A privileged standpoint
Here’s another example of that bizarro-world idea that women are now privileged unless they are also Of Color or trans:
I concur that it’s a mistake to treat the problem (of speaking from a privileged standpoint without full engagement with the work of those most vulnerable) as unique to any one person (or to any one group, like white cis women).
See that? We occupy a privileged standpoint now, just like that. Boom, feminism is over, women are dominant unless they are non-white and/or trans.
The author is not unique, nor is Hypatia unique in being willing to publish some work that handles race and gender identity questions in insufficiently attentive ways. Hypatia does, however, have a special commitment to taking robust engagement with marginalized standpoints seriously as crucial for feminist scholarship.
And “woman” is no longer a marginalized standpoint.
The rest of the thread veers into a deranged discussion of why “Becky” is an insult and how clueless it is or is not to be unaware of the role of “Becky” in black popular culture.
I can hear a thin little voice in my head, squeaking “Dear Muslima”…
That whole “Becky” thread is just weird. But apparently one has to have watched a particular Beyonce video to be permitted to say anything about race issues.
Plus it’s totes legit to make a political issue of failing to pay attention to Beyonce.
Or the 1992 Sir Mix-a-Lot video that was the original source of “Becky.”
And “we” are now saying that ignorance of this meme means you’re “part of the problem”?
The same voice I was hearing as I read.
And the number of white cis-women who are part of the demeaning of white cis-women is horrifying.
Ben, I don’t think being ignorant of that meme is what makes you “part of the problem” – I begin to realize that merely being a white cis woman makes you THE problem. We apparently are the source of all evil, because from our position of ultimate privilege, we control all the things, and create all the oppression. We suffer no oppression ourselves, because we are the power brokers, we are the ones who have our boots (high heeled, I suppose) on the neck of the rest of the world.
I was reading that thread yesterday and was “wait…wha…WTF?!?!” at the bizarre “Becky” derail. I am familiar with the term, but I was completely flummoxed by the idea that the author’s lack of familiarity with the latest pop culture memes was considered important enough to take over the discussion.
I’m glad you white women are here to take the heat for us white guys!
I was reading it yesterday too. I wanted to blog it but found it to weird to get a grip on without time to digest. Weird but not neutral weird; unpleasant censorious virtue-signaling weird.
I’m glad you white women are here to take the heat for us white guys!
Indeed. Between l’affaire Kipnis, the student demands that Pomona de-hire Alice Goffman, and now this, it does look like white progressive women in academia are favored targets for progressives these days.
It’s not all bad news though. Kipnis, I think, has come out a clear winner from her kerfluffle. Pomona answered the student demands with a curt “no”. And the chair of Tuvel’s department made a statement of unqualified support for her and added that the whole department agreed. The philosophy department at Rhodes college would seem to have a great deal more backbone than the editors at Hypatia. I hope the hate mail doesn’t overwhelm their email server…
Yes, I just saw the Rhodes statement on Brian Leiter’s blog. Good stuff.
I needa catch up with Leiter’s many posts on this but gotta go at the moment.
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