Feminist Author: White Men Need to Stop Writing So Much

Pundit Press ^ | 6/4/15 | Aurelius

[rightistight]

Writing online, author Elisa Gabbert answered one of her reader's questions about whether he should stop writing because of his "privilege" of being white and male.

An anonymous reader asked Gabbert:

"I am a white, male poet—a white, male poet who is aware of his privilege and sensitive to inequalities facing women, POC, and LGBTQ individuals in and out of the writing community—but despite this awareness and sensitivity, I am still white and still male. Sometimes I feel like the time to write from my experience has passed, that the need for poems from a white, male perspective just isn’t there anymore, and that the torch has passed to writers of other communities whose voices have too long been silenced or suppressed... I genuinely am troubled by this. I want to listen but I also want to write—yet at times these impulses feel at odds with one another. How can I reconcile the two?"

Gabbert's response? White men need to stop taking more than their "fair share" of being published and they need to stop appropriating other people's culture.

...White men need to stop writing so much and stop writing so well, Gabbert explains. "Editors make excuses about their submission pools – they get far more submissions and pitches from men than women. Then people inevitably respond by telling women to write more, submit more, and pitch more. I think this is exactly the wrong response: Instead we should tell men to submit less. Pitch less. Especially white men. You are already over-represented."

Further, "You – white men – have all the advantages here, so you should work to solve the problem of imbalance, instead of putting all the burden on women, POC, and LGBTQ to fix it themselves."

[Snickering Hound]

Especially white males ghost writing for future black presidents.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Actually, in this case, the best result would be for him to take her advice and for her to write much less...because it isn't fair that she has to work so hard to compete with white male privilege. She deserves a few years off. :)

[DiogenesLamp]

Feminist Author: White Men Need to Stop Writing So Much

White men need to start bitchslapping obnoxious loud mouthed feminists who's mouths write checks their @$$es can't cash.

[Political Junkie Too]

I get the feeling that question is not serious, and only intended to goad the woman into giving the response that she did.

I will say this much: if it's true when she writes "Editors make excuses about their submission pools – they get far more submissions and pitches from men than women. Then people inevitably respond by telling women to write more, submit more, and pitch more..."

If more submissions exceed the natural talent pool because of filling quotas, then the result will be more bad poetry attributed to women, and not men. Maybe the reason that there are less women getting published is that's all that today's talent pool is producing. Don't force more submissions, encourage more education and wait for the submissions to naturally occur.

-PJ

[Talisker]

“Privilege” is the code-word for demanding white people kill themselves because of the color of their skin.

It is the open justification of racist murder.

Nothing less.

[gr8eman]

Demonstration of why you should never argue with an idiot. If you halve the idiocy displayed by these idiots you still have idiocy!

[Regulator]

What, we’re supposed to take up Rapping?!

Ain’t gonna sell...

[Demiurge2]

Who taught this sad creature to hate himself so?

[longtermmemmory]

was it “pajama boy”?

[a fool in paradise]

...they need to stop appropriating other people's culture.

Is this a two way street? Will hippity hoppers and pop dance acts stop sampling rock and roll songs (lifting the famous 'hook' ensuring a new memorable 'hit')?

[Nea Wood]

White Men need to be exterminated completely and all of humanity can finally live in harmony & peace!

That's exactly what they mean! Wonder what it will be like for future generations of whites in this country, especially when they are a small minority? We can see what's happening, it's getting more and more blatant.

[mjp]

white guilt. white guilt. white guilt

[driftless2]

Like all rad feminists, Ms. Gabbert has a few loose screws.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Since the only people who will be shamed into writing less are White Liberal Males, I’m ok with this.

My thought exactly.

[Liberty Valance]

Can we start with David Brooks?

[Chuckster]

White men need to stop reading dribble from Feminazi’s.

I started to correct you, thinking you meant "Drivel", but on second thought...

[rlmorel]

"...I am a white, male poet—a white, male poet who is aware of his privilege and sensitive to inequalities facing women, POC, and LGBTQ individuals in and out of the writing community—but despite this awareness and sensitivity, I am still white and still male. Sometimes I feel like the time to write from my experience has passed, that the need for poems from a white, male perspective just isn’t there anymore, and that the torch has passed to writers of other communities whose voices have too long been silenced or suppressed..."

[Bob]

I think the obvious solution here is for the poet in question to change his gender...

From the sounds of his pathetic whining, I'm thinking that it wouldn't be all that drastic a change. With a can or two of spray tan and an X-acto knife, he can eliminate that pesky "privilege" he's suffering from.

[Lurker]

I am so effing sick of these people.

[sten]