There is a sociological theory which believes that men enjoy certain unearned political, social, economic advantages simply because of their gender. This is something of a hot button topic; especially with men who believe the feminist movement to be inimical to social order and with those who see themselves as actually oppressed rather than as a group having institutional privilege and power. This tweet started a conversation around male privilege that I urge men to read – it will help clarify some concepts.
Security is a huge issue for women; far more than men. Not only are women more vulnerable than men, women are judged far more harshly than men for doing the same thing in the same place at the same time as men would.
If a man speaks a lot he is authoritative. If a woman does the same she is too talkative and demanding. Women are more likely to be interrupted while talking and far more likely to be patronized and talked down to simply because of their sex.
As a white male brought up and living in North America, the asker of this question happens to be among the most privileged groups of people on earth; a few pointed out this fact.
“If I have children and provide primary care for them, I’ll be praised for extraordinary parenting if I’m even marginally competent. I am far less likely to face sexual harassment at work than my female co-workers are. If I’m careless with my driving it won’t be attributed to my sex.” These are just a few items on the list created by a man to admit to his own privilege.
The way that men and women are expected to behave is very different; men get to cut a lot of slack, the standards for women are much more stringent, her options far more limited.
Many men who deny privilege will cite reasons why there is no privilege; the fact that they underwent certain amounts of difficulty in getting an education, employment and relationships is proffered as proof of the absence of that privilege. No matter how much evidence is offered, there is no acknowledgement.
A meme will erupt out of virtually nowhere and in this case as well, the real issue was sidetracked by a photoshopped image such as this.
Here are the words of men who used to be women. They’ve literally seen both sides of the coin. This is what they think about male privilege... the group most uniquely qualified to comment on the matter.
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