34
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] ZDL@lazysoci.al 7 points 1 week ago

The privilege of "normalcy".

When you are in a position where you are the norm in all your visible social circles. you have a unique privilege of security and acceptance. Everything is built around you. Caters to you. Is aimed for your approval.

In North America this means being white and male, with a comfortably upper middle class income. That is the norm. (Note: "normal" doesn't mean "most common".) If you're in this norm, the fact that television beat cops live in apartments that are positively CAVERNOUS doesn't register on you. Of course they do. That's "normal". Ads are directed toward your tastes. Even ads for women's products. (Do you think pads are stained blue in ads for women's delicate sensibilities? You know, the women who see the actual colour with monotonous regularity?) It is so normal that any attempt to even reflect the actual demographics of the world you inhabit feels like something being "forced" upon you.

In China this means being Han. (It's a toss-up if Han-male or Han-female is the norm. This goes back and forth.) If you're Hui or Gan or Yi or Dani or whatever, you're the odd one out. You're the one valued for the "diversity" you bring within very narrowly circumscribed bubbles. Otherwise literally everything around you is Han. Han stars. Han models. Han culture dominates everything outside of your very narrow "autonomous regions". And if you poke your head outside those "autonomous regions" you're the centre of attention. Not even hostile attention. Just ... you're the odd one out. All eyes are on you as a result.

this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2025
34 points (100.0% liked)

WomensStuff

568 readers
91 users here now

Women only trans inclusive This is an inclusive community for all things women. Whether you're here for make up tips, feminism or just friendly chit chat, we've got you covered.

Rules…

  1. Women only… trans women are women, and transphobic or gender critical talk isn’t allowed. Anyone under the trans umbrella (e.g. non-binary, bigender, agender) is free to decide whether a women's community is a good fit for them.
  2. Don’t be a dick. No personal attacks, no aggression, play nice.
  3. Don’t hate on groups, hatefilled talk about groups is not allowed. Ever.
  4. No governmental politics, so no talk of Trump actions etc. We recommend Feminism@beehaw.org for that, but here is an escape from it.
  5. New accounts or users with few comments may have their posts removed to prevent spam and bad-faith participation.

founded 5 months ago
MODERATORS