Let me introduce you to my single greatest contribution to progressive online discourse

Speaking of feminist musings I recently shared on Twitter, I don’t mean to brag, but I think I may have solved the “expressing privilege in under a hundred and forty characters” problem. Not only have I whittled it down to just five characters (six if you count the space afterwards), but I’ll bet there’s someone out there who can beat that number.

It’s understood within feminist and social activist circles that if you’re approaching an issue or a debate from a place of privilege – if you’re a young, straight, white, able-bodied middle class man, for example – then the responsible thing to do is acknowledge it. But that’s not an easy thing to do on Twitter, unless you do it in a long series of tweets that inevitably becomes a big confusing fight.

Last week, with this in mind, I argued that Twitter needs a shorthand for “I acknowledge my privilege but I still feel like I can make this important point.” My suggestion was #PBut, as in “#PBut I don’t understand why teaching women self defense and teaching men not to rape can’t go hand in hand.”

Obviously it’s a work in progress, and I’m open to better options. It might be a good idea, for example, to go with something that doesn’t sound like “pee butt” when read aloud.

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