Attendance was excellent for Harry Brod’s lecture, "White Male Identities: Privilege, Pain, and Pride," as expected since the title refers to the majority of Wabash students. But in great number were those to whom the title did not belong; all were curious about the implications of this privilege, pain, and power. Both groups were presented with reasons to re-examine the necessity for such a title to exist in the first place.
Brod, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of California at San Diego, began the lecturer with the assertion we all have identities, and we choose how these identities affect our actions. He gave examples of himself identifying with children of the sixties and as a child of Holocaust survivors. He then went on to note how many obvious identifications are taken for granted like being white, male, or heterosexual. The fundamental concept for the ensuing talk was that only by recognizing and understanding this, could the barriers of racism and sexism be dismantled.
Harry Brod wrote his dissertation on the philosopher Hegel, but has many interdisciplinary interests such as gender studies, Jewish studies, and contemporary moral issues. This has led him to write works like A Mensch Among Men: Explorations in Jewish Masculinity and co-author White Men Challenging Racism: 35 Personal Stories. It follows he has many opportunities to present his opinions.
He sees such opportunities as special being a white male, but not because he has a superior contribution. Rather he believes that he has a privilege being a white male that affords him a unique stage on which to stand. He explained how an African-American woman giving a similar lecture may be worried about being perceived as unintelligent or complaining. Being a white male, he has no such worries, a privilege to be sure.
The pain the title refers to the negative effects patriarchy has had on males. The example he cited is how men must alienate their emotions to be perceived as powerful. He asserted this bottling of emotion contributes to men having a shorter life span on average.
Pride is essential in the course of action Brod proposes. He notes there is no person alive who has instituted patriarchy or white supremacy. Men should not be ashamed of masculinity, nor whites of their ethnicity.
Brod asserts men should embrace feminism, then work to avoid stereotyping. He illustrated the importance by asking the audience to imagine the blind scales of justice. When one side is oppressed, the other side invariably rises. Only by undoing white male privilege can those oppressed be relieved.