Yes. Bit of a tangent here, but I’ve also noticed how many gender normative white men take great umbrage at any conversation where white men are discussed. No offense to any such on the bbs, but in personal experience, anytime I’ve brought up the issues of sexism or racism in a mixed group, the white men bristle and get very defensive. Except generally when I’ve been having those conversations in the punk community.
And to be clear, I haven’t been accusing the guys in the group of anything, just trying to point out things they might not be aware of.
I’ve tried to get them to understand that their experiences in life in that white male body are way different than what women, BIPOC, LGBTQ or others experience, to mixed results.
In case anyone is reading this who doesn’t already know: if a woman is discussing sexism or otherwise trying to bring up issues of equality, just remember that she has most likely been groped involuntarily, told to smile by a stranger, or masturbated at in public, or all of the above, many, many times already. These are the least harmful things.
So any discomfort you might feel about discussing how you were unwillingly born into a place of privilege is really small compared to what she is trying to talk to you about. I think it would be noble to sit through that discomfort and hear what she/they are trying to express.
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