[nirvanatikku]

Re: taking issue with my statement on privilege -- I'm thoroughly confused by your comment "privilege .. [is] something one is given and gives." Male privilege is an inherent trait. It is up to us to become aware of it and not perpetuate it's consequences in our industry.

Not sure what you mean by "we've all already come to the conclusion that equality of opportunity is a privilege we all would benefit from".. equal opportunity is not a privilege - it's a baseline.

How can you genuinely say that everyone is "in some way privileged"? The whole idea of privilege is that only few have it, especially in the context we're talking about. I can think of so many marginalized groups in society that enjoy no privilege whatsoever.

Lastly, re: "we would simply be repeating history", please shed light on this, I don't really get it.

[justinjlynn]

Regarding male privilege, could expand on what constitutes said privilege and how male-ness inherently entails those constituent privileges such that they're entailed even when completely removed from a given societal context and placed into any possible societal context? If privilege is inherent in male-ness even when removed from a societal construct, and thus portable to any possible societal context, then how does that reasoning then relate to the popular idea that male-ness is itself a social construct which cannot be removed from a societal context? Perhaps I misunderstand your position, but it seems a circular line of reasoning if one holds both true. Granted, you did not indicate that you did, which is why I raise the question.

Actually, given the confusion around the word discrimination earlier, how do you define privilege?

Regarding equal opportunity being a baseline, I would have to disagree. As individual circumstance varies based on, well, circumstance, opportunities cannot be equal except through the privilege of societal intervention to make them so.

In regards to your statements that some marginalised groups enjoy no privileges whatsoever, they may be true in a given sociocontextual frame. However, shift that frame and you might be able to find some privilege, for example those of the same class are more likely to be perceived positively by other members of the same class (a form of tribalism) which is a privilege outsiders do not receive. This is what I mean by "in some way" - I am not holding some privileges as more valuable that others. I suppose the only way to really eliminate privilege is to eliminate social contexts and interaction; or at the very least the experiences of all those who interact in said society. However, that's not exactly a practical option.

With regards to repeating history, well, you might imagine exclusion of voting rights of minorities - disenfranchisement - as a parallel to telling people they shouldn't contribute to a discussion regarding them because of some otherwise irrelevant trait. That is, in a gross simplification, the situation to which I am alluding.

[JakeAl]

There is just as much male privilege as there is female privilege, and the same goes with any group. It's entirely situation. Seniority in a job is privilege. Merit-based success is privilege. A person with a driver's license is privileged over one who doesn't have a driver's license. Feel free to list examples of marginalized groups that enjoy no privilege and I'll show you others not part of that marginalized group when introduced to that group demonstrate a lack of privilege.