Episode 89: What Does Laura have against White Men? Plus, Leslie got a New Gig!

In this episode, Leslie gives us an update on his new job with Vogsy (https://vogsy.com), where he is the new VP of Customer Services. It's a change for Leslie to not be the most experienced person in his role, and to work with people he wasn't first friends with. It's all good and he's doing great.
We pause and recognize Pride Month and Juneteenth, with a little explainer from Leslie.
The bulk of the show is dedicated to a question Laura gets quite a bit, especially when her voter guides come out: "What do you have against white men?"
Laura's voter guide has the following disclaimer:
“My vote recommendations are based on my own research and do not represent any entity's opinions but my own. I vote liberal/democrat/progressive. When other factors are equal, I favor the candidate that is the least cis/hetero/male/white/old; who is aware of and working on their own implicit biases; and who is committed to improving equity, accessibility, and inclusivity within their jurisdiction.”
Laura admits that she couldn't actually come out and say "I don't have anything against white men," but mainly because she was fresh off a super annoying interaction with a white man on Facebook. Turns out, there's plenty to hold against white men, but mostly it's rooted in their involvement in upholding the patriarchy, which is the root of the problem and the crux of our conversation.
The patriarchy is the systemic way we are all socialized to see the straight, cis, able-bodied, middle class white male as The Norm. Everyone else is varying degrees below his level of entitlement to the world. The Guardian article (https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/22/the-age-of-patriarchy-how-an-unfashionable-idea-became-a-rallying-cry-for-feminism-today) in the show notes says it succinctly: "[Patriarchy] at its simplest, it conveys the existence of a societal structure of male supremacy that operates at the expense of women – rather in the way that 'white supremacy' conveys the existence of a societal structure that operates at the expense of black people."
We veer into politics a bit, ranting about how the subjective take on who is "electible" or "presidential" always favors those who are highest in the social hierarchy: white men, and how gaffes like Joe Biden's this week are blips for him, but could kill a less white/less male candidate's run completely. The bar is so high for the success of the others, and drops to nearly nothing for white men.
Leslie bottom-lines Laura's voting criteria like this: "Just treat white men like any other candidate; make them prove themselves and earn it."
A followup to this episode is the brilliant Rebecca Solnit's article "Unconscious Bias is Running for President (https://lithub.com/rebecca-solnit-unconscious-bias-is-running-for-president/)." Make sure you read it.
At the end of the show, we tease a new feature and additional somtimes-host for the podcast. We'll be revealing the new and exciting changes next episode!

In this episode, Leslie gives us an update on his new job with Vogsy, where he is the new VP of Customer Services. It's a change for Leslie to not be the most experienced person in his role, and to work with people he wasn't first friends with. It's all good and he's doing great.

We pause and recognize Pride Month and Juneteenth, with a little explainer from Leslie.

The bulk of the show is dedicated to a question Laura gets quite a bit, especially when her voter guides come out: "What do you have against white men?"

Laura's voter guide has the following disclaimer:

“My vote recommendations are based on my own research and do not represent any entity's opinions but my own. I vote liberal/democrat/progressive. When other factors are equal, I favor the candidate that is the least cis/hetero/male/white/old; who is aware of and working on their own implicit biases; and who is committed to improving equity, accessibility, and inclusivity within their jurisdiction.”

Laura admits that she couldn't actually come out and say "I don't have anything against white men," but mainly because she was fresh off a super annoying interaction with a white man on Facebook. Turns out, there's plenty to hold against white men, but mostly it's rooted in their involvement in upholding the patriarchy, which is the root of the problem and the crux of our conversation.

The patriarchy is the systemic way we are all socialized to see the straight, cis, able-bodied, middle class white male as The Norm. Everyone else is varying degrees below his level of entitlement to the world. The Guardian article in the show notes says it succinctly: "[Patriarchy] at its simplest, it conveys the existence of a societal structure of male supremacy that operates at the expense of women – rather in the way that 'white supremacy' conveys the existence of a societal structure that operates at the expense of black people."

