Privilege's
Week 5
I had intended to post this last night, but alas, my husband was distracting me with media. This late-ish post is me repenting of that. I have just been having many experiences recently in my Cross-Cultural Family class. We were shown a video in class that was a bit liberal. The woman in it wrote a song about her thoughts on it being a "scary time" for boys. I personally haven't been following politics recently, but the music did a great job making me think. The woman tells a story of sorts about all the innate oppression women face in their life. She add's in breaks of a chorus about it being a "scary time" for boys because of rape accusations. A couple examples she gave examples I could really identify with. Two examples include not being able to go out jogging alone, or using public transit after 7pm. There are many little privileges that males enjoy that we are cultured not even to think about. For example, how many many leave their house at night with a semi-conscious game plan of how to not get raped? Guys don't even need to think about that. Whereas girls respond with answers like, carry pepper spray, take a self-defense class, or buy a dog. When talking to my husband and brothers about my thoughts on the video they responded with exasperation and annoyance. Some people in my class reported that their husbands also got really upset. It makes me wonder if men respond this way because they can't recognize these male-privileges. I suppose it is like a fish trying to notice the water around it. Unless the fish has been without, they can't see it.
We have a tendency to assume everything in our life is attributed to our own efforts. I've seen this a lot in American Culture, where the emphasis is to follow your dreams and achieve according to the work put in. However, we just don't see the many privileges that are a norm in our lives. I don't quite understand completely all my privileges, and it is very hard to see them. I'm very curious to know your thoughts on this video. Also, if you are up to a little discussion, tell me how the males in your life responded.
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