Long story short, he posted [http://24.media.tumblr.com/3715629c61c2e765fdcb79e13d82073e/tumblr_mk7e9dAo5i1r0y4s0o1_400.jpg](this pic) on her wall and the ball started rolling. What followed were 61 comments discussing feminism and male/female privileges. Basically a circlejerk even though she really believes that women are victims in a patriarchal society.

Anyway, he left the last comment which I found interesting and was wondering what you guys think of it. Do you agree/disagree? Why?

Emily is right in that we do in fact live in a patriarchal society, its how history turned out folks, plain and simple, men have held and continue to hold more positions of power than women, and this is not a good thing. however she is wrong to think that this is proof of a male privilege in today's society, because all it proves is that history turned out the way it did, and it doesnt take into account the events and social movements of the last century. For starters, there is no male or female privilege, (anymore, and since very recently at that) at this stage in the game we both have shitty expectations correspondent to our gender roles, as a result many women have a shit life just for being women, this is true, but being a man is not a rose colored masturbatory power fantasy, inequality stings both ways, and being forced to meet the expectations of the male gender role is not easy or pleasant, as many men will attest when theyre not busy pounding their chests for the sake of appearance. this discussion has little to do with "rights" anymore, in the eyes of the law we are fundamentally equal, that means there is no legal privilege for men or women, privilege in case you need reminding is an unfair right or advantage granted to some but not others, and since any and all rights are given to us by a legal apparatus, as long as we're equal before the law, talking about gender privilege is nonsensical. you can argue some (important) kinks like salaries being higher for men in some places, or the representation of women in politics, but even these are issues that have improved with the years, particularly in the first world where most of you are from, and will likely continue to improve as the years go by. This isnt an instant oven though, social change takes time and pain, its not a trained monkey that dances at the command of anyone, even the most powerful politicians. The core problem isn't legal anymore, which isnt to say there isnt a problem, its just that the meat of the issue is social not legal, its about how men and women perceive each other, and treat each other as a result. Sexism is unfortunately alive and well in the 21st century, many men and women still conform to traditional gender roles, and considering that women's liberation was less than a fucking century ago, it should come as no surprise to anyone that they get the short end of the stick more often than not. This is a shitty situation which many of us are trying to fix in different ways, and this brings me back to my original point. I am not being arrogant emily, because this whole fucking discussion is proof that we need better feminism. The cases, terms and notions we are working with are a fucking mess! you people cant even agree on the most basic issues at hand, and this is sadly the case in most discussions regarding feminism, we need people to achieve a thorough understanding of ALL sides of the discussion, not start a goddamn finger pointing contest, what are you people 12? and i get that the ban bossy was beneficial to the little girls' development as independent beings, believe me i got that from the first go, my problem isnt with that, i thought that was actually very cool, my problem is with making an aimless campaign out of it, an emotionally exploitative campaign that uses censorship rhetoric without having a clearly established goal, excuse me but thats a load of bullshit if i ever saw one. Now for the "i need feminism" campaign, its ultimately unimpressive with the added negative that it allows every woman with a fucking sharpie to redefine feminism to suit their needs or whims, which makes this whole discussion even more convoluted. while some may use it as a legitimate outlet for bad experiences, the whole thing was just a bad idea from the get go. I want feminism to succeed and remain relevant socially and politically, but by identifying with the self-righteous diatribe that is thoughtlessly spewed in campaigns like these, all that will be accomplished is that people with similar interests will become divided, and the whole movement will suffer from it. There, ive said my piece.