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2.62 MB
Extraction Summary
2
People
1
Organizations
1
Locations
0
Events
1
Relationships
5
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Essay / blog post / article (likely an attachment within a larger correspondence)
File Size:
2.62 MB
Summary
This document appears to be a page from an essay or blog post discussing feminist theory, the gender binary, and strategies for engaging men in gender discussions. The author references Thomas MacAulay Millar and debates the effectiveness of confrontational versus gentle approaches to discussing privilege. The document bears a 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT' Bates stamp, suggesting it was part of a document production for a congressional investigation, potentially related to academic or social correspondence involving individuals under investigation.
People (2)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas MacAulay Millar | Author/Commentator |
Cited by the author of the text; the author discusses his views and comments on a blog post.
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| Author (Unnamed) | Writer |
The narrator of the text discussing feminism, gender dynamics, and strategies for engaging men in gender discussions.
|
Organizations (1)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| House Oversight Committee |
Indentified via the Bates stamp footer 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_018579'.
|
Locations (1)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Mentioned in the context of where normative men hold most of the power.
|
Relationships (1)
Author cites Millar and discusses an interaction they had in blog comments regarding rhetorical strategy.
Key Quotes (5)
"The gender binary may not hurt everyone equally, but it hurts everyone."Source
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Quote #1
"Could feminist acknowledgment of the women's gender-based advantages help pave the way for more men to acknowledge male privilege?"Source
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Quote #2
"If I'm going to alienate someone for saying what I think too bluntly, I'll pick entitled cis het dudes."Source
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Quote #3
"I think a lot of dudes have been led to feel that they have no place in gender discussions -- that those discussions will always be about what men are doing wrong..."Source
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Quote #4
"normative men hold most of the power in America."Source
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Quote #5
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (3,546 characters)
who's got it worse, it becomes clear that the advantages and drawbacks associated with being both male and female are intertwined. The two systems reinforce, and cannot function without, each other. The gender binary may not hurt everyone equally, but it hurts everyone. As those beautiful "Every Girl / Every Boy" posters say, the most obvious example is: "For every girl who is tired of acting weak when she is strong, there is a boy tired of appearing strong when he feels vulnerable."
I do suspect that it may not be psychologically realistic to ask people from our underdog-loving culture to embrace an image of themselves as privileged; my thoughts turn again to the trans man who hated the thought of being a white male. But if we feminists can't work productively from a stance that acknowledges our social advantages, how can we expect straight/dominant/big-dicked men to do it?
Could feminist acknowledgment of the women's gender-based advantages help pave the way for more men to acknowledge male privilege? Could feminist acknowledgment of the advantages on both sides of the gender binary help us better grasp what sucks about being a guy?
Am I citing Thomas MacAulay Millar too much here? Well, at least once, he frustrated me. Amongst the comments on one blog post, I thought he was stating his views about stereotypical guys rather harshly. I suggested that it might be better to seek common ground, or at least to explain things gently; he said he wasn't interested -- "I think we all work with some people where they are and can't soft-sell our views enough to deal with others." He added, "If I'm going to alienate someone for saying what I think too bluntly, I'll pick entitled cis het dudes."
I won't pretend I didn't laugh when I read that -- but I worried about it, too. I've had an enormous number of experiences trying to discuss feminism/sex/gender with men in which the men tensed, bristled, and closed me out. I don't think it was always because those guys couldn't stand the thought of losing their privilege, either. I think a lot of dudes have been led to feel that they have no place in gender discussions -- that those discussions will always be about what men are doing wrong, and that no one's prepared to work with them where they are.
All groups have outsiders. Movements inevitably form themselves around oppositional forces. As someone who's spent her share of time feeling feminist rage, I'd say that being filled with feminist rage is totally understandable. And seriously, don't get me wrong: I'm not giving unfeminist guys a free pass. I'm not happy about the fact that so many men are apparently alienated from feminism because us radicals are too confrontational -- or too uncomfortably correct -- for their fragile masculine egos to handle. (I'm being sarcastic! Mostly.) I'm really not happy about the fact that I've got to think about marketing anti-oppression -- in a just universe, wouldn't anti-oppression market itself?
But at the same time, I'm a realist. I know this isn't a just universe, and I want to use tactics that'll achieve my goals. Which are: I'd really like to find more men at my side in the sex and gender wars. I'd really like to talk to more guys who don't see ideas stamped with feminism as an attack -- rather, as an opportunity for alliance. Plus, if we're going to think in terms of cold hard tactics, it's worth noting that normative men hold most of the power in America. (That's part of what we're complaining about, right?) So swelling our
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