I didnt save the links, Im sure someone else can find them and post them. Apparently, some fellow posted a rant listing various aspects of female privilege. This was answered by an equally (and justifiable) angry rant from a woman listing some of the things that occur with male privilege. The list of the way that male privilege hurts women was far more devastating than the mans list about female privilege. If anything, its evidence of the moral superiority of women -- because women have not been strangling male babies at birth. There are bubbles of privilege -- straight white male Christian privilege is visible to anyone who is not wearing a straight white Christian penis. Yes, some straight white men are aware of the bubble of privilege, but when youre inside the bubble you just do not have the same perspective. But ... suppose -- and this is a thought experiment, not an assertion -- if we could erase the bubble of straight white male privilege overnight, if we could eliminate it completely and then look at what is left, what would we see that has been hitherto hidden? Would we see that various minorities, subcultures, ethnicities, etc. grant themselves privilege within their communities? Would we see places where women experience a privilege that men do not? Maybe this one, but maybe not. A woman can wear mens clothing, jeans, shirts, hats, and be considered smart and stylish. If a man wears a skirt, both men and women will think twice about his appearance. But even that example can be ascribed to male privilege, because much of male privilege is about dehumanizing women -- and a man who cross-dresses is sacrificing some of his masculinity, ie. privilege. Maybe this one -- a woman can gush over another persons infant or child. If a man does it, its creepy. Men are immediately suspect. Why would a man do a womanly thing if he didnt have some kind of perverse agenda? I dont know that there is such a thing as female privilege -- as I said, its a thought experiment -- but if there is, then its certainly swamped by the overwhelming cultural tsunami of male privilege. I wonder if instead of contextualizing the conversation that it is all about the terrible things that our male-dominated culture does to women, (which also creates counter-conversations about the things that women do to men) it might not be better to ask if our male-dominated culture is doing terrible things to both men AND women. It isnt just that patriarchy defines a womans place in society -- it also rigidly defines a mans place as well, forcing many men to shut down their abilities to be open, giving, and vulnerable. It makes it harder to create authentic relationships. The LGB and Transgender communities are one place where gender and identity roles get shattered and redefined -- which is one of the reasons why those who are heavily invested in the patriarchy feel threatened. It represents a loss of authority. It represents the possibility of a gender-fluid society where male privilege gets deconstructed and dismantled.
Posted on: Mon, 05 May 2014 02:42:17 +0000
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