We veer into politics a bit, ranting about how the subjective take on who is "electible" or "presidential" always favors those who are highest in the social hierarchy: white men, and how gaffes like Joe Biden's this week are blips for him, but could kill a less white/less male candidate's run completely. The bar is so high for the success of the others, and drops to nearly nothing for white men.

Leslie bottom-lines Laura's voting criteria like this: "Just treat white men like any other candidate; make them prove themselves and earn it."

A followup to this episode is the brilliant Rebecca Solnit's article "Unconscious Bias is Running for President." Make sure you read it.

At the end of the show, we tease a new feature and additional somtimes-host for the podcast. We'll be revealing the new and exciting changes next episode!

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Links:

Stonewall riots - Wikipedia — The month of June was chosen for LGBT Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which occurred at the end of June 1969. As a result, many pride events are held during this month to recognize the impact LGBT people have had in the world.Juneteenth - Wikipedia — Juneteenth, also known as Juneteenth Independence Day or Freedom Day, is an American holiday that commemorates the June 19, 1865, announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. state of Texas, and more generally the emancipation of enslaved African Americans throughout the former Confederate States of America.Rebecca Solnit: Unconscious Bias is Running for President | Literary Hub — This is your must-read article.

“With their deep belief in their own special monopoly on objectivity, slightly too many men assure me that there is no misogyny in their subjective assessments or even no subjectivity and no emotion driving them, and there are no grounds for other opinions since theirs is not an opinion.” nontoxic masculinity — KatyKatiKate — A fantastic and funny review of what is toxic masculinity, with real life examples of non-toxic men!Think It’s #NotAllMen? These 4 Facts Prove You’re Just Plain Wrong - Everyday Feminism — All Men Are Socialized Under (And Benefit From) PatriarchyThe age of patriarchy: how an unfashionable idea became a rallying cry for feminism today | News | The Guardian — [Patriarchy] at its simplest, it conveys the existence of a societal structure of male supremacy that operates at the expense of women – rather in the way that “white supremacy” conveys the existence of a societal structure that operates at the expense of black people.(How) Patriarchy is Spoiling America’s Next Election — Even though the Betos and Petes aren’t nearly as thoughtful, even their ideas aren’t nearly as innovative, even though their agendas aren’t nearly as transformative — somehow, they’ve become the brave, intelligent, authentic fighters. But the women, for displaying more of the very same attributes — intelligence, thoughtfulness, courage, truth — are ignored, when they’re not being taunted, mocked, derided, or pilloried.If male candidates want to show they get it, they should get out - The Washington Post — The really radical thing for a male candidate to do in 2020 would be to step down and step away, realizing that real gender equity is achieved only when men actively refuse the benefits they receive simply for being born male.

I Don’t Think a Woman is Electable In 2020 Because Last Time Around the Female Nominee Only Got Three Million More Votes Than Her Opponent - McSweeney’s Internet Tendency — Americans, excluding those 65.8 million who made Hillary Clinton the person with the second most votes ever, just aren’t yet ready to elect a woman president.President Donald Trump Faces New Rape Accusation — Carroll is now at least the 16th woman to accuse Donald Trump of sexual misconduct and the 14th to accuse Moonves of similar offenses. The incidents, which date from the 1990s, are highly specific and related with dark humor. Moonves is compared by Carroll to an octopus,  and Trump, she writes, “yammers about himself like he’s Alexander the Great ready to loot Babylon.” But she is clear, sometimes clinical, about the violence she experienced. Moonves frantically kisses and gropes her in a hotel elevator moments after she finished interviewing him for an article. The Trump story is even darker.Comedian Baratunde Thurston says patriarchy is a trap for men — Quartz at Work — There are very few true perpetrators. They are easy to vilify and shame and punish. But far more of us, myself included, some women included, can be perpetuators. We can enable a system of bias and injustice by our action or our inaction. By our words or our silence.