Privilege 101

[annwyd]

This guide may seem directed mostly at fandom in some places, because that's how it started. But I'd like to think it could be useful for everybody.One of the things that becomes clear if you spend enough time around the internet is that there are people who are versed in anti-oppression discourse and people who are not. To the latter category of

Comments

[lilairen]

One thing that I think is useful to think of is that some of the stuff that gets pointed at as "privilege" can be thought of as "being treated decently as a human being". The connotations of the word are of sooper-sekrit private club stuff, but it's the club that everyone oughta be in.

[annwyd]

That's a good point. Some of it is "a privilege" that should be taken away to even things out--like men having easier "access" to sex because of fucked-up ideas about consent (although unscrupulous women can exploit some ideas too..."men can't be raped by women because they'll always want it" being one)--but a lot of it is just being thought of as a person. Which everyone should be able to have.

[annwyd]

I'm glad it was useful to you.

[annwyd]

I started it after some stuff on an anon meme, finished it after some conversations a friend had been having lately.

It seems like a lot of the advice should be so very obvious, but it...isn't? Like, you'd think people would know better than to throw slurs around in a public forum and call people who get upset oversensitive. But no.

To be fair, there are black guys on the internet who can act like douchebags too! And white women. And--well, just about anybody who frequents 4chan is going to act like a douchebag, regardless of sex or color.

"Smack them with a big ol' reality steak" is my new favorite phrase.

someone said reality?

[autophanous]

[moebot]

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT POST. In fact, I can't even think of anything to add or discuss because it's pretty much... all... covered.

[annwyd]

Thanks. :D

[chibidl]

Ummm. This is a good article, but I think it might help you to have a better idea about your audience. The people who would be most likely to actually read it and get anything from it are indeed those who are not well-versed in discussion about oppression and minorities, but they would not be bigoted douchebags. It is possible to be in one category and not the other, and anyone who actually reads this article and learns something would necessarily not be in the latter category because they are at least somewhat open to different ways of thinking and willing, at least in an enlightened self-interest sort of way, to respect those who are different and/or disagree with them

[annwyd]

I agree that I worded the bit about black people and athletics poorly; I should have included something about the reduction of black people to physical traits rather than simply jumped straight to the "animalistic" stereotype (which definitely exists).

The rest is, um. #3? Don't get defensive? I pretty much said that we all can be douchebags sometimes, and a lot of the time when we're panicking about being thought of as racist/sexist/whatever, all we need to do is be less of a douchebag in general. Or just, you know, be more courteous and polite, which was what I actually said. It's something everyone can remember, and I admitted it. Personally, I think everyone is part of the problem and potentially part of the solution. Oppressive thinking is ingrained in society, but the potential to do better is ingrained in humanity, and I like to assume that the people I'm talking to have it

[chibidl]

The issue here is one of perspective: You see a good article with some flaws, and I see a lot of flaws and oversimplification with a good idea behind it. Yet we both seem to agree on the fact that there are flaws and good ideas here