What are your thoughts regarding "Male versus Female Privileges"?

[Wendy]

I have read and heard the phase "Male versus Female Privileges".   What does that mean to you?

[DarkLady]

For me it means inequality because feminism has removed male priviledge in here. Many women do not anymore understand that also they must think also family and children not just themselves.

[Lachlann]

To me it's just how society treats the two different genders and how they are perceived (Example: Men can sleep around and be praised, but a woman will be thought of as a whore.)

There are several lists about male privilege, but the most that I've seen about female privilege aren't nearly as long so it'd be unfair to post them for comparison I suppose.

Edit: Here, I've cut down the male one so it's a bit more fair. I'm sure the female privilege one would be longer if more people added onto it.

Female Privilege

1. I have a much lower chance of being murdered than a man.
2. I have a much lower chance of being driven to successfully commit suicide than a man.
3. I have a lower chance of being a victim of a violent assault than a man.
4. I have probably been taught that it is acceptable to cry.
5. I will probably live longer than the average man.
6. Most people in society probably will not see my overall worthiness as a person being exclusively tied to how high up in the hierarchy I rise.
7. I have a much better chance of being considered to be a worthy mate for someone, even if I'm unemployed with little money, than a man.
8. I am given much greater latitude to form close, intimate friendships than a man is.
9. My chance of suffering a work-related injury or illness is significantly lower than a man's.
10. My chance of being killed on the job is a tiny fraction of a man's.
11. If I shy away from fights, it is unlikely that this will damage my standing in my peer group or call into question my worthiness as a sex partner.
12. I am not generally expected to be capable of violence. If I lack this capacity, this will generally not be seen as a damning personal deficiency.
13. If I was born in North America since WWII, I can be almost certain that my genitals were not mutilated soon after birth, without anesthesia.
14. If I attempt to hug a friend in joy, it's much less likely that my friend will wonder about my sexuality or pull away in unease.
15. If I seek a hug in solace from a close friend, I'll have much less concern about how my friend will interpret the gesture or whether my worthiness as a member of my gender will be called into question.
16. I generally am not compelled by the rules of my sex to wear emotional armor in interactions with most people.
17. I am frequently the emotional center of my family.
18. I am allowed to wear clothes that signify 'vulnerability', 'playful openness', and 'softness'.
19. I am allowed to BE vulnerable, playful, and soft without calling my worthiness as a human being into question.
20. If I interact with other people's children — particularly people I don't know very well — I do not have to worry much about the interaction being misinterpreted.
21. If I have trouble accommodating to some aspects of gender demands, I have a much greater chance than a man does of having a sympathetic audience to discuss the unreasonableness of the demand, and a much lower chance that this failure to accommodate will be seen as signifying my fundamental inadequacy as a member of my gender.
22. I am less likely to be shamed for being sexually inactive than a man.
23. From my late teens through menopause, for most levels of sexual attractiveness, it is easier for me to find a sex partner at my attractiveness level than it is for a man.
24. My role in my child's life is generally seen as more important than the child's father's role.

Male Privilege

1. My odds of being hired for a job, when competing against female applicants, are probably skewed in my favour. The more prestigious the job, the larger the odds are skewed.
2. I can be confident that my co-workers won't think I got my job because of my sex - even though that might be true.
3. If I am never promoted, it's not because of my sex.
4. If I fail in my job or career, I can feel sure this won't be seen as a black mark against my entire sex's capabilities.
5. The odds of my encountering sexual harassment on the job are so low as to be negligible.
6. If I do the same task as a woman, and if the measurement is at all subjective, chances are people will think I did a better job.
7. If I'm a teen or adult, and if I can stay out of prison, my odds of being raped are so low as to be negligible.
8. I am not taught to fear walking alone after dark in average public spaces.
9. If I choose not to have children, my masculinity will not be called into question.
10. If I have children but do not provide primary care for them, my masculinity will not be called into question.
11. If I have children and provide primary care for them, I'll be praised for extraordinary parenting if I'm even marginally competent.
12. If I have children and pursue a career, no one will think I'm selfish for not staying at home.
13. If I seek political office, my relationship with my children, or who I hire to take care of them, will probably not be scrutinized by the press.
14. Chances are my elected representatives are mostly people of my own sex. The more prestigious and powerful the elected position, the more likely this is to be true.
15. I can be somewhat sure that if I ask to see "the person in charge," I will face a person of my own sex. The higher-up in the organization the person is, the surer I can be.
16. As a child, chances are I was encouraged to be more active and outgoing than my sisters.
17. As a child, I could choose from an almost infinite variety of children's media featuring positive, active, non-stereotyped heroes of my own sex. I never had to look for it; male heroes were the default.
18. As a child, chances are I got more teacher attention than girls who raised their hands just as often.
19. If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether or not it has sexist overtones.
20. I can turn on the television or glance at the front page of the newspaper and see people of my own sex widely represented, every day, without exception.
21. If I'm careless with my financial affairs it won't be attributed to my sex.
22. If I'm careless with my driving it won't be attributed to my sex.
23. I can speak in public to a large group without putting my sex on trial.
24. If I have sex with a lot of people, it won't make me an object of contempt or derision.

