Friday, November 25, 2016
Blog Post #6
I was glad that this week we were finally able to read up on McIntosh's piece on white and male privilege. However, what I enjoyed most was the fact that we got to read Scalzi's work on straight white male privilege. While both pieces were informative in their own way, Scalzi's piece not only addressed other forms of privilege which aren't usually talked about like class, but Scalzi wrote this piece in a way that would be approachable to a wider audience versus McIntosh's piece which was directed more to people who are women's studies majors. Scalzi's piece directs its message towards those who deny the existence of straight white male privilege and deem it as a myth created by feminists and "social justice warriors". I think what also made his piece more widespread was the fact that Scalzi was a straight white male, which made him more approachable to certain audiences. This proves that in many cases in order to bring up and solve issues of privilege, it may often need someone who is in a position of privilege.
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I too particularly enjoyed Scalzi's work and his unusual way of being able to explain privilege. He discusses privilege in a way that is easy to comprehend and that makes his work interesting to read. I also agree with your statement that sometimes, the people of privilege are the ones who can help solve the problems associated with less privileged individuals. Since more people can relate to a straight, white male, they will find it easier to understand what he is trying to say over maybe understanding social issues from the less privileged person's perspective.
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DeleteI completely agree. It is definitely way more striking to read about white male privilege from the eyes of a straight, white male of privilege -- Scalzi. Scalzi not only has a clear knowledge and perspective of this social group, his own social group, but he also shows his audience that he understands the views of others. He is open to his audience, allowing him to seem accepting and open-minded as well as still knowledgable and educated. He makes himself and his writing seem approachable, not scary, foreign entities. In doing this, he is strategic and very clever.
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