# Male Centrism at the Dope **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 5, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437 "2018-06-05T00:04:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 44
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/861 "2018-06-14T05:33:29Z")
I think Chessic Sense just doesn’t think there’s any poor and/or rural Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/862 "2018-06-14T06:10:08Z")
I’m broke and rural. Do I count? I’m in my 40s though, and a woman, so probably not. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/863 "2018-06-14T06:16:35Z")
I am rural. And a female. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/864 "2018-06-14T06:55:10Z")
> [@A new Jewish High Priest?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-jewish-high-priest/109217/3): > > rural dwellers Spoken like a true… wait, _who_ talks like that? (And can they say it three times, fast?) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/865 "2018-06-14T07:25:00Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I find it so weird that this community is struggling to come to terms with a few threads some find distasteful, when it’s already driven away pretty much every other group there is. There are no young people here. There are no conservatives. There are no poor people. Are there even any rural dwellers here? None I can think of. Actually, some of us poor people are still around. Although when I started here I wasn’t poor. You’re right that it’s pretty damn hostile towards our demographic. ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_Elliot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jane_elliot/32/6166_2.png) [@Jane\_Elliot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_Elliot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/866 "2018-06-14T11:19:16Z")
I’m not poor, but I’m struggling, and I live in rural Maine. There is an air of casual classism here that can be breathtaking sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/867 "2018-06-14T11:45:34Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Please pass the Penis cookies sorry bout the icing. I’m rural! ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/868 "2018-06-14T12:12:45Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Actually, some of us poor people are still around. Although when I started here I wasn’t poor. You’re right that it’s pretty damn hostile towards our demographic. > [@Jane\_Elliot](#): > > I’m not poor, but I’m struggling, and I live in rural Maine. There is an air of casual classism here that can be breathtaking sometimes. If possible can you give some examples to illustrate what you experience as that? I am _not_ trying to argue it is not here; I am just not seeing much of it so need some education on what comes off that way. Oh I see the threads written by people who are discussing expensive items, be they cars, watches, whiskeys, or have you. Are those experienced as casual classism? Or is it in the more political threads? Or other? ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_Elliot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jane_elliot/32/6166_2.png) [@Jane\_Elliot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_Elliot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/869 "2018-06-14T13:04:13Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > If possible can you give some examples to illustrate what you experience as that? I am _not_ trying to argue it is not here; I am just not seeing much of it so need some education on what comes off that way. Oh I see the threads written by people who are discussing expensive items, be they cars, watches, whiskeys, or have you. Are those experienced as casual classism? Or is it in the more political threads? Or other? I don’t have time to go hunting through a million threads, but one of the things that always struck me as classist is when someone talks about some ailment and many people just shout “go to a doctor”. Before the ACA a lot of us were completely without health insurance and a trip to the doctor meant big bucks that we didn’t have. Community health centers where you could get help with mental health problems don’t exist in most places in the US anymore. There is a class of people, like me, who are too well off to get Medicaid and too poor to afford even Silver level health plans. That’s one of the big examples of classist behavior. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/870 "2018-06-14T13:24:39Z")
You sure it’s not just honest concern for your health? Plus a lot of posters reside in nations where there is wide coverage so they don’t stop to consider the cost. That’s not classism in my opinion. If you’re too well off for Medicaid how is one Drs office visit out of reach? We’re not talking expensive tests or hospital visits after all, just seeking a Drs opinion? Surely your health is more important that drinks with friends or movie dates? (Just trying to understand where you’re coming from here!) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/871 "2018-06-14T13:36:12Z")
> [@Jane\_Elliot](#): > > I don’t have time to go hunting through a million threads, but one of the things that always struck me as classist is when someone talks about some ailment and many people just shout “go to a doctor”. That’s not _nece **s** sarily_ classist - it might also be Universal Healthcare-ist (or: what **elbows** said in their first paragraph. Although I think their _second_ one actually _illustrates_ what you’re talking about - **elbows** , there’s a \*lot \*of ground between Medicaid and “drinks&movies” - does the phrase “working poor” mean anything to you?) ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/872 "2018-06-14T13:42:04Z")
