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Gender as a Social Class

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adifferentname
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07 Aug 2015, 4:30 am

kamiyu910 wrote:
adifferentname wrote:
kamiyu910 wrote:
Someone recently posted a Buzzfeed "Privilege Checklist" and so I figured what the heck and did it, and got a 39/100. Some of the people I know got upwards of 55. My best friend got a 12. Yet, he's been considered privileged (online only) because he's male and married to a woman. It's fascinating to me how people perceive privilege. In Adelanto, someone with a car is considered privileged. With A/C? Whoa.

Somewhere like Beverly hills, if you drive a slightly older Honda, you're very underprivileged. It feels like there are layers of privilege. You have the privilege of your area, the privilege of the state, the country, and then the world.


Do you happen to have a link to that? I would be interested in seeing how they've presented it.


It's right here. I feel like it's supposed to be targeting a specific group, based on the questions involved. I still only got a 39, which it claims is underprivileged. I was expecting something more, but maybe I just have a brighter view of my life than I thought? :?

Buzzfeed: How privileged are you?


Thanks for this. Apparently I'm a 21, though I went through it pretty quickly so there's probably some variance. If anything, this only highlights how ridiculous some of the factors included are - though I'm hardly a pampered oligarch.

Reading the comments section reveals a bit of confirmation bias and little else. It seems to me that you are exactly as 'privileged' as you feel you are.



glebel
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08 Aug 2015, 11:45 am

adifferentname wrote:
MindBlind wrote:
Wait, nobody is saying that being white means you can never face misfortune in your life or that you don't experience socio-economic problems. I agree - we're all individuals.


You haven't looked very hard if you believe nobody is saying that.

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What I'm saying is that white people in most western countries do not experience institutionalized racism, regardless of our situation.


There are so many things wrong with this statement that I'm not sure where to start. I can think of hundreds of examples of socially acceptable racism towards white people within my country alone. Casual racist epithets aimed at Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French, etc people are still expressed in popular media in the UK.

Additionally, if one is of the opinion that there is institutionalised racism against non-white people, white people too are being made victims of an innacurate stereotypical standard that you are establishing as the 'default' and to which you ascribe a measure of blame.

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In many ways, we benefit from racism (or at the very least we aren't the target of it).


I'm interested to hear how I benefit from racism. Please explain it to me.

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Many feminists will say that men's issues are a form of social collateral damage caused by patriarchy, but white people don't experience collateral damage from white privilege.


Define patriarchy. Define white privilege.

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If we even suggest this notion to most non white folk, they'd laugh at you.


That sounds rather racist to me.

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My point is that men's issues are caused by gender expectations that are pushed onto both genders and that gender is not treated as a social class.


The form of issue you describe is only applicable if you choose to aspire to these undefined expectations. The chains people choose for themselves are nobody's problem but their own.

Being an American with French Canadian roots, I can tell you that there is ethnic stereotyping and bias amongst "white" people. People have a tendency to either associate me with the Old World French ( who tried their darndest to kill my Huguenot ancestors ) or with the Quebecois Catholics who severely curtailed Protestant rights. I truly believe that everyone should be treated how they deserve, not on how someone else thinks they should be treated. However, we won't find fairness or justice this side of the grave, so I don't expect it. I have taken the stance that the fault lies with the ones who act badly, and I rather pity them.


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adifferentname
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08 Aug 2015, 3:01 pm

glebel wrote:
Being an American with French Canadian roots, I can tell you that there is ethnic stereotyping and bias amongst "white" people. People have a tendency to either associate me with the Old World French ( who tried their darndest to kill my Huguenot ancestors ) or with the Quebecois Catholics who severely curtailed Protestant rights. I truly believe that everyone should be treated how they deserve, not on how someone else thinks they should be treated. However, we won't find fairness or justice this side of the grave, so I don't expect it. I have taken the stance that the fault lies with the ones who act badly, and I rather pity them.


What you describe is part of why I'd like an explanation regarding the ways I benefit from racism. As someone who was transplanted from their roots at a young age (something quite common among the poor of every race and ethnic background), I'm inclined to disagree very strongly with MindBlind's expressed beliefs.