"Atheism and Sexuality" Greta Christina Skepticon 3

[MegaFloyd100]

for sale- 1 used bulldyke,would complete any collection,perfect caricature of the breed,complete with tats & short hair,comfortable shoes,& public funded job.

[ThePearlJewel]

Pathetic!!!

[ABitOfTheUniverse]

@ThePearlJewel Why you mad, bro? Religion got you down?

[dancingnancy09]

@ThePearlJewel yes you are

[DickieWatts]

im amused that there's a catholic dating advert in the top right xD

[MYPOSTINGCAREERcom]

I'll bet there are a couple of closeted gay guys drooling over this harpy

[hoaxygen]

@MYPOSTINGCAREERcom Not closeted, but I do have the hots for Greta. Amazing speaker!

[MYPOSTINGCAREERcom]

@hoaxygen gay and doesn't know it

[hoaxygen]

@MYPOSTINGCAREERcom Make us all a favor and die in a fire.

[MYPOSTINGCAREERcom]

@hoaxygen look at this nerd cry ahahahaha

[MYPOSTINGCAREERcom]

nice thinning hairline, babe

[MYPOSTINGCAREERcom]

holy jesus this ugly old bag is talking about sex I just set fire to my monitor

[hoaxygen]

@MYPOSTINGCAREERcom You can't properly make a response, so you must personally attack the speaker's appearance. Pathetic.

[MYPOSTINGCAREERcom]

@hoaxygen what response, she's an old, used up hag who is talking about sex, do you have a personal reason for being mad that I noticed

[rdvqc]

@MYPOSTINGCAREERcom I don't know how old you are but you will find she does not look to be old, used up or a hag to me and I like to think I have some miles ahead.

[MoriyaMug]

I like broccoli... with cheese. I'M SO EVIL! *weeps*

[jssherrard]

"Chocolate souffle with salted caramel sauce..."

Possibly the sexiest words ever spoken!

Greta Christina is one of my favorite atheist speakers and I absolutely love this particular presentation. WIN indeed!

[RedSkyNord]

"This tickles me pink to be here."

[sailorcozmoz]

I just about shit a brick when she said "adult diaper play"

t=26m18s

lmfao

[palerider1775]

I find the belief that sex is about reproduction to be a sex-negative one, aside from being incorrect.

Anyone that knows much about the sexual behavior of bonobos (our closest great ape cousins, along with the chimps) will tell you that sex isn't just about reproduction, not even when looked at in strictly evolutionary ways.

[MoriyaMug]

@palerider1775 That's more of a cultural thing than evolutionary. The ultimate purpose of sex is procreation. That's not to say that we shouldn't be free to pursue our desires (so long as we're not hurting anyone), but biologically, sex has a very specific purpose, and all our other instincts are ultimately in service to that purpose.

[palerider1775]

@MoriyaMug I would agree if I didn't know of bonobos. Bonobos have sex all of the time, even when conception isn't possible, and for many different reasons, mainly for the sake of group cohesion, & to relieve stress. Sex is bisexual, and the only combination that hasn't been observed is mother with son. Also, most of the sex they have does not go on to the point of ejaculation.

So, the statement "the ultimate purpose of sex is reproduction" is fallacious. Ever seen a gay man get knocked up?...

[MoriyaMug]

@palerider1775 You're being very anthrocentric (sp?), though. Bonobos are a fine example of why homosexuality isn't the unnatural thing that most theists would paint it to be, but its occurrence in other species isn't evidence of anything other than that it occurs in other species. Bonobos are not monogamous by nature, as opposed to human serial monogamy. Their culture is built up around "free love," whereas ours has not. A strictly homosexual creature is a genetic dead end. cont.

[MoriyaMug]

@palerider1775 The impulse to have kids by other means is cultural. Someone like me, who consciously decided not to have kids, is the same way. In the grand scheme of things, sexual reproduction has the upper hand. By weight of sheer numbers, homosexuality barely even registers.

