Guys on Reddit are very typically coming from STEM fields – a lot of engineers, a lot of programmers. I really think the complete lack of basic understanding of social justice on Reddit, the lack of understanding of how past oppression continues to exert force on the present, is reflective of a larger failure of a good humanities education. It’s reflective of the increasing early specialization we require of college and even high school kids. Their STEM curriculums don’t require much of a humanities or social science foundation, so they grow up completely unarmed with the tools required to think critically about society, and totally unaware of how social structures shape everyone’s lives – and it’s especially invisible to them as mostly white, middle-class, straight males.
“Why is Reddit so Anti-Women?” Fascinating (and highly sensical) approach here, underscoring what gets lost when education (policy) is viewed as strictly the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields (the globally profitable/innovation-driven ones) at the expense of social/cultural education. (via marathonpacks)