Sunday, March 18, 2018

"Mansplaining" and "Whitesplaining"

I wrote recently on the racism and sexism inherent in those words here.  Then I come upon this:
To help combat “subtle forms” of stereotyping and discrimination in tech fields, one of the things Bourg advises is for men and white people to cease “mansplaining” and “whitesplaining,” respectively.

“Just stop,” she argued. “Stop doing it in person, and stop doing it online.”
What I mean is simply this — if you have some power and privilege in a situation (and if you are white and/or a dude, chances are you do have some privilege; if you are a white dude, you definitely have power and privilege), then for the love of baby unicorns please refrain from giving your unsolicited advice and opinions to others.
What kind of person can talk about others that way and not fear any repercussions? Would it be a person with so-called power and privilege, or would it be a marginalized person?  To ask the question is to answer it, and it would be best for everyone if Madame Bourg would follow her own advice.

1 comment:

Ellen K said...

I read a column from somewhere telling everyone that we shouldn't call the protesting minors "kids."
I've been calling people younger than me kids since I was a kid.
This is just more of the same sort of nonsense from the Left where they want to control our thoughts by controlling the language.