Editing Scientific skepticism (section)

=== Skeptical movement ===

With regard to the skeptical social movement, [[Daniel Loxton]] refers to other movements already promoting "humanism, [[atheism]], rationalism, science education and even critical thinking" beforehand.<ref>
{{cite web|last=Loxton|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Loxton|year=2013|title=Why Is There a Skeptical Movement?|url=https://www.skeptic.com/downloads/Why-Is-There-a-Skeptical-Movement.pdf|access-date=18 August 2019|page=31|quote=If other movements already promoted humanism, atheism, rationalism, science education and even critical thinking, what possible need could there be for organizing an additional, new movement—a movement of people called 'skeptics'?}}
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He saw the demand for the new movement—a movement of people called "skeptics"—as based on a lack of interest by the scientific community to address paranormal and fringe-science claims. In line with [[Kendrick Frazier]], he describes the movement as a surrogate in that area for institutional science.<ref>
{{cite web|last=Loxton|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Loxton|year=2013|title=Why Is There a Skeptical Movement?|url=https://www.skeptic.com/downloads/Why-Is-There-a-Skeptical-Movement.pdf|access-date=18 August 2019|page=32|quote=CSICOP{{snd}}and with it the global network of likeminded organizations that CSICOP inspired, such as the JREF and the Skeptics Society—was created with the specific yet ambitious goal of filling a very large gap in scholarship. The skeptical movement sought to bring organized critical focus to the same ancient problem that isolated, outnumbered, independent voices had been struggling to address for centuries: a virtually endless number of unexamined, potentially harmful paranormal or pseudoscientific claims ignored or neglected by mainstream scientists and scholars. [...] '[...] We are in effect a surrogate in that area for institutional science.'}}
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The movement set up a distinct field of study, and provided an organizational structure, while "the long-standing genre of individual skeptical writing" lacked such a community and background.<ref>
{{cite web|last=Loxton|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Loxton|year=2013|title=Why Is There a Skeptical Movement?|url=https://www.skeptic.com/downloads/Why-Is-There-a-Skeptical-Movement.pdf|access-date=18 August 2019|page=29|quote=The difference is between the long-standing genre of individual skeptical writing, and the recognition that this scholarship collectively comprised a distinct field of study.}}
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Skeptical organizations typically tend to have science education and promotion among their goals.<ref>{{cite web|title=About the Swedish Skeptics Association|url=http://www.vof.se/about|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113025227/http://www.vof.se/about/|archive-date=13 November 2016|access-date=14 November 2017|website=Vetenskap och Folkbildning}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web|title=About NYC Skeptics|url=http://nycskeptics.org/about|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115143504/http://nycskeptics.org/about|archive-date=15 November 2017|access-date=14 November 2017|website=NYC Skeptics}}
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The skeptical movement has had issues with allegations of sexism. [[Mary Coulman]] identified a disparity between women and men in the movement in a 1985 skeptic newsletter.<ref name=Hess/>{{rp|112}} The skeptic movement has generally been made up of men; at a 1987 conference the members there discussed the fact that the attendees were predominantly older white men and a 1991 listing of 50 CSICOP fellows included four women.<ref name=Hess>{{Cite book|title= Science in the New Age: The Paranormal, Its Defenders and Debunkers, and American Culture|last=Hess|first=David J.|year=1993|publisher= Univ of Wisconsin Press|isbn=978-0299138202|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|109}} Following a 2011 conference, [[Rebecca Watson]], a prominent skeptic,<ref name=Rinallo2013>{{Cite book|title=Consumption and Spirituality|last1= Rinallo|first1= Diego|last2= Scott|first2= Linda M.|last3=Maclaran|first3=Pauline|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415889117|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|57}} raised issues of the way female skeptics are targeted with [[Cybercrime#Harassment|online harassment]] including threats of sexual violence by opponents of the movement, and also raised issues of sexism within the movement itself. While she received some support in response to her discussion of sexism within the movement, she later became a target of virulent online harassment, even from fellow skeptics, after posting an online video that discussed her discomfort with being propositioned in a confined space. This became known as "[[Elevatorgate]]", based on Watson's discussion about being propositioned in a hotel elevator in the early morning after a skeptic event.<ref>{{cite news|last1= Watson|first1=Rebecca| authorlink = Rebecca Watson | title=It Stands to Reason, Skeptics Can Be Sexist Too|url= http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/10/sexism_in_the_skeptic_community_i_spoke_out_then_came_the_rape_threats.html|work=Slate|date=24 October 2012|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160424094011/http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2012/10/sexism_in_the_skeptic_community_i_spoke_out_then_came_the_rape_threats.html|archive-date=24 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Reading the Comments: Likers, Haters, and Manipulators at the Bottom of the Web|last=Reagle|first=Joseph M.|pages=114–117|year=2015|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0262028936|language=en}}</ref><ref>
De Waal, Mandy De (September 2, 2011) [http://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-02-dawkins-watson-and-the-elevator-ride/ "Dawkins, Watson and the elevator ride"] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110908060753/http://mg.co.za/article/2011-09-02-dawkins-watson-and-the-elevator-ride |date=September 8, 2011 }} ''[[Mail & Guardian]]''</ref>