Top 4 Myths About Being a Skepchick

4. We get paid to be Skepchicks.
There are many, many benefits to being a Skepchick that I can’t name here: brand recognition, a platform with a built-in audience, a private and public support system of cool people, the opportunity to attend conferences as a speaker even when you’re starting out as a nobody with a big mouth, and so on. We do earn some ad revenue (thanks, Rebecca!) but there is no secret fund from which some sort of Skepchick salary is drawn. This is, for the most part, a labor of love.

3. That we have focused sister sites means that people with those perspectives aren’t represented on Skepchick.
If you look at the top of this page, you’ll see that we have English-language sister sites for all kinds of topics: Grounded Parents, School of DoubtQueereka, Teen Skepchick, Mad Art Lab. There are many of us on Skepchick who are qualified to be on a sister site but who write for the main site rather than the relevant sister site. To name a few examples: I am queer, Will is an educator, Daniela makes jewelry, Jamie is a photographer, Elyse “can’t eat” (her words describing her medical condition), Olivia has a disability and is ace, and Ray knits. Our sites occasionally cross-post with each other in addition to featuring each others’ work. In fact, Dale of Mad Art Lab and I are covering the new Ms. Marvel together.

We also have sister sites in different languages: Spanish, Swedish, and Norwegian, and meta stuff: Events.

2. We select what ads show up on the site.
We get a lot of messages regarding Google ads along the lines of “this ad isn’t very feminist.” While we can and do block all ads from certain domains, we can’t anticipate all the possible ads that might should up with our posts. Additionally, our content isn’t the only factor influencing what ads show up:

Interest-based advertising enables advertisers to reach users based on their interests and demographics (e.g. ‘sports enthusiasts’), and allows them to show ads based on a user’s previous interactions with them, such as visits to advertiser websites.

tl;dr some of that shady stuff that might show up as an ad on Skepchick might be your browsing history’s fault.

1. It’s a hivemind that you can’t leave unless in disgrace.
There have been many awesome Skepchicks over the years, some of whom are still here and some of whom have left in pursuit of other endeavors. This weekend, at Skeptech, I officially announced that I was joining the ranks of Skepchick alumni. You haven’t heard the last of me, though — I’m going to be starting up at Freethought Blogs in the coming weeks. My blog will be called Heinous Dealings and will cover even more of the eclectic ground you’ve come to expect from me. I’ll be selectively cross-posting from there to here until the end of June.

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Top 4 Myths About Being a Skepchick
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17 thoughts on “Top 4 Myths About Being a Skepchick

  1. 1

    Does that mean we have to shun you and never mention your name again? πŸ™‚ Best wishes for your new blog; I’ll try to remember to check it out now and then. Please post a link here when it’s up and running so we’ll remember!

    1. 3.1

      The irony of this bullying comment is not fucking lost on me. Why are you even here if you hate us so much? The internet is vast. Go troll elsewhere.

        1. I think you might be right, upon second reed. In which case, carry on and I apologize. We have had too many actual trolls here lately. I am rather sensitive atm, I admit. πŸ˜‰

      1. So even with an emoticon, it is possible to craft a message that reads as both a teasing compliment and a gloating bit of trolling! Fortunately I think oolon’s bona fides are well and truly established by now (elsewhere he is a reputable blocker of trolls, having written the block bot app for Twitter) and so the reading of this as a teasing compliment is actually the correct one.

        1. I’ve had too many trolls use emoticons as sarcasm!

          I didn’t recognize the username until I thought about it but I’m terrible at username recognition until I interact with them a few times πŸ™‚

  2. 5

    I am somewhat sorry you are leaving but also happy to hear you have something exciting and new planned (also looking forward to hanging out with you soon!)
    Rebecca should make an alumni page, to complement the bio page. Some of my favorite writers (and favorite people!) used to write here.

  3. 8

    Well, Skepchick has ‘skep’ in the name. Maybe that’s where they get the ‘hivemind’ thing from.

    Yeah, I think everyone uses the ‘skeptic money’ claim. It’s popular with alties, in any case.

    Can’t wait to see your FTB blog.

      1. A “skep” is a name for a hive for keeping bees. Back before hives were made of wood they were made of straw (or wicker) and called skeps. That is what Jon Brewer is referring to.

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