General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why are Republicans always such dicks? [View all]whathehell
(29,067 posts)I'm just drawing a parallel, or comparison between the situation of blacks vs whites to the situation of men vs women..They are not the same, but the dynamics are very similar when it comes to the insult thing.
You understood what I meant when I talked about the difference between a white person calling a black person the N word and a black person calling a white "honkey", right?....Both are insults, but because of the POWER differential between the races, honkey is not as offensive as the N word.
What I'm saying, in answer to your question, is that a very similar thing is going on between men as a group and women as a group. Because of the power differential between men as a group and women as a group, insults toward each, from one to another are perceived differently.
Just as whites have more power than people of color in this country, so do men have more power than women, and so an insult from women to men is seen as less "threatening" or nasty than an insult from a male o a female. In the cases of both race and gender, it's a matter of "punching down".. A case of the powerful taking advantage of the LESS powerful.
I've hope I've explained it better so you know what I'm trying to say.