a post in which i use the word privilege an unusual number of times.

[rmd]

i meant to but failed to get around to blogging about international blog against racistm week because i'm a mean old racist cracker mick who is securely ensconced white privilege. or maybe i was distracted.

but over the past few days (mostly via a mefi post) i have found myself poking around some blogs about identity politics, oppression, and privilege and whatnot. i present some of the more interesting links here in case y'all also find them interesting reading.


act I -- some interesting posts about sexism, feminism and male privilege i've read lately.

first, for context, the famous "dykes to watch out for" strip with the "dtwof movie test":
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zizyphus/34585797/

a webcomic optimizes for the test: http://planetkaren.girl-wonder.org/index.php?strip_id=457

relatedly, frank miller test: http://aaru-tuesday.blogspot.com/2007/10/1958.html (comparing # of sex worker women to # of women, total)

and speaking of comics, women in refrigerators: http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/ (i originally saw this a while back, but it's still awesome)

from strange horizons' jed, submission guidelines to keep jed happier: http://www.kith.org/journals/jed/2008/05/23/11165.html
which links to how to write an original female character in a fashion that doesn't drive karen mad:
http://girl-wonder.org/girlsreadcomics/?p=21


a look at what "privilege" does and doesn't mean: http://www.feministsdontbakebread.com/2007/03/26/wheres-my-extra-piece-of-the-pie/

intermission digressions:
black male privilege list: http://jewelwoods.com/node/9
male programmer privilege list: http://lafalafu.com/krc/privilege.html
and from poking around at class privilege content, scalzi on being poor: http://scalzi.com/whatever/003704.html

act II -- a look at some of the flipside for gender, or why it can suck to be a guy.

drug industry limiting men's options for controlling their fertility: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1829107,00.html (dear pharmaceutical industry: WTGDMFF?)

some posts about female privilege.
http://www.wihe.com/displayNews.jsp?id=400
http://www.feministcritics.org/blog/2008/06/08/female-privilege/
http://distributedrepublic.net/archives/2008/06/24/female-privilege


epilogue - unpacking the lolcat privilege backpack: http://elusis.livejournal.com/1744514.html

Comments

[babasyzygy.livejournal.com]

Huh. I actually hit a lot of those links a little while back... did you get on that track via Charlie Stross' blog, or from elsewhere?

[rmd.livejournal.com]

via this (http://www.metafilter.com/74157/An-Anthology-of-Privilege-Checklists) metafilter post, which also wanders by stross' blog in the comments field.

[babasyzygy.livejournal.com]

But how does this all play with the Rise of the Vegan Fairyboys? (http://blogs.timesunion.com/lizfunk/?p=520)

[rmd.livejournal.com]

because tofu is unmanly, but chips fried in soybean oil is manly? or something.

[spinrabbit.livejournal.com]

From the male programmer privilege list: "Not having to feel like if you switch to a less technical career, you're betraying the cause of gender equality."

WORD.

[drwex]

Wow. Thanks for the link soup. That's a lot of reading and I need to think on it some. (One part of me is "oh c'mon you're picking and choosing and interpreting to support your predetermined point" and another point is "OK, that's a valid critique there, but if that's true then why...")