This time last year, I thought privilege was just a car insurance company, then procrastination from final year exams drove me to take a dip in the world of feminist (and anti-racist, LGBTQ, anti-ableist, etc) blogs.
A couple of years ago, I would have made rape jokes without qualms, never stopping to consider who might be listening and whether it would remind them of the worst experience of their life.
5 years ago, I scoffed at the idea of doing a Feminist Politics module in my Government and Politics class ("I don't like feminists, they're so angry") and, sadly, I didn't get to take that module in the end for reasons beyond my own dickery.
7 years ago, I made the argument that - based on my own experience of failing to get a part time job in retail - the job market was skewed in favour of women.
10 years ago, I had a conversation with several other 12-year-olds in which we decided the best way to get a girl to like me was to insult her. coz gurlz lyk tht.
I mention these instances - not to point out how great I am for not thinking them anymore (though I love flattery as much as the next narcissist) - I mention these instances to demonstrate that I have been cluelessly wrong about so many ideas, and I am probably still wrong about dozens more; for some of these ideas it took years of debating and reasoning until someone made an especially good argument that flipped my perspective; for others it took a long break of simply not thinking about the ideas in question so that I could look again with fresh eyes a few months later; a few were simply sloughed away like old skin when I realised they were just as dead and useless.
The point of this post is for me to say, there is nothing... Erm, wrong... with being wrong - as long as you take the time and effort to challenge your own ideas regularly (and listen up when others are pointing out the errors in your reasoning); that's just how we grow as people. I still have reservations about some feminist ideas, maybe I'll look back at this post next year and shake my head at how I missed the blindingly obvious; or maybe the reservations will prove their worth by repeated challenge and I'll have to find some way to resolve things.
But either way, International Women's Day isn't about me, or any other man who knows he's been wrong - it's about the contribution of women to the world we live in, raising awareness of the plight of many women today, and taking the time to acknowledge those women who make a difference to us personally. As the UN theme of this year's International Women's Day is taking "action to end violence against women", I'm going to make a donation to Edinburgh Rape Crisis (you could do it too, here). And in the spirit of acknowledging the women who personally make a difference to my views, there is one last paragraph before I go to the pub with a friend who will be using her "female real ale fan credentials to celebrate International Women’s Day".
I am tremendously thankful to everyone in Edinburgh Uni FemSoc for forming an entertaining, education and pro-active space every Sunday evening. To all the feminist bloggers and writers who provide a stream of information and knowledge anywhere with a 3G connection. To my sister, Arianne, with whom ideas have been drunkenly bounced back and forth until we understood them. To Sarah, for being just as interested and enthusiastic. And to my mother, for being indescribably wonderful.
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