WITH PRIVILEGE COMES RESPONSIBILITY

STRANGER: Although I appreciate Paul Constant's effort to draw attention to the social construction of masculinities ["Am I Man Enough?" May 8], I found myself disappointed with the article. Indeed, A. Birch Steen's Public Editor column probably put it best when he—albeit sarcastically—described his response to the article as "disgust" filled. The Stranger is a paper that applauds itself on its "gay friendly" affiliations and ties to GLBT communities and struggles. Yet, this column once again asks us to approach the experiences of trans or GLBT individuals through the eyes of the outside observer looking for self-enlightenment. At times, this may be a necessary approach to enacting social change, but that too often places trans and queer folks into the role of spectacles and/or educators for the masses. Thereby reducing the actual life stories of trans/genderqueer/queer folks into unidimensional, repetitive slogans and limiting who is invested with the authority to speak.

Perhaps The Stranger could demonstrate its sincere commitment to the lives of trans, genderqueer, and queer people by dedicating column space for members of those multiple communities and all the issues they might bring to the table. It sounds as if Paul Constant's journey has led him to conclude that normative masculinities often come with privilege and he might agree that with privilege comes responsibility to others.

Jayne

A REAL MAN

PAUL CONSTANT: I loved your article this week. I found it interesting and funny and well written. I'm a heterosexual girl in her early 20s who is constantly annoyed with the "manly"/assholish behaviors of boys my own age. It is refreshing to know that there are men (yes, real men) who have perspective like you.

Hillary

MUCH TO CONSIDER

PAUL CONSTANT: Loved the article. I've never thought about male entitlement this way before. I've always thought of myself as a somewhat meek and (stereotypically) unmasculine guy, but reading your article has shown me something of just how "masculine" I am. I know that your article will affect the way that I approach male/female interactions. You've given me much to consider.

Ryan

MORE THAN ANY OTHER 'ISM

ERICA C. BARNETT: That was a fine piece of writing on Hillary Clinton ["Game Over," May 8]. Though I admit that the race isn't over—isn't that what a democracy is all about, letting every vote count?—but you make excellent points. What sort of saddens me is that the Obama campaign at the outset was exciting and magical, and now it's just politics—because after all he is just a politician. As Paul Krugman said, "A few months ago the Obama campaign was talking about transcendence. Now it's talking about math. 'Yes we can' has become 'No she can't.'" And it has been weird to read and see how many sexist comments are allowed to be spoken. It has seemed to me to be much more sexist than any other 'ism.

Elaine

FIRST-TIME WRITER

ERICA C. BARNETT: I've never been one to e-mail/write a letter in response to an article, but I loved your piece about why Clinton should concede. While I now support Obama, for a while I was really torn between the two. I respect Clinton a lot and I agree with pretty much every point you make. I think it's unfortunate that some people are still seeing her as a woman rather than just another candidate, but I think it's something to see that she was there at all.

So thank you for writing that. It's the first well-written article on the subject that I've seen. You also weren't negative toward either candidate or toward the American public, which is unusual.

Liz Kelliher-Paz

A DIGNIFIED CAMPAIGN

ERICA C. BARNETT: First of all, Hillary Clinton's strongest base is older women voters—and older voters generally. The real fault line is age.

Second, voter statistics have been skewed lately by the Rush Limbaugh effect—including 119,000 conservative Republicans who voted for Hillary in the Texas primary. The same thing happened in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Indiana.

Third, you say that "Hillary was held to a higher standard than any male candidate would ever be held to." Are you kidding me?

Can you imagine if Obama had been caught lying through his teeth about Bosnia? His campaign would have been finished. There is an incredible racial double standard in effect here—Obama most definitely cannot make any mistakes, and definitely can't tell any lies. Senator Obama has run a clean and dignified campaign. He is changing the U.S. electorate and will make a great president.

A.T.