Hi Zainab,

Thank you for your comments on my article on women in Freemasonry.

I’m sorry that the respondent to your comments to UGLE was impolite. You write in your comments below: “I had the same question.” I don’t understand what your question was.

I have not seen the documentary on Netflix about Freemasonry, but I have seen many other programs on the History channel and the likes about Freemasonry. Sometimes they get it right, other times they demonstrate misunderstanding of the body.

With respect to secrecy, that is another misunderstanding about Freemasonry. I write about it more extensively the following article: https://medium.com/@jaykrasnow/freemasonry-the-not-so-secret-secret-society-986da077ab96

As far as Freemasons being “quite expressive” of their masonic identity, it depends on the person. Some people don’t wish to be known as Freemasons, including Catholics. I write about Freemasonry and the Catholic Church in the following article: https://medium.com/@jaykrasnow/is-freemasonry-anti-catholic-541be949e542

Also, Freemasonry is a global organization, and in some countries Freemasonry is considered a crime punishable by death. So you can understand why some Freemasons might want to keep their membership in the society and the associate practices low-key. Which is another area that documentaries about Freemasonry get wrong.

Best,

Jay