perspective

[quarrel]

The other day I got pointed to an article detailing a proposed new law somewhere to prohibit wolf-whistles and other unduly forward public behavior. Government representatives nigh-unanimously decried the bill as Politically Correct garbage and an unnecessary, petty, and oppressive restriction of personal liberties. The article criticized this response as a glaring example of male privilege. It was a case of men believing that an issue couldn’t be a problem because it wasn’t a problem for men — that the reps were operating under a belief that their lack of vulnerability to aggressive flirtation was inherently available to all citizens, when in fact it was a luxury exclusive to their gender, stemming from the fact that men are simply not beleaguered with unignorable, harmful levels of such harassment.

Privilege is a pervasive thing. It’s human nature to attribute one’s accomplishments to oneself; it soothes the ego mightily. But all societies are initially built of, by, and for the majority. If I attain some goal — say, design a fun board game about dispatching taxis, or learn enough French to read Le Petit Prince — have I truly accomplished something meritorious by way of my own intelligence, discipline, experience, initiative, and creativity? Or did I succeed merely because I was born rich enough that my parents could move to a good school district, white enough that my teachers actually bothered to teach me, and male enough that the railroad of society has not tried to switch my track into the kitchen my whole life?

Then again, while I’m asking petty questions like these, others are occupied by more pressing thoughts, like “Can I get the job by being more skilled than the other applicants?” or “Will my mistakes hurt other people’s reputations?” or “Will I be assaulted if I wear good clothes to the restaurant tonight?” I guess I can’t complain too loudly.