I absolutely support gay rights, marriage equality, etc. But just as opponents calling it "unnatural" is fallacious, using bonobos as counter-evidence is short-sighted confirmation bias.

[palerider1775]

@MoriyaMug I'll save (most of) my breath and say "Just watch this" /watch?v=m9v5DuZPOCw

He doesn't quite mention any actual numbers in the video for humans, but do you know what the average number of sex had to children produced is?

Like, maybe I didn't imply it heavily enough, but us humans are also having an incredible amount of sex in which reproduction is impossible.

Also, I don't get why you're pulling "strictly homosexual" into this. It has nothing to do with what I'm talking about...

[palerider1775]

@MoriyaMug (And I'm incredibly reluctant in going after your misguided belief that humans are [serial] monogamists, because most people are too attached to the idea. I mean, the whole idea is pretty incongruent on its own, but when you start to look at the evidence, you learn it is just not true. Monogamy is culturally imposed behavior. It's why we SUCK AT IT, and thus, why some [like you?] believe that humans are "serial" monogamists. Look it into, please...)

[MoriyaMug]

@palerider1775 Humans have largely insulated themselves from evolutionary pressures, which is why many purely instinctual behaviors are so influenced by sociological ones. When I say serial monogamy, the instinct is to find a mate, bond, birth a child, stay (roughly) until the offspring is weaned, and then the male to move on to repeat the pattern. Vasopressin and dopamine levels drop, which is precisely why we "suck at it." (continued again)

[MoriyaMug]

@palerider1775 The tendency toward monogamy is biological, just like every other aspect of behavior in any species. We have sex for pleasure because our brains are powerful enough to recognize that it feels good, beyond the atavistic impulse to propagate our genes.

[MoriyaMug]

@palerider1775 Perhaps I should say "societal," rather than "cultural."

[SpEcImEn128]

I find it easy to masturbate to.

[yoruichisempai]

@SpEcImEn128 xD

[fallencrescent]

@garbledstoic There are plenty of forums where people debate and with opposing views to atheism. Those are great too. It's okay to spend some time sharing view points with like-minded people as well. This is a skeptics conference & she is discussing framing morality & sex in a skeptical way. Seems to fit the forum perfectly to me. She also pointed out there are religions accepting of different forms of sex not just atheists. But non-skeptically creating arbitrary rules for sex creates problems.

[AtheismKills]

Elevator Guy should have hit on this lady instead of Rebecca Watson. I'll bet Greta wouldn't have said no to coffee! ;)

[fallencrescent]

@AtheismKills har har. You might be interested in Greta Christina's very well written blog post on "elevatorgate" it if you're interested in her view. I know you're just making a joke but it's a frustrating one to read. I share a lot of Greta's views and love sex but would likely have been annoyed and said no to EG's approach. Sex positive doesn't have to mean wanting sex any time with anyone and being okay with being approached any time and any way by everyone.

[garbledstoic]

I keep on asking myself what the purpose of atheist conventions are? I would not want to attend an I-don't-play-poker convention, would you? What my disbelief has to do with feminism or sexuality is just beyond me, and logically, it is a fallacy to make such a connection. So while I like tattoo lady and may even agree with what she says, I find such connections to be annoying. They may be atheists, but they don't represent me.

[imshooshy]

@garbledstoic Weirdly, I'm responding to your post on Youtube.

I have been to Skepticon. The FUN of it is the listen to like-minded people and to simply learn more.

The many speakers of Skepticon cover many issues. Greta Christina talks about sexuality.

PZ Myers is amazing, Joe Nichols, Dan Barker, Richard Carrier...many other GREAT quality speakers.

[garbledstoic]

@imshooshy So is dressing up like Klingons and talking an invented language. That's FUN too, as long as one realizes that it is dress up. Tattoo lady has a lot to say, but little of it has anything to do with atheism. And there is the rub. I reject the treatment of atheism as a "brand" that can be used to market or legitimize by association other pet theories that are otherwise unrelated to it. Now, as it turns out, there is much that tatoo lady says that I can agree with, but not all.

