My Privilege
Where does the criticism of privilege leave me?
In the context of Friedan, and the Feminine Mystique: should the housewife privileged by class and education concede to domestication? A life in the home could represent a significant source of freedom for someone constrained by poverty and other forms of systemic inequality. But then, where does that leave the middle class white wife? Her attempts to realize ‘freedom’ furthers the parameters of her privilege – the options to pursue more education, formalized equality represent what cannot be obtained by others with less options. Merely handing over the role of housewife to someone else still doesn’t question the rationale that created the inequality in the first place, so simple abdication won’t solve the problem. So then, who, what, where?
Similarly, the tools of racial privilege. The patronizing overtones of anyone trying to casually acquaint themselves with the culture of Others denies the efficacy of tourism and mere inclusion. Having more excluded people around again doesn’t question the material differences experienced by the different parties: the person of privilege, and the person subordinated by that privilege. Inclusion overestimates the significance of the privileged person’s mindset in determining power relationships, inaction underestimates their power in changing the world. Can I only wait for explicit confrontation and then try my best? What tools can I use?
I find it telling I have more questions now than answers.
Duncan
In the context of Friedan, and the Feminine Mystique: should the housewife privileged by class and education concede to domestication? A life in the home could represent a significant source of freedom for someone constrained by poverty and other forms of systemic inequality. But then, where does that leave the middle class white wife? Her attempts to realize ‘freedom’ furthers the parameters of her privilege – the options to pursue more education, formalized equality represent what cannot be obtained by others with less options. Merely handing over the role of housewife to someone else still doesn’t question the rationale that created the inequality in the first place, so simple abdication won’t solve the problem. So then, who, what, where?
Similarly, the tools of racial privilege. The patronizing overtones of anyone trying to casually acquaint themselves with the culture of Others denies the efficacy of tourism and mere inclusion. Having more excluded people around again doesn’t question the material differences experienced by the different parties: the person of privilege, and the person subordinated by that privilege. Inclusion overestimates the significance of the privileged person’s mindset in determining power relationships, inaction underestimates their power in changing the world. Can I only wait for explicit confrontation and then try my best? What tools can I use?
I find it telling I have more questions now than answers.
Duncan
posted by Duncan at 9:18 PM
1 Comments:
i'd say it's only domestication if you view it that way. If she wants to be a housewife because she likes it and not because she feels pressured to do it, then fine, that can be empowering. But - shared responsibility seems to be the best way to get out of that problem. *shrug*
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