"...the mechanisms that afford us privilege are very often invisible to us. What makes us marginal (unempowered, oppressed) are the mechanisms that we understand because those are the ones that are most painful in daily life."
-Kimmel and Messner "Men as Gendered Beings"
According to the above statement we are most aware of those things that hold us back in society. The question I would like to ask is why we are defined by things we view as "flaws?" Why does our society revel in making us constantly aware of those things that hold us back? Is it the human mind that makes us think this way? Is this present throughout all cultures or just in America? Is it simply, like Kimmel and Messner claim the pain that makes us always aware? Conversely, why do we not recognize in ourselves the things that make us privileged?
This seems to me very similar to body issues that many humans have. Instead of looking at the positives in our bodies, we look at only the negative things. In fact, it may only be one negative thing, and some people will do anything to fix it no matter how expensive or painful the price. In American society perfection is what we strive for. But why can't we instead focus on the things that make us great instead of the things that make us "not perfect."
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