In what upside-down universe is it considered necessary to pre-emptive apologize for what you are (a man) and what you might unintentionally do (offend someone's sensibilities)?
These kind ridiculous expectations of others is why the Adria Richards thing blew up, not because of (quoting the article the author links to) "One Brogrammer's Sexist Joke".
By acknowledging upfront that I have many biases and that I hold a very real position of privilege in society as a man, I am trying to speak not from up high, but as a peer, as an equal.
I don't feel this is an unrealistic expectation. The whole point of this post is that women face unique challenges that men often do not understand. Your suggestion that my disclaimer only exists in an "upside down" universe suggests you don't agree with that assertion.
No -- I don't agree with a social movement that induces you to lead with an apology for an innate traits such as your gender.
Also, your assertion - "By acknowledging upfront that I have many biases and that I hold a very real position of privilege in society as a man, I am trying to speak not from up high, but as a peer, as an equal." is also reverse discrimination. I am sure not every man or woman would agree that a man always has the upper hand. And please, your statement is general to the point of meaningless.
Like I said, in the spirit of open discussion, you have written a great article but your disclaimer is a weak point.
If people take offense to you or your writing regardless of the content of your writing and make assumptions on you based on their perceptions of your sex and gender identification, well, we have a word to describe such prejudice, don't we?
As the old saying goes, people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.
So this mysterious word of yours.... what is it?
Mine is "privilege blindness": http://www.shakesville.com/2008/04/blindness-of-privilege.ht...
http://www.amptoons.com/blog/the-male-privilege-checklist/
Aside from my opinion on the disclaimer, the link above definitely articulates "male privilege" in a more substantive way.
I like the article but there is too much "please don't be mad at me if I offend." Here's a reality bite: Doesn't matter what you say, someone will get offended.
If you don't acknowledge the disparity, you will immediately turn off a huge segment of your target audience.
Yes, people may still get offended, but you can try to REDUCE the likelihood that they do, in order to effectively reach more people.
I am smart enough to realize what language to use and how to do this in a way that fits the target audience. I don't preface my discussions with - "Please don't be offended that I have a business degree."
This is my point, your audience will judge you on your content, not your disclaimer.
You have your opinion on this and we respectfully disagree :). Good for you for writing the article.
Because he's admitting he's a man writing on a topic only fully understood by women, he's suddenly weak for wanting to clarify to his readers that he can only speak for himself?