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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Very basic, obvious examples of male privilege please?

362 replies

tigersox · 18/06/2018 19:21

Examples every man will experience. Undeniable and obvious

I'm trying to make male privilege simple to a friend who feels us feminists have gone too far.

Thanks Grin

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KathyBeale · 18/06/2018 20:29

I have really become aware recently of how often I move out of the way for men. Just walking down the street, or on public transport, or in shops.

The other day I was walking home and coming towards me were three lads - maybe 14 or 15. They had all been riding their bikes on the pavement and to give them their due they did all get off when they saw me coming, but they didn’t move. So they were taking up the whole pavement and I just stopped dead in the middle because I could not be arsed to squeeze up against a wall to get past. They did then move over to get round me but they all tutted as they went past. Tutted. Because I - a middle aged woman carrying lots of shopping - hadn’t moved out of their way.

Theinconstantgardener · 18/06/2018 20:27

Not having to sit on the bog with your arse jammed up against the sanny bin
Grin
People not assuming you are responsible for the cleanliness or otherwise of your house. Wife work x infinity

boatyardblues · 18/06/2018 20:26

As a man, any pair of shoes/trainers/sandals/boots you decide to buy will be designed with comfort and wearability as standard. The only exception I can think of is alpine ski boots, which are designed for function over comfort.

tabulahrasa · 18/06/2018 20:26

I think the big ones are covered... so pettier ones

Pockets, men get pockets in their clothes.

Seatbelts are designed for men, breasts interfere with them sitting right.

Everything is at the right height for average men, not women.

If men do any parenting at all, they’re amazing, women are criticised for every single parenting decision they make.

ErrolTheDragon · 18/06/2018 20:26

I'm trying to make male privilege simple to a friend who feels us feminists have gone too far.

Not having to justify their right to equality.

Being the 'default sex'. But they're so used to it they tend not to notice.

WinkyisbackontheButterBeer · 18/06/2018 20:26

Man leaves his wife and kids and it is fine. He will see the kids on a weekend and life will go on.

Woman leaves her husband and kids and she is a cruel and unnatural creature who should be eternally ashamed of herself.

If a man is promiscuous he is a ‘ladies man’ ‘a lad’ and someone to be aspired to.
If a woman is promiscuous she is a ‘slut’ and a ‘slapper’. Something dirty and best and ‘asking for it’ and fair game at worst.

Man buys time kids birthday present etc and he is a great dad. Mum does it and there is zero recognition. It is her job after all.

Man cleans and cooks and his wife is ‘lucky’. He should be commended and rewarded.
Wife does and nothing. If she doesnt, he should be simpathised with. She is clearly crap and not doing her job right.

loveyouradvice · 18/06/2018 20:24

Feeling safe walking alone in streets late at night

Not thinking that every woman who talks to him is thinking how shaggable are you

Not becoming invisible as you age

Being able to look in any direction and seeing role models - whether head teacher of mixed school, Prime Minister, CEOs of FTSE 100, most successful high-earning sports people.... need I go on?

Freshprincess · 18/06/2018 20:23

I had to explain why a woman would carry her keys in her hand whilst walking home alone to a colleague. Not only had he no idea women did this, couldn’t fathom why.

All the fuss over women being included in the World Cup commetary team, if such prominence was ever given to women’s football there would be no complaints about male commentators.

Man who has it all is great, Some of them are so subtle it has really made me stop and think.

boatyardblues · 18/06/2018 20:22

Not having to sit on the bog with your arse jammed up against the sanny bin.

foxpox · 18/06/2018 20:21

It starts at birth doesn't it...and also by that I mean the pattern and behaviours that carry forward to the next generation so the male privilege is self reinforcing.
So thinking of the previous examples of men being leaders without being control freaks or bossy - Boys are treated with the same privilege as men, so when they tell other kids what to do it's classed as leadership where girls are told not to be bossy or domineering. Boys begin to think this is how it is and see themselves as in charge and women as less able (which of course being undermined all the time many women will be less able due to the uphill battle they face) and so the patterns continue when those same adults imprint it to their children. Then men continue take for granted they can fulfil leadership roles without even considering their behaviour to be anything but leadership quality. It doesn't help that these qualities are masculinised anyway, that is they are idealised male traits to start with meaning women inherently cannot have them.
Obviously it's not this linear and the issues are complex but the patterns are strong enough to see trends of how men and women are viewed differently play out the same over the world.

Other things I feel men have to deal with less:
Situations where simply being female means you have to explain yourself so that your gender isn't blamed on why you did or didn't do something. Eg - if I can't put a flat pack together then it's not because I didn't have the right tools or just read the instructions wrong, it's because I'm female and simply can't do it. If my husband can't do it it would be because he was distracted or in a rush.

Low expectation for men to look after children obviously and therefore less burden of responsibility for day to day care of children, which usually extends to the rest of a shared life hence so many people struggling with unequal division of domestic labour.

Women work more for less - if taking unpaid cleaning cooking and other domestic jobs into account then it is even more skewed. So men are paid and valued more. The implicit power imbalance here will be unnoticed by many men as it's all they've ever known.

