Check Your Privilege - A Commentary on the Opinion of My Peer

Check your privilege.

This phrase came to mind today.

I was participating in a group discussion about a story in which the gender of a child is ambiguous, and the child faces a difficult life. So as it might be natural to come up in discussion, we were discussing what the gender of the child might be, and one male decided to offer that he “think[s] the child is a male because life as a male is harder.”

Stop. Stop where you are. NO.

Perhaps when I was younger I thought these statements were true as well. But then I grew up and made certain that I grew a social education as well. So, am I saying that he needs to grow up? Sure, that could be part of it. The main question I have, though, is whether or not he is aware of how blatantly wrong and borderline offensive of a statement that is.

“Privilege – noun; a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most.” (dictionary.com)

Perhaps he isn’t to blame for his opinions. I mean, of course, he is partly to blame, as others have found ways to educate themselves on such matters. Yet, sexism is so structurally integrated into our society. Is this right? Far, far from it. Is this real? Yes. Is this a real problem? Yes. Is this problem fixable? Yes. Is there any attempt to fix this problem? Yes. Is it enough? No.

Why do we fight battles against our own kind? I don’t mean the general denotation of wars, that’s another argument entirely. Why do we wage war against our everyday equals? Well, our innate equals. In terms of societal position, they should be, but they aren’t. I am a man. I am a feminist. I can make a change. It will not be enough, but that is no excuse not to try.

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This is a journal article I wrote after one of my classes one day reflecting on how infuriated I was at the response of my peer. Dated 2015-11-06.

I welcome any feedback and would be happy to discuss any of the ideas contained above. For those wondering, the story being discussed was "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" by Ursula Le Guin.