Why do so many men deny the existence of male privilege?
I’ll posit that it’s because they’ve (we’ve?) always taken it for granted and are uncomfortable with any disruption to their (our?) psyches.
Other theories?
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An excellent post for the politics forum I think.
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Honest self reflection requires one to not only look inward, but to do so with an awareness of what others experience. So first, one must have empathy for how others experience life - only then is it possible to understand how our lives might be different than theirs.
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Not another privilege post. Maybe this will help to get different perspectives.
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I’m confused. I posted a similar question in the random questions sub forum but it was removed because I mentioned race. So I tried again, trying to conform with the TOS, but apparently sex is too political.
Moderators, please move this to the political sub forum.
As @seal16 indicated, there is a thread for males under 35. There is also a thread about what can be done to improve things for women 18-35, below. Both of these threads are in the Parent Cafe, open to all.
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Here is a thread in the politics forum to talk about this topic without having to avoid aspects that may be political:
https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/male-privilege-political-aspects/3670933
Done.
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This thread has been moved to the PF, so the new thread is no longer needed.
Can you give an example, or provide some context? This is a pretty broad topic.
Here is an older page where transgender people note the differences in how they are treated based on pre and post transition gender presentation:
In other words, the same person is treated differently based on what others see their gender or sex is. Most examples in the page indicate an advantage for male over female in the workplace, although a different context mentioned is disadvantageous for male (that context is whether one is likely to be seen as a criminal suspect, particularly if Black).
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I’m all for dumping more work on @sushiritto and @DadOfJerseyGirl , but how is the question as posed any way political?
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After further discussion, this thread is back in the main forum cafe. We may reconsider this again in the future if any concerns or violations arise.
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I titled this thread “male privilege” but I actually intended it to be about male privilege denialism (and its cousin, whose name I won’t mention).
Like many men I took my privilege for granted most of my life, until awoken to it over the past couple decades. It’s a benefit I can’t shake but at least I’ll acknowledge it, and it irks me to no end when my figurative (and literal) brothers can’t or won’t wake up and see it when it’s in front of them every day.
Why the denialism?
Insecurity?
A sincere belief that men are fundamentally better at many things?
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Most people have not experienced life as more than one gender or sex (i.e. very few people are transgender, and age of transition does affect how much of a comparison a transgender person observes). So it may not be obvious to most people that there may be advantages or disadvantages that those of the other gender or sex encounter (perhaps not every time, but enough to be noticeable).
The same may apply to lack of experience living as a member of a different visible race or ethnicity.
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I think men feel guilty about it, like they got something that was undeserved, but it’s not their fault, they can’t help how they were born. My youngest son is far left, and he’ll talk about white male privilege all day. He acknowledges it completely, but I think he’s gotten over feeling guilty. My husband doesn’t even want to hear those words, he thinks why do people have to keep talking about this, we’re all just people and equal. Like we were all dropped into 2024, with no history whatsoever. I think certain words are triggering.
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This is an interesting question. Are you only considering the positive (for men) privileges, which include the following?
- Far lower risk of sexual assault
- Being taken more seriously in corporate settings
- Aggressiveness in work is looked upon favorably
- Earning slightly higher pay on average than women, after adjusting for job type and hours worked
- Fewer body self-image issues and societal expectations
Or are you also considering the negative “male privileges”, such as the following?
- Victims of homicide at 4x the rate of women
- Recently, limited career prospects due to underperforming in high school and college relative to women
- Often have fewer meaningful relationships compared to women, leading to loneliness and higher rates of suicide
- Occupy vast percentage of dangerous jobs needed for an orderly society such as the military and the police
- Occupy vast percentage of dangerous jobs critical for the economy such as oil rig workers, construction workers, and electrical line workers
- For many reasons including those above, shorter life span
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I’d say that I see privilege, advantages, to both sexes, not just males. We are biologically different. It’s in our genes.
I don’t personally see one sex as being more privileged than the other. I see different qualities, on average, emerge from each sex.
As a society, I do believe we impose expectations on men. In general, we expect them to be strong. To provide for security. To provide for their families. To do the physical work. In general, not as an absolute.
I was born a male, not by choice. I don’t feel anymore privileged than my wife who was born a female, not by choice. We both have our “advantages”.
So no, I don’t go through life focusing on any perceived privilege that some may feel I may have.
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You know…you can change your subject title…
I changed it.
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