Photo by remco merbis. http://merbis.com

This post will offend you

Look up there. That’s me. I’m a white, middle-class male, and I want to talk about sexism. Shoot me.

So is the trend in recent months that everybody likes to talk about sexism. And then, everybody likes to tell everyone who talks about sexism to be quiet. Feminists (both female and male; yes we do exist) like to tell every white male who attempts to open a dialog that their “white male privilege” means they can’t possibly understand the situation, and are therefore wrong.

Well actually, that’s bollocks.

I perfectly understand white male privilege. Although I don’t agree with it, I’m well aware that being a white male has made my life comparatively easier for me than it is for others. But I also understand that it’s a fucking problem. And, like it or not, I also understand that the only people who will ever have a chance of eradicating white male privilege, are white males.

So, still with me, or have you already told everyone on the internet how wrong I am?

My statement above is not patronising. It is not arrogance. I’m not saying that women depend on white males. I am saying that in order for white male privilege to be eradicated, white males need to admit that there is a fucking problem. But in this age of Twitter and the wider internet, every time a white male admits that there is a problem, they are told that they are just part of the problem, and in this status quo nothing is going to change.

When South Africa existed under Apartheid rule, everyone remembers the role Nelson Mandela played. Yes, he was monumentally instrumental in the process, there’s absolutely no denying that, but he was still in prison at the end of Apartheid. Had Frederik Willem de Klerk not stood up to his opening address to parliament on 2nd February 1990 and announced his intention to repeal apartheid laws, abolish the Land Act, and release Nelson Mandela from Victor Verster Prison, who knows where we would be at today.

De Klerk was a white, middle-class male. In his early years as a member of the National Party in Transvaal, he actually supported segregated activities. But after time, he understood the problem. He understood that his peers had created the problem, and as soon as he was able to he rejected it, and he made damn sure it was eliminated. Like it or not, without De Klerk, Mandela would not have been released as soon, and would not have been able to make the difference he did as President.

What would have happened if, on 2nd February 1990, every black man in South Africa had told De Klerk that he had no right to address the problem? What would have happened if he had been stopped, midway through his groundbreaking speech, and not allowed a voice with which to help the millions of people who had suffered under National Party rule?

What would have happened to the Suffragette movement if, on 20 May 1867, John Stuart Mill had not been allowed to introduce his suffrage amendment to the Reform Bill? What would have happened if the Equality Act of 2006 had been blocked by those it sought to defend?

As shit as the situation is, the vast majority of positions of power in the western world are held by white, middle-class males. Their help is needed in order to remove the barriers that currently exist for those not encompassed by this social class.

And believe it or not, even as a white, middle-class male I have experienced discrimination in the past. I regularly have women accuse me of hitting on them, simply for smiling or starting a conversation; yep, that’s sexism too. Starting work aged 17, I received a great deal of ageist discrimination at the hands of my much older colleagues. Aged 15, I was chased and beaten by three adult males, simply because of a rumour that I was homosexual (I’m actually straight).

So don’t shout at me for writing this. Don’t accuse me of sexism. Tell me how I can make a difference. Allow me the voice to tell other white, middle-class males that sexism is wrong. Allow me to step in and defend those who experience discrimination, without being accused of arrogance, or of condescension. Stand with me, not against me, and maybe one day we’ll be able to say, without any doubt, that white male privilege no longer exists.

Get the Medium app

A button that says 'Download on the App Store', and if clicked it will lead you to the iOS App store
A button that says 'Get it on, Google Play', and if clicked it will lead you to the Google Play store