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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Something funny that a male friend said to me.

15 replies

FeministPixie · 18/05/2012 00:38

"the easiest way to explain to a guy male/white privilege who does not get it is to say that White Straight Male is like playing a computer game on the easiest difficulty"

I LOL'd

OP posts:
thechairmanmeow · 18/05/2012 08:52

but the settings would have to take into account social status, wether you had the benifit of two loveing perents or not, where you sent to school, where you live ETC

'white middle class feminist' with all their privilege would be a fairly easy setting.

messyisthenewtidy · 18/05/2012 09:06

"white middle class feminist" ???!!! You're having a laugh aren't you? The fact that that phrase is NEVER used as a compliment but nearly always as an insult is proof of how wrong you are!!

The privilege I have may come from being white and lower middle class but being a feminist is a pain in the arse. I would much rather I couldn't see the inequality around me and just convince myself it wasn't there. Being a feminist sucks because of all the assumptions people make about you, and it's not something that you can easily own up to in public.

thechairmanmeow · 18/05/2012 11:28

i have never thought the word feminist was any sort of insult, i wonder why you would think it was?

as for life being easier not seeing the injustice around you, well, thats 'blissful ignorance' isnt it?

UnnamedFemaleProtagonist · 18/05/2012 11:29

Confused. I don't get this at all. I am revising so my brain is full. But still.

samandi · 18/05/2012 12:31

'white middle class feminist' with all their privilege would be a fairly easy setting.

Really, why is that?

BasilEatsFoulEggs · 18/05/2012 12:50

White middle class feminist is actually a more difficult setting than White Middle Class Handmaiden or White Middle Class Man, ChairmanMeow.

HTH.

BasilEatsFoulEggs · 18/05/2012 12:51

White middle class man, is a much easier setting than white middle class woman, whether she be handmaiden, feminist, or in the middle.

SeaHouses · 18/05/2012 13:25

White middle class feminists can be either male or female, chairman.

thechairmanmeow · 18/05/2012 20:06

haha seahouses, well i agree with you, but you may find there are a few people here who dont!

Pan · 18/05/2012 20:28

Well, to point out the bleeding obvious...life isn't a computer game.Hmm. Humans have waaay to many variables (as society has) to reduce it to a digital yes-or-no.

it sounds like a sort of glib male analysis of society, determined by the over-simplistic view of stuff they have themselves. But what do I know?

Pan · 18/05/2012 20:30

is your friend gay by any chance?

Beebacksoon · 18/05/2012 20:35

White, middle-class anything is a pretty comfy level.

We're all this together, now can you get on with cleaning my house please?

kim147 · 18/05/2012 21:24

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bumpkinbillionaire · 18/05/2012 21:27

its from this

CatitaInaHatita · 18/05/2012 21:54

Thanks Bumpkin, I was about to make that observation. The piece also EXPRESSLY and CLEARLY includes a discussion about the variables (or points) awarded to players for class, race and gender.

When the author said that "white straight male" was the easiest setting he was trying to show that this was the easiest starting point before any other variable was added. He was not denying that a white middle class women could have an easier "setting" than a black lower class man, for example. He was trying to explain the concept of privilege and how it works. Because, privilege works in concentric circles in a way, so that you black lower class man generally has privilege over a black lower class woman for reasons of his sex, and over an black immigrant if he himself is a native of the country he lives in, or a black lower class native man who is homosexual or who has a disability, if he is straight and able bodied.. I could go on, but I think I have made my point.

The only thing that I think, as a feminist, I would want to emphasise is that in all comparisons of privilege, the being male bit is nearly always a bonus. Even amongst people who have the least privilege in our society, it is practically always the case that a man and a woman in the exact same circumstances of race, class, sexuality and able ness the one who will be worse off is the women. This is why feminism is important despite the fact that discrimination is not limited to gender.

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