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Recognizing the importance of acknowledging one’s positionality before making a point, sophomore Jason Brennan of Professor Whitfield’s Tuesday seminar on Feminist Literature starts all his comments with the phrase, “As an asshole…”
According to Brennan, who decided to take the class due to his “love for strong women," his goal is to remind peers that his views could provide “valuable and diverse insight” because they’re not coming from the perspective of a woman, and instead, are coming from the perspective of an asshole.
Though friends of Brennan point out how unfair it is that Brennan must represent an entire identity group every time he speaks, Brennan told sources that he has decided to accept this burden. “Just because I’m a minority in my Feminist Literature class,” said Brennan, “doesn’t mean I don’t have important viewpoints to offer on issues like the thigh gap and getting paid less.”
Says Professor Whitfield of Brennan’s contributions to the class, “Not everyone has that level of self-knowledge to understand that their identity means certain biases and expectations will accompany all of the ideas they raise in class.” This is especially impressive in Brennan’s case, says Whitfield, “because he’s such an asshole, and reminds us of this before every comment he makes.”
When asked how his identity is valuable in discussions concerning feminist topics, Brennan responded, “I have a mother, a sister, a girlfriend, and a female ferret. As an asshole, I think I pretty much get it.”