[garbledstoic]

@garbledstoic Now, let's talk about tatoo lady's premise: religion has framed the "argument about sex" negatively. Not entirely a surprise to anyone. Also, not entirely true. As an atheist, how can I say that? Well, am I expected to believe that all of the men and women who voted to promote LBGT rights are atheists? That cannot be true, simply because the numbers would not add up. The fact is, I know of many lesbian ministers and rabbis. I met a gay evangelical minister on a flight to Nevada.

[garbledstoic]

@garbledstoic It was secular democracy and liberalism, and not atheism in or of itself, that has operationally brought about the social changes and freedoms that we know and love today in the West. It would be better if these conferences were not just a collection of the like-minded, but were instead a serious debate engaged with the opposing views. It is in that dialog that liberalism rises from the slagheap of dogma. Disagree? Try "Atheism and Sudoku, a guide to wasting time," in room B.

[saitamme]

this is awesome, thought provoking and funny.

[paularenas26]

You could ask God for eternal forgiveness through applying the death and resurrection of Jesus to your life within the quietness of your bedroom tonight. This is the most important decision that you will ever make. “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. - Romans 10:9-10

[fileboy2002]

I'm not skeptical of polyamory because I won't listen to the polyamorous; I am skeptical of polyamory because I've seen polyamorous relationships fail over and over for the same reason: jealousy. People who enter polyamorous relationships think that because they've accepted polyamory on an intellectual level, they handle it emotionally. That's rarely the case.

[MegaCoxRox]

@fileboy2002 Your personal indirect experience with a subject does not count for actual data on that subject, nor does it supersede the conflicting personal experiences of other people.

Have the humility to realize that knowing one polyamorous relationship, knowing three, even knowing 100 or 1000 does not give you expertise on the subject. And don't use your superficial impression as a reason to insult and belittle the relationships of countless people you've never even met.

[fileboy2002]

@MegaCoxRox Had I praised polyamory to the skies, I suspect you would not be demanding "actual data." Nor, I suspect, would you be accusing me of insulting or belittling anyone. I DID NO SUCH THING! Your hostile, defensive response speaks volumes. Obviously, I hit a nerve. I rest my case.

[fileboy2002]

I'm not skeptical of polyamory because I won't listen to the polyamorous; I am skeptical of polyamory because I've seen polyamorous relationships fail over and over for the same reason: jealousy. People who enter polyamorous relationships think that because they've accepted polyamory on an intellectual level, they handle it emotionally. That's rarely the case.

[LaymanScholar]

Wow what an excellent video, thank you for uploading this.

[Hymeteron]

That was GREAT!

[michalchik]

Only wicked people hate broccoli. :-P

[Roaddogg666]

Great talk!

[GHortaV]

Does anyone know Greta's twitter handle?

[toadslick]

I've always enjoyed Greta's blog, but I had no idea that she was such an excellent public speaker.

This is by far one of the best-spoken talks from S3.

[mimmom]

I LOVE the Broccoli test!

[TLCTugger]

Beautifully shared gift of insight. 

[sachibbsr]

My DNA can go suck an egg!

Wonderful ...

[nahneenkula]

so good!

[sitemountain]

'Sex is only dirty if you are doing it properly' - Woody Allen

[TomMSTie1138]

@sitemountain "Sex and death, two things that come once in a lifetime." --Woody Allen

[MYPOSTINGCAREERcom]

@sitemountain lol leave it to a clueless nerd to quote a Jew who was accused of molesting his children and who married his teenage stepdaughter...yeah you might want to revisit that decision, faggot

[thruthem]

I could be wrong but wasn't religion invented to enhance sex by making it forbidden.

[danitiwa]

"Sex is dirty, and bad and you should save it for the person you love."

[CurtHowland]

"We must be willing to change our minds when evidence comes up which contradicts it."

Wait, I thought she was discussing human nature? If there is one overwhelming common trait amongst humans, it's the ability to ignore contradictory evidence.

Just look at "mainstream" economics!

[TheCodedAtheist]

One of the best atheist bloggers out there!

[SupermarketsRevil]

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