Only cisgendered, heterosexual, able-bodied white men with money can really pull themselves up by their bootstraps. They were handed the straps by way of gender and skin color and simply needed to pull, i.e., apply themselves. That’s not to say they don’t work hard or face barriers; it’s to say their gender and skin color grant them privileges based on these characteristics alone. Other forces like racism, sexism, ableism, and homophobia limit a wide range of people to differing degrees. And while talent is distributed equally among all people, opportunity, resources, and privilege are not.
