It is unrealistic to think that you could truly know what it is like to be someone else. Is it possible that an individual could fail to understand themselves, and their place in society? To contemplate one's own status in society is a challenging task, so narrow your scope to gender. Two comedic works can help understand just how impossibly complicated society's perception of gender is. The first work is a Short essay describing the "challenges" of femininity by Wendy Molyneux entitled I am sorry that I didn't write a comedy piece. This ironically titled comedy piece is a response the sentiment that women are not funny. On the other end of the spectrum there is "White Dude" by Lil Dicky. In the song he brags about how lucky he is to be a man, and he does this in response to the sentiment that men have easy lives. Both "White Dude" and I am sorry that I didn't write a comedy piece give a sarcastic look into how they are expected to be. When both sides of the proverbial coin are scrutinized a more holistic meaning can be derived from the works. 

Ladies first, Wendy Molyneux got the inspiration to write I am sorry that I didn't write a comedy piece from a condescending article targeted at women that asks for more comedy pieces. From the very first line she is already playing on society's degradation of women's intellect by using the verbiage "sound out" instead of read. Later in the introductory paragraph she evokes the stereotype that women are over-emotional, and over emotional by saying "So I put down my giant chocolate bar, stopped crying " (W. Molyneux 416). For the majority of the Essay she plays this caricature of the stereotypical woman. Her entire propose in writing this piece is to illustrate how outlandish female stereotypes are. Her ability to write a comedy piece is not hampered by her femininity, and she seeks to prove this point by hyperbolizing them. Although nobody truly believes that women are inherently less intellectual, women can expect to have their score heightened on the ASVAB. This implies that just because of the gender someone is born with that they are automatically less capable. Adjusting scores is based on the very attitude that Molyneux is making fun of. It is clear in her comedy piece that she is fed up with the way her gender is viewed and the preconceived notions some people have about not only her comedic abilities, but here worth as a person. 

On the other side of the fence there is a comedic rapper named Lil Dicky and his song "White Dude". This song is not in response to any single person in particular, however it is a response to the general sentiment that white males have it easy. He chose to support this idea with his own personal experiences and observations with a comedic twist. I9n his song he chooses to highlight the differences between himself and other ethnicities in the first chorus, and then he does the same with being male and female. His argument hyperbolizes the advantages of being born a white male in today's society. Most of his argument for men having easyer lives than women are sound. Like when he said "And when I'm freaking, I'm getting daps, high fives, and all that Ma rep goin up, and at best, ho a slut". He is alluding to the fact that promiscuity is viewed differently based on gender. He is shedding light on the fact that if he were to have sex with multiple women that he would be congratulated by his peers. While at the same time he realizes that if a woman where to have sex with multiple men that at best she would be considered a floozy. Not all of his arguments are based on real problems with gender relations he uses brash generalizations based on stereotypes throughout his song.  When he said "In disagreements, I participate without weeping" he implied that women are less able to disagree in a civil manner based on the way they were born. This observation is based on how women are portrayed in our society as more emotional and less rational. Do a quick google search of emotional people crying and you will see that most of the results are stock photos of sad women, very few men pop up because men are more often than not viewed as more in control of their emotions. 

Both of these works together paint a larger picture of the harm of identity politics in our society. What is identity politics? Well Identity politics can be described as basing your beliefs on what group you were born into. It has risen in popularity recently, and it serves to divide people on issues that stem from something they have no control over. If you are a woman you have been oppressed because of this and all of your achievements are in spite of your upbringing. However if you are male all of your achievements are because you were handed an easy life at birth. This is far from the truth, men and women should be viewed as equals and thusly they should be given an equal opportunity to show their worth to society. By extension it is the duty of society as a whole to abolish prejudices based on race and gender. Wendy Molyneux used her humor to prove that she is more than just her lack of privilege. While Lil Dicky indirectly uses his humor to rise questions on how men are seen a products of privilege