Men aren't treated as idiots by older men of a particular type. The very fact you are a women makes you irresponsible, emotional and unsuitable for many things in the minds of plenty of people in positions of authority and power. Knowing this makes you shrink a little inside sometimes. Men won't feel this.

Respect - I have to work harder to get people to respect me in my workplace simply because I'm a woman. I don't think many men can truly identify with this because it's a build up of years of being belittled and ignored. Men largely will not have to contend with this.

The majority of people are so unaware that they categorise their children, relatives, friends, colleagues according to the very polarised gender stereotypes that it feels to me like the problems are going to get worse before they get better.

ReluctantCamper · 18/06/2018 20:18

oh yes to the wife work

all the men who do similar jobs to me don't have heads full of

does ds1's school uniform still fit?
ds2's shoes aren't properly waterpoof
ds1 has a transition day at school, must arrange for 1 of us to work from home to get him there and back
need to send a shoebox into ds2's nursery as they're making bug houses
do i need to add anything to the waitrose delivery?

and so on and so fucking on

fascinated · 18/06/2018 20:12

Pram lady not last of course!

CircleSquareCircleSquare · 18/06/2018 20:12

When they are in sole charge of their children they are merely babysitting. I wonder if the pick up a bit of pin money for the task.

One I get a lot at work is “oh, a lady doctor!” my husband is in the same profession and never experiences similar.

fascinated · 18/06/2018 20:12

@halfwitpicker - I once had a van man tell me I shouldn’t have crossed the street with my pram where I did ... seriously ! Luckily I am now quite old and don’t care so I told him where to go, called him a cheeky so and so and loudly told everyone around me what he had done to a poor defenceless pram last and got lots of sympathy and righteous anger from everybody! And yes I made sure I pointed out that he wouldn’t have said that to a man, would he??? He wasn’t happy. 😂

flashnazia · 18/06/2018 20:11

Examples of male privilege:
Not fearing pregnancy
Not fearing rape
Not having to fear being called bitchy when you are simply asserting yourself
Not having to fear the loss of your career if you have children
Not having to fear your sex class being erased
Not having to fear I suppose.

QuentinSummers · 18/06/2018 20:08

The parking thread is a good example too
Contraception - men have one choice and it doesn't fuck with their mind. Women routinely get told they are imagining contraceptive side effects
Shoes
Being able to go topless in the heat

The main one though is the freedom men have to go where they like when they like. Despite men being at higher risk of violent assaults.

EmilieDuChatelet · 18/06/2018 20:07

Personal space. Male personal space more respected than women's. So no bum patting, arms around shoulders, being grabbed for a hug, bottom pinching, or worse. No rubbing of pregnancy bumps.

If friend cannot see this find some Jim and Jim (French and Saunders) sketches for how women view men who do this.

TransplantsArePlants · 18/06/2018 20:03

Not being accused of being aggressive, abrasive, hysterical or shrieky when expressing anger

Not doing all the thinking about children

Not being the default carer of children: being able to get praise for 'babysitting' their own children and 'helping' their wife

Not being groped, wolf-whistled at or worse in public

Not having to suffer the multiple and life-long health issues related to female anatomy

Not being blamed for violence they are subjected to

halfwitpicker · 18/06/2018 20:00

Unwanted advice from idiotic men.

I was walking down a quiet suburban street once and some toss pot told me I was walking on the wrong side. Actually stopped the car, wound the window down and informed me of this.

Do you think he'd have told a man? No, he wouldn't.

I wish with all my heart I'd have looked him dead in the eye and said slowly 'Fuck..... Off'

But of course I'm conditioned to be polite. He's conditioned to be an asshole.

AnduinsGirl · 18/06/2018 19:57

I see we've both suffered there, AnotherQuoll

Somerville · 18/06/2018 19:56

Leading on from 'working mother', I give you "career woman" and that I've never, ever, heard someone describe a male as a "career man".

AnduinsGirl · 18/06/2018 19:56

Being able to wander into any pub, buy a drink and stand/sit in solitude without some unwelcome fool harassing you.

AnotherQuoll · 18/06/2018 19:55

Being able to sit by yourself in a cafe, just relax and have five minutes to yourself, watch the world, read a paper, or whatever without some bloke deciding you simply mustn't be allowed that space, that you're there to provide some kind of conversation service for him.

boatyardblues · 18/06/2018 19:53

In M&S men are able to buy decent work and casual wear at very affordable prices: cotton shirts, woollen knitwear, leather shoes and nice Italian suits in wool and linen. Womenswear is a bonfire of highly flammable polyester, overly ornamented with all manner of shite and cut so there is often too much on show, all at stupid prices. For decent workwear in natural fibres, women have to buy from more expensive fashion lines (eg Jaeger, Hobbs, Jigsaw) and at significantly higher prices. Add in more expensive haircuts, the price of bra, (limited durability vs socks) hosiery and makeup and it is a lot more expensive just to get out of the door and go to work, without the pay gap, motherhood penalty and all that other crap.

The thing I most often notice is all the wifework that gets done for senior men by their PAs/admin staff - buying leaving gifts, birthday presents for family, etc.

halfwitpicker · 18/06/2018 19:52

As soon as women kick up a fuss at work, they are seen as 'trouble'. Men are seen as assertive.

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