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Power dynamics are at play in conversations regarding oppressed groups
Misogyny & Misandry, Racism & Prejudice: They are not Equal in Meaning
People tend to mistake feminism for misandry, and even still, they think that it is comparable to misogyny. The same is said about racism and “white racism”.
Too many times I’ve seen online discourse around racism and sexism, and the comparisons made between the oppressed and the oppressor. Discrimination based on gender, race, sexual orientation, etc., is a hot topic when discussing whether something is offensive or not. The thing is, it’s all offensive, but is it oppressive?
I will use an example from when I was in high school:
There were two guys in my English class and they were both very obnoxious, big personalities; One was white (Karl), and one was black (Dan). Dan called Karl trailer trash. Pretty rude right? Karl then called the Dan the n-word.
Now, who do you think got in more trouble? Karl, of course. He complained about why he was the one being punished when Dan had called him “white trash.” At that time, I had no idea about the power dynamics that play into situations like these.
