Like other dudebros, recovering or not, I benefit from the assigned cultural privilege of being a white, cis, (read as) het, currently-abled man who is not considered to be “overweight” or “obese” by fat shamers. In our culture of oppression, the dudebro intersection of colour (white), gender (cisman), sexuality (hetero), current ability, and body shape (not fat), is the least oppressed. (If they are oppressed at all, which they’re not, except by other dudebros). The dudebro is at the top of the oppression web (like a food web, yes?).
You could also say that dudebros are the least oppressed people in our culture because they are the least likely to: get raped, experience racism, be victims of violence, experience oppression because of their gender, body, skin colour, sexuality, etc. Interestingly, dudebros are categorically the most likely to perpetrate these crimes and perpetuate these systems of oppression. Coincidence? Probably not.
An equation for your consideration…
everyone but dudebros = oppressed
dudebros = oppressors
Dudebros oppress everyone, actively or passively. That is why they are on top of the oppression web and how they stay there.
Dudebros in unison “That’s not fair!” (I know, I used to say that too, remember?) But as a recovering dudebro, I can admit that there is not a single non-dudebro group or individual that me or my previous dudebro friends have not, at the very least, oppressed verbally or had privilege over. This has happened across the board, in schools, at all my jobs, on sports teams, in my family, walking down the street, everywhere. It’s everywhere we look. It’s ingrained in our culture. This is a pretty simple equation and I think it works well.
And dudebro remember, if you are not actively working against the culture of oppression that you benefit from, then you are just as guilty. Not calling someone out because of a rape joke they made is equal to making that joke yourself. That’s passive oppression and you still benefit from it, and it makes you just as much a part of the problem.
confessions of a recovering dudebro 