People created religion and sexism racism and people being mean and doing unspeakable things to each other is what some do.I don't think religion created anything...it was manufactured by us.

Sexism exists in society, with or without religion.

Atheism is not a thing, so Sexism does not exist in it.
Sexism exists in the overarching society.
Atheists also exist in the overarching society.
Apparently the groups overlap.

The sexist concepts propagated by religion don't just stem from religion, but also from social norms going back thousands of years.
Until quite recently there were laws on how savagely you were allowed to beat your wife.
Women are STILL bought and sold in this nation, illegally, but it happens.

That is not all religion, nor a single religion or religious sect, but many sexist influences mixed into a heady social brew we all are weened on.
So if someone manages to reason themselves out of religious thought, it does not imply they are not still drunk with the brew of sexism.

Atheists don't exist in a vacuum but in a patriarchy which is misogynistic and sexist. Whenever there is a power imbalance there will be people who will seize upon that opportunity to garner power for themselves regardless of the morality of their actions. Believing or not believing in a god is besides the point.

Because as much as it pains me to say, religion is right, humans are flawed and do bad things. People will always make mistakes and some will have bad habits/ideas/whatever. No one is immune.

Basically, social inertia.

How many centuries do we have behind us where women were relegated to the background? It's not going to change overnight. I am NOT saying this means it's ok for now, it's not. I am saying that it will take some time, and some more struggle, before we get it right AND before our instincts, our natural reactions, are where they should be.

Thoughts of my readings on the Scandinavian countries are bubbling up. There is some mention of women being frustrated because the men are the opposite of aggressive when it comes to pursuing them. The women are having to take the lead. Eventually, this will be ironed out and when we are interested in another, we'll be able to just mention it and move forward according to our mutual interest. THIS is the sort of bubble I am talking about. We are changing things and our cultural norms have to catch up, along with how WE act and react within them.

We'll get there. Maybe not next week, but soon.

Because those with power, white Christian men will not surrender 1angstrom of it. Power must be taken and women are clearly capable of carpe diem

All atheism is, is the disbelief in a god. It is possible to be an atheist and a sexist as they are not mutually exclusive. I would say that there are many sociological factors from the day we are born that shape the way we view the opposite of sex. I would say most people are sexist in some way (probably even me, sadly) but not in a hate filled way, just an ignorant way. I think major changes have happened for the better, however, I do think it is an undeniable fact that society is bias against women, and therefore major changes need to continue to happen

“Men don’t have to be giant emotionless balls... ...of testosterone...” nor do women have to be giant emotional balls of estrogen. It’s just kinda how most of the world is. Nobody has to be anything, but if someone wants to, you (not necessarily YOU, just using the word) shouldn’t try to stop them for the sake of “equality.” Its unusual that you used the terms “meek and helpless.” I’m not sure anyone is perpetuating that stereotype anymore. Its not a common idea. Yes, men are physically stronger on average but I don’t think many go around touting that. Ill say this: the cards aren’t stacked against women anymore. There are plenty of societal encouragements for women to be strong and aggressive leaders and yet they don’t. If anything, a lack of religion should demonstrate that it’s not a religion based concept but maybe women don’t want to go into these male-dominated careers out of a lack of desire. Is “equality” so important that it has to be enforced? If people have a predisposition towards certain fields (which they do) then why make a big deal out of it? Not sure why I turned that into an employment comment but it did lol

Do women prefer strong men or weak men?

I've never understood it. To me, all people are people. As for Leaders, I feel women are much more fit to lead than men.

I will assume that most of you have not read Merlin Stone's book When God Was a Woman. I think it should be required reading in high school. I would love to talk about the major premise of this book with people who have read it.

Is it sexism because many or most women still enjoy having their door opened and the heavy bag carried. I'm not going to try to answer that. I'm going to continue to enjoy doing that and striving to be their equal. Add in liberal doses of respect, sharing and caring and it's a wonderful world we all live in.

Atheism is just the lack of a belief in a god. Nothing else.

I definitely don’t find women who act like men attractive. I’m not attracted to male characteristics. I’m a straight man.

Sorry, is that still a thing?

Atheism doesn't inoculate one against stupidity
.

There are always going to be some who subscribe to something for no other reason than it benefits them.

It's called cultural indoctrination and it is faulty. Real men love real women who are strong and equal.

Geeze.... i don't see this in my friends. I know its out there. Just not in my neck of the woods. Or in my jobs. I stood next to females that knew what they were doing. Like starting up equipment and looking for problems. Tearing down equipment and rebuilding it to spec. That includes the machine of parts. I think its ashame that females are listed as weak. Ive never met this in females that i dated or married. If anything i helped them with thier courage to expand the horizon. My second wife. I bought her a Harley. Thats after i helped her understand how to drive a motorcycle. My third wife just learned how to drive my diesel truck. Its over 30 foot long. We learn and we teach. Thats my motto.

It should be noted for the purposes of this discussion that there is a big difference between what goes on in the bedroom and what goes on in the boardroom.

Women still fantasize about being swept away by muscle bound beefcakes who ride in on white stallions. If this weren't the case, romance novels wouldn't be, far and away, the most lucrative selling genre on the planet.

Men, on the other hand, still fantasize about being that muscle bound beefcake who rides in on a white stallion. Watch any male centric hollywood action film sometime and you can virtually guarentee that there will be some sort of lame romance sub plot tacked on where the hero rescues a damsel in distress.

The truth is, when it comes to what goes on in the bedroom, we're all basically still apes.

Fortunately, in developed countries, this dychotomy no longer bleeds over quite as much in to the work force. If it did, we'd still be using mules to plow the fields and throwing our shit out of our windows in to troughs in the streets.

It is entirely possible for women in developed nations to hold positions of authority and prominent responsibility these days, although we still need to close that stupid, ever present wage gap.

I think sexism/misogyny pre-dates religion, tho I believe religion, in most cases, exacerbated it. Unfortunately, atheism does not confer 'sainthood', or even common sense in other matters. It is not even directly linked to Humanism, tho most Humanists do seem to be atheists. Atheism is but one particular outlook, the disbelief in a god or gods. No other traits, positive or negative necessarily come along with that.

The men have to be manly men I believe it’s because men of my generation had it beaten in to us. And it is still beaten into some of the younger generations. I still have problems crying in front of people I didn’t cry for 3 week while I was in West Virginia while my dad passed away and during his funeral. It wasn’t until I got back home in Florida my ex wife had gotten my son and I was alone in the house was I able to let my self greave and finally cry for my dad. And as far as atheist men being sexist just because you don’t believe in god doesn’t mean you’re not a asshole. Heck religion was invented to control people and mostly women. I believe it is in men’s DNA want to control their wife or girlfriend. Goes back to primitive time we want control of the weman around us to spread our seed. It takes enlightenment to get past that. That’s just my theory anyway. Based upon what I have observed in life.

I think religion is used to enhance sexism. I don't think religion created sexism.

And people are jerks. White people, black people, brown people, Republicans, Democrats, fans of the Cubs, fans of the Dodgers, Jews, Catholics, Baptists, Hindus, pagans and on and on.

People don't need much of an excuse to want to fall into an -ism.

Is kind of curious myself. Sexism seem alive and well in other society as well. Religion might not be the reason, it just might tap sexism as a recruiting tool. You see sexism in science as well. Rosalind Franklin is probably one of the most famous cases.