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May 19, 2012

Understanding Privilege

Mr Scalzi attempted to reframe the discussion around privilege with a metaphor that SWM(straight white male ) gamer dudes might understand with

Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is

An admirable effort, though in hindsight using the Games analogy was always going to bring out those types of people that focus on the minutiae, the rules lawyer types, those that have no idea of what the spirit of the game may mean.

WARNING - Don’t read the comments

Mr Hines having followed the discussion, dug up some statistics to try and help those determined to turn Mr Scalzi’s post into a personal attack on their own poor disadvantaged straight white male lives, realise that its not about them on a personal level.

Can you here the sirens, yep lots of Whaaaambulances.

Anyway here’s Mr Hines post

Facts are Cool

Then I came across this comic book representation the Patriarchy as Matrix, and thought maybe we need to approach the situation visually.  Anyway enjoy - you may need to embiggen the gif to rad the matrix script.

feminist matrix[source]

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Posted by Sean Wright at 10:18 AM

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Sue Bursztynski's avatar

Sue Bursztynski · 669 weeks ago

Yep, enjoyed this post and both of the links. :-) goodness, 800 comments! I didn't even try to access them, but went straight on to Jim Hines's article. Interesting comment about the cover of one of Jim's books. It's a great novel, but the cover, minus five stars!
My recent post Period 2 In The Library
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SB Wright's avatar - Go to profile

SB Wright 110p · 669 weeks ago

I will have to go back and check out the cover. But yes interesting articles, not sure how we get through to those blokes that stubbornly hold irrational positions.
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stuffedo 15p · 669 weeks ago

I really enjoyed Scalzi's piece, but whenever he write things like this a little part of me gets a bit edgy. Admittedly, I've only read one of his novels ("The Android's Dream"), but it did not seem to pass the Bechdel test, which Scalzi himself discusses here [ http://www.filmcritic.com/features/2010/07/women-... ] (and I don't see why books should be different to films). I find posts, such as Scalzi's SWM piece, admirable, but I wish authors, who write quite often and quite decent feminist commentary, would translate this into their fiction pop culture. After all, I believe this is is such an important battle ground for equality.
This is not at all a criticism, more of a "Yes, Scalzi, I know and agree, so what are you/we going to do about it, comrade?!"
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SB Wright 110p · 669 weeks ago

I am not sure if they analogy worked as well as he hoped, seemed that their were lots of choir members and lots of people that were determined to be wilfully ignorant, not too many that said "hey you know you're right, you have changed my mind". But then maybe it takes awhile :)

I am not familiar enough with Scalzi's work to make comment on his own representation of women in his own fiction unfortunately.

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