ActivismFeminism

Smash the Patriarchy – A Painting Nine Years in the Making

Maybe women make better skeptics.

This was originally posted on my Patreon. Please consider pledging $1 to me there to help me keep making art. Or, if you are a billionaire, please pledge approximately 1 million dollars. I appreciate the support.

Below, is a big 3 foot by 4 foot acrylic on canvas painting that I started in 2010. I finished it yesterday.

Originally, this painting was meant to celebrate a leader in the Skeptic Movement™.  But as the years went by I learned that the men leading that community were not at all interested in the women as humans. They were happy to have us around to spend money, or in my case be a fundraiser for their orgs, but beyond that, we were barely recognized. In worse cases, the women were treated as objects and barely noticed for anything other than their looks.

a painting of a man with a crown that says smash the patriarchy
Smash The Patriarchy Painting by Amy Davis Roth used with permission.

It’s a typical tale that is told in almost every community. The women are objectified, the men are celebrated for their intellects and their experiences. The recent arrest of Jeffrey Epstein has reminded me of these facts. You see, there are some high profile men in the sciences and in the skeptic community who were friends with Epstein when he was first charged with raping children and ultimately convicted of soliciting sex from a minor. When we mentioned that behavior like that was horrible and a symptom of the larger problem in our society some of these men rushed to his defense completely ignoring the victims and the cost that all women pay when powerful men who abuse women are protected by others. Women are considered lesser than. Women are second to men. And even in a community that literally prides itself upon using science to come to rational conclusions, still oppression and subjugation of women and minoritized groups runs rampant. The cognitive dissonance and desire to maintain power outweighs the logic every time. The women were ignored (or in the cases where women spoke up, they were stalked, harassed and threatened) and the men continued on to successful and affluent careers.

You see, Epstein was a billionaire donor. He gave money to a lot of male scientists. You can go to his org’s website to see a list of the scientists he donated to. I’m not linking to it cuz fuck him. You can also read my post here about the latest arrest and current charges Epstein is facing. Hopefully, he will finally face justice but like a good skeptic, I remain doubtful.

Cool painting though right! It took 9 years to complete. Some things just need to come into their time.

Amy Roth

Amy Davis Roth (aka Surly Amy) is a multimedia, science-loving artist who resides in Los Angeles, California. She makes Surly-Ramics and is currently in love with pottery. Daily maker of art and leader of Mad Art Lab. Support her on Patreon. Tip Jar is here.

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