 conspiracy theories and their popularity. What studies have been done?
Women and Superstitions – Part Four – In a response to a question about culture, I do some research. Includes a LOLcat.
Classic Science Paper: Belief in Fortune Telling Amongst College Students – an investigation into an early paper on paranormal beliefs and superstitions from the 1930s. What has changed since?
Called Lucky? – Looking at the luck factor.
Step To It Science Superstitions (I Don’t Cheerlead In These Shoes) – What exactly does my research involve? And why don’t I find my shoes as important as the stats?
Winter Of Research And Retention, Gender, Sex And Science – I ponder how many of the young women I spoke to as a part of my research will hurdle the barriers of society, social norms, economic disadvantage, geographical isolation and competition to achieve their goals – and what effective strategies exist beyond ‘making science seem cool for girls’.
Girls’ Got What? Competitions, Science Careers and Benefits – an investigation into whether it’s really just brains or really just well-established strategy. It doesn’t SEEM to be about gender, after all…
She’s Already Got Science – Women, Skepticism And The Need For More Research – I question just how much real thinking is going on with skeptical groups and the promises of ‘grassroots activism in skepticism’… when compared to other organizations who claim the same goals…
Why Dragon*Con? – A look at the factors that influence conference attendance for women and encouraging a wider range of approaches when finding an audience.
The Sarah Silverman Of Skepticism – I get comical, historical, psychological, cultural – all in the one post! No, I’m not doing anything on video with Matt Damon, sorry.
Mind The Gap? – Women, sex, gender, science, boys, girls, reading and why reading strategies should be applied to all learners regardless. An offshoot of my Skeptic books for Children sequence.
‘Tis the Season For Superstition – My students and rituals, luck and traditions and the season to get hoping.
Looking Good – Scientifically – I unpack some research on the sex appeal of specs.
This Is All You Got In This Size? – Book reviews of ‘Full Frontal Feminism’, ‘Citizen Girl’, ‘She’s Such a Geek – Women Write about Science, Technology and Other Nerdy Stuff’.
Remembering Science’s Gift – For a Girl – Short appreciative item on what it means for those in developing countries.
Gender Generic Kitty – Why should we bias against kitty wear?
The Changing Face Of Tattoos – A look at how embracing tattoo art has resulted in a change of attitudes towards the subculture – led by mothers! Includes some interesting science homages too.
Hypnotism, Trances And The Supernatural – And Bowie – Some of the science behind the stories and the women behind the legends.
Quirkology, ‘Clicking’ and Dating Lies – Ah, happens in every relationship. Check the science behind it!
A Girl Called Ellie – Reflections on the lack of real-world women scientists in literature these days.
Political Punditry on McCain’s Magical Thinking – What can be said about prevalence of superstitions in particular careers? What is clear is that the answer is universal and even scientists can feel cool in a ‘magic hat’.
More to be added over time!
