Exceptional Mediocrity: The Patriarchy Demands Little, Yet Greatly Rewards Its Favored Ones

The myth of meritocracy in America is a tale that insists hard work leads to success and that talent and perseverance are the keys to upward mobility. Yet, when we look closer at the way our society truly functions, this narrative falls apart.

Photo by Jurica Koletić on Unsplash

Exceptional Mediocrity: The Patriarchy Demands Little, Yet Greatly Rewards Its Favored Ones

The myth of meritocracy in America is a tale that insists hard work leads to success, that talent and perseverance are the keys to upward mobility.

When we look closer at the way our society truly functions, this narrative falls apart. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the way the patriarchy continues to uphold and reward the mediocrity of its favored sons — primarily white, legacy males — while demanding exceptionalism from everyone else, particularly non-whites and women.

It is no secret that certain people, by virtue of their birth, enjoy privileges that the rest of us do not.