Oh, the privilege of ignorance...

A couple of nights ago, my husband came home from work and had to unlock the door (again), so he asked "Why do you always lock the door when you are home?!"

I don't think I know a single woman who doesn't know the answer to that question.

Some women either don't realize that they are oppressed, or they don't accept it. However, I have yet to meet a woman who does not asknowledge the power men have over women.

I lock the door for the same reason I pick up the pace when I hear footsteps behind me, or don't walk alone in the dark - out of fear - fear of violation. I have been programmed to fear men and what they can (and some will) do. I need to protect myself and my son. My husband has the luxury (privilege) of not experiencing that fear. He may fear other things, but never a violation in his home by a strange man.

Let's clarify the fundamentals...

What do I mean by 'societal standard?' A standard is something established by authority, custom, or general consent as a model or example. In my society, the prominent standards are whiteness, ability, Christianity, heterosexuality, youth (but not too young), wealth, and maleness. The society is built to accommodate the people who measure up. Everyone else is relegated to the margins where they face countless, often insurmountable, barriers through institutionalized oppression.

Often, people who measure up have no idea about the barriers oppressed people face. That's because they don't have to, and because they are conditioned not to. The people who measure up are privileged; they benefit in ways that they don't even know, and they have the luxury of not having to know.

These standards are so ingrained that we often don't recognized them, anymore. I cannot tell you how many people (women included) tell me that female humans are no longer oppressed. Really, though? Really? That idea cannot be further from the truth (which I will address at a later date - probably tomorrow after I take my car to the shop).

Patriarchal standards are deeply ingrained that they are actually evident in our language - women, woman, human, mankind... there are numerous examples. It's even true in other languages.
Let's look at French:
Elle - female
Elles - more than one female
Il - male
Ils - any group with one or more males (it could be 50 women and one man, and it's still Ils).

These standards are reinforced in social systems - education, health care, legal, penal, governmental, and economic. We are conditioned to measure up to these standards, even if we never can, or don't want to.