and there’s the general attitude that if you don’t live in a large® city then you’re probably a dumb, inbred, flag-waving fundie Trumpet. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/873 "2018-06-14T13:44:24Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > You sure it’s not just honest concern for your health? Plus a lot of posters reside in nations where there is wide coverage so they don’t stop to consider the cost. That’s not classism in my opinion. > > If you’re too well off for Medicaid how is one Drs office visit out of reach? We’re not talking expensive tests or hospital visits after all, just seeking a Drs opinion? Surely your health is more important that drinks with friends or movie dates? (Just trying to understand where you’re coming from here!) Forget it, **elbows**. It’s [del]Chinatown[/del] America. Seriously, the state of health care in the US is obscene, and not really comprehensible to those who do not struggle with it. “[T]oo well off for Medicaid” does not automatically mean able to have “drinks with friends or movie dates.” Even being on Medicaid does not mean that one has the free time, transportation, or guzzoline to easily make even one office visit. Prioritizing one’s health is not always a given. So yeah. Not trying to bag on you or anything…but you are speaking from a certain amount of privilege. Comments like **Jane** mentioned undoubtedly _are_ rooted in genuine concern…but they also are somewhat representative of a casual comfort that not everyone, not even in the wealthiest fucking nation in the history of humanity, shares. (I’mma stop with that before I get angrier than my caffeine levels can support. NOT at you, **'bows**. At the goddamn state of things.) . ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/874 "2018-06-14T13:55:05Z")
When I think of “classist”, it’s not about someone who doesn’t realize “how the other half lives”. It’s more about someone who looks down on people for being poor. Not going to argue about what the correct term is. Just pointing out that one connotation shouldn’t be confused with the other. ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_Elliot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jane_elliot/32/6166_2.png) [@Jane\_Elliot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_Elliot)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/875 "2018-06-14T13:58:01Z")
Thank you to the people who can see what I’m talking about. I’ve never been to the doctor for an ailment that didn’t include a trip to the closest city for tests of some sort. And honestly, if you think drinks with a friend is going to cover the cost of the xrays I had because I thought I broke my arm, I don’t want to go to the bar you’re hanging out in. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/876 "2018-06-14T14:04:16Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > and there’s the general attitude that if you don’t live in a large(r) city then you’re probably a dumb, inbred, flag-waving fundie Trumpet. Actually, we live in the country and absolutely wouldn’t trade it for the world. _However_, the one downside is the alarming number of dumb, inbred, flag-waving fundie Trumpets that live around us.☹ ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/877 "2018-06-14T14:16:42Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > When I think of “classist”, it’s not about someone who doesn’t realize “how the other half lives”. It’s more about someone who looks down on people for being poor. > > Not going to argue about what the correct term is. Just pointing out that one connotation shouldn’t be confused with the other. That’s not unreasonable. We don’t really have a perfect term for “making assumptions about the lives of others based exclusively on our own lived experience.” But… “Why didn’t Anita Hill just quit?” “Why don’t Black people just study harder in school?” “Why don’t poor people just get a job?” Find me words better suited to describe the above than “sexist,” “racist,” or “classist.” I’d be happy to hear them. . ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/878 "2018-06-14T14:24:23Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Not going to argue about what the correct term is. Just pointing out that one connotation shouldn’t be confused with the other. > [@andros](#): > > Find me words better suited to describe the above than “sexist,” “racist,” or “classist.” I’d be happy to hear them. > . “Privilege” seems to fit the bill in a generic-enough way, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/879 "2018-06-14T14:30:12Z")
> [@andros](#): > > That’s not unreasonable. We don’t really have a perfect term for “making assumptions about the lives of others based exclusively on our own lived experience.” > . Short-sighted. Marie-Antoinette. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437/880 "2018-06-14T14:42:52Z")
To then clarify - is what is being referenced a received sense of _disdain_ from those of (likely upper) middle class or higher to those of lower SES, or the _ignorance_ some posters have about the real world lived by some who are lower middle class or below (and possibly dropping)? It does not seem to be the discussions of some regarding “the finer things” that they can afford to indulge in (again, the expensive cars, watches, whiskeys, etc. …) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437.md?page=43) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-centrism-at-the-dope/815437.md?page=45)