[DarkLady]

Many of those listed in male priviledges are not anymore true. However what come to number 7 only relatives I know ever sexually assaulted are males and they have not been in prison. They have been forced to serve in the military. You Americans should be really happy that Obama won and so the draft is not returning.

[tekla]

I doubt it would have returned under McCain either, the military does not want it.  But that's nether here nor there.

A lot of that stuff is not privilege, but simple statistics.

Though there are 'privileges' that can be attributed to gender, most are more of a class and income deal in reality.

[Wendy]

Monty thanks for the list.

I had a girl friend that told me I wish to be a girl so that I can get "girl privileges".  I did not understand that comment in that I felt men had more privileges than females.  However the list showed dynamics that are very interesting.

I continue to present as a male.  However I am not following all of the male guidelines.  I like to hug a friend when I see them.  Some people now view me as having turned "super gay".  What is "super gay"?  I seem to be losing the privileges of a male and not gaining any privileges of a woman. 

I now get sexually harassed as people will grab my breasts.  This is not cool but since I present male what options do I have?

My beard is gone permanently and this can draw negative comments.

I am expected to lift heavy objects since I present male but I no longer have the strength.

[Lachlann]

Many of those listed in male priviledges are not anymore true. However what come to number 7 only relatives I know ever sexually assaulted are males and they have not been in prison. They have been forced to serve in the military. You Americans should be really happy that Obama won and so the draft is not returning.

I don't think many of them are outdated, but some of them on both the lists, I feel are only relevant to your area. They're not meant to be the one and the only way, but they're examples of the differences.

As far as drafts go... proud to be Canadian. Besides, the draft for the Iraq war was only if you were originally a soldier, they didn't go as far as to just take males of a certain age. The one referring to rape is talking about the odds of getting raped, not molestation. There is a difference.

Monty thanks for the list.

I had a girl friend that told me I wish to be a girl so that I can get "girl privileges".  I did not understand that comment in that I felt men had more privileges than females.  However the list showed dynamics that are very interesting.

I continue to present as a male.  However I am not following all of the male guidelines.  I like to hug a friend when I see them.  Some people now view me as having turned "super gay".  What is "super gay"?  I seem to be losing the privileges of a male and not gaining any privileges of a woman.

I now get sexually harassed as people will grab my breasts.  This is not cool but since I present male what options do I have?

My beard is gone permanently and this can draw negative comments.

I am expected to lift heavy objects since I present male but I no longer have the strength.

Yeah, I know what you mean. You don't really think about it until someone actually points it out.

[Tristan]

Many of those listed in male priviledges are not anymore true. However what come to number 7 only relatives I know ever sexually assaulted are males and they have not been in prison. They have been forced to serve in the military. You Americans should be really happy that Obama won and so the draft is not returning.

when i go to see family in India men still get to run things. not so much when imm back in the states though.lol
except when it comes to muslim way of life. men run that house where ever they may be.

[Syne]

For me, personally, it has been a wash. Now that I have been living fulltime forever, I have had gains and losses. The best thing I did for the paycheck was getting out of retail. In retail there was a big pay difference. Techie work, not so much.

I have had guys treat me like I am an idiot and had to find a decent mechanic that understood that having tits did not make me car stupid. Yes, I even had one guy explain to me how to wax a car before. Idiot.

As a woman I am happier, making more money, have more friends, participate in sports (all female), and am treated pretty nicely when out and about. While it is frustrating with the car thing I have to point out that my knowledge is limited and it was just as frustrating when living as a male and they assumed I knew all about car stuff. In reality I know enough to not get ripped off but not so much that I could ever do anything beyond a tune up and changing of disc breaks (which I learned a few years ago).

YMMV.

[tekla]

What a bunch of ->-bleeped-<-s who think that privilege is all about gender, and had little, or nothing to do with class and social rank.  I'm voting an A+ for social conditioning on this thread.