In Which I Rant About an Offensive Article...

Yesterday one of those Facebook "news" sources recommended an article to me about "female privilege." (found here: http://thoughtcatalog.com/mark-saunders/2014/04/18-things-females-seem-to-not-understand-because-female-privilege) and it really got on my nerves. The whole article was a list of 18 reasons why women have an unfair advantage in the world.

I find a lot of this content on the internet--articles written by people with little to no cited expertise on their topics, specifically created to incite an emotional response, thereby gaining more views.

This article is subtle. It starts with a few points that are pretty universally accurate. But then it moves into controversial territory and publishes half-truths in the guise of fact. Toward the end, some were sexist and a couple were downright false. Take number 12, for example:

12. Female privilege is being able to be caring or empathetic without people being surprised.

Very unfair to men. And of all places one might expect number 13 to be true, any female at BYU could easily discredit it.

13. Female privilege is not having to take your career seriously because you can depend on marrying someone who makes more money than you do. Female privilege is being able to be a “stay at home mom” and not seem like a loser.

The response article was no better. It seems like more and more, people have to take an extreme position when the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Everyone is born into different circumstances and has different advantages and disadvantages because of them. And there is no generalization that can be made to every woman in the world that will hold water without exception. The best part? It was written by a man. If one person breaks his leg, you don't break his friend's to make it "fair." Maybe someday people will learn to use their differences and circumstances to complement those of others instead of pointing fingers.