Support NeoGAF

[Kinyou]

I don't really see how absurd it is. All it's doing is highlighting the different treatment men and women receive to people who take it for granted. There are many who don't recognise that there are differences, or only "a pay gap", and this list points out that in many ways women aren't treated equally at all. Pointing out "stuff women can do" makes it seem like you really don't understand at all.

Well when it's about highlighting the different treatment men and women receive then I don't see any harm in making a female privilege list.

 

[Dude Abides]

The male privilege stuff wasn't really in earnest, more highlighting the absurdity of this list. I'm not saying that on balance males aren't more privileged than females (hint: they are), but this kind of intellectually deficient armchair feminism isn't really constructive.

Well, neither are dumb troll threads.

 

[Gregorn]

29. If I’m not conventionally attractive, the disadvantages are relatively small and easy to ignore.

I wish this were true.

 

[Manmademan]

7. If I’m a teen or adult, and if I can stay out of prison, my odds of being raped are relatively low

most military rapes are male-on-male.

Have you never watched mainstream TV? The hot wife, fat husband stereotypes exist for a reason. In general, women tend to weigh "physical attractiveness" in a partner as less important than men do.

it exists because it's male wish fulfillment and fantasy, not because it's accurate. I wouldn't point to "mainstream television" to tell you anything about real life.

 

[CyclopsRock]

I read an interesting article the other day about how the combination of girls getting better grades and school and being more likely to go to university combined with the gradual erosion of manual labour jobs for the uneducated is going to cause the reversal of the traditional trends of workplace power sooner rather than later - women will be more likely to get jobs because more and more jobs will require degrees as all of those that don't are continually shipped over seas. Quite interesting.

 

[Polari]

Well, neither are dumb troll threads.

Threadshitting was bannable last I checked. The point of this thread was to generate discussion which I believe it's doing.

 

[Dude Abides]

Threadshitting was bannable last I checked.

So was trolling. And backseat modding.

 

[Vermillion]

Some of these are cancelled out by not being white.
So I get the privilege of calling others more privileged than me

<3

S'funny - I read both this list and the race list, and you can certainly see some similarities.

 

[ThisWreckage]

My coworkers tell me to smile more all the time. And it irritates me. I'm stoic and I have been for many years. I seriously don't understand the mindset.

 

[shanshan310]

But I do have to ask if it has racist overtones. Of course me being a fucking male makes this irrelevant doesn't it? Because racism doesn't exist anymore. Obviously. I should be fucking grateful that I'm a man.

Thats not how it is at all.

 

[Polari]

So was trolling. And backseat modding.

I'm not trolling, and all I was doing was giving you a heads up that you might want to edit. I got banned for a similar thing a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, we digress.

 

[RoninChaos]

Some of what is on that list can't be controlled like the stuff about clothing.

Writing lists like this about every type of "priviledge" must be exhausting.

 

[smokeandmirrors]

Yeah fuck people telling other people to smile. I will never understand why anyone does that.

No I will not smile for you. Go away.

 

[TCRS]

So was trolling. And backseat modding.

How is he trolling?

The list seems rather outdated and some of it doesn't even have anything to do with privelege. #15 for example.

 

[Vermillion]

Yeah fuck people telling other people to smile. I will never understand why anyone does that.

No I will not smile for you. Go away.

In HS, one of my teachers asked me if I ever showed any emotion, lol

 

[Derwind]

Not sure if its on the list but I've been told repeatedly by almost every women in my life that I'm lucky that the price of male cosmetics is no where near as over priced as female cosmetics.

I never really took notice of how true this is. Being a guy can be pretty awesome on the wallet.

 

[The Elite]

Yeah fuck people telling other people to smile. I will never understand why anyone does that.

No I will not smile for you. Go away.

I was fired from McDonald's because I didn't smile.

Fuck you Ronald, my smiles aren't free.

 

[Vicetrailia]

Number 41 is a bit strange...

41. Assuming I am heterosexual, magazines, billboards, television, movies, pornography, and virtually all of media is filled with images of scantily-clad women intended to appeal to me sexually. Such images of men exist, but are rarer.

Sex sells to men, that's our 'truth'.

14. My elected representatives are mostly people of my own sex. The more prestigious and powerful the elected position, the more this is true.

This one is of course extremely powerful.

 

[Dude Abides]

How is he trolling?

The list seems rather outdated and some of it doesn't even have anything to do with privelege. #15 for example.

He posted a list of "male privilege" not in earnest but because he wanted the fedora brigade to talk about female privilege.

 

[Chuckie]

For everyday wear? It's really not bullshit. I've had a not insignificant amount of clothing fall apart after 2-3 washes (handwashes too). I wouldn't call them super pricey, but $60-$100 an item is pretty normal. This does not happen for any men I know.

But with womens clothing you do have way more sales (according to my wife) so in the end she is cheaper off than I am. True story!

 

[deli2000]

Yeah fuck people telling other people to smile. I will never understand why anyone does that.

No I will not smile for you. Go away.

My normal face naturally looks depressed so I get that shit all the time.

No, random person. Don't tell me how to work my face.

 

[Eidan]

Women I don't know have told me to smile often. My girlfriend hates it.

 

[Bleepey]

I have found walking around even places like Target, female wear nearly always looks better for price. I can get female tshirt with a tiger with nice beads on it, while in mens section its a cheap ass tshirt thats designed to be worn 1 size too large due bad shape with generic out of fashion print.

I think with women some iteams of clothing are easier to get. For example i am a UK size 12/13 when it comes to shoe size. Shoe shoping is damn near impossible. I pretty much base my footwear choices on what's practical rather than what's fashionable.

 

[Dead Man]

Not sure if its on the list but I've been told repeatedly by almost every women in my life that I'm lucky that the price of male cosmetics is no where near as over priced as female cosmetics.

I never really took notice of how true this is. Being a guy can be pretty awesome on the wallet.

The reason for that is simple. Very few men will pay for cosmetics, hence lower prices.

 

[The Elite]

I just had one of my coworkers tell me that I'm not very enthusiastic when I come in and I should smile more.

Fuck!

 

[MrCookiepants]

tl:dr version:

1. Men have it easier in the workplace.
2. Petty things and outdated generalizations.

 

[Vagabundo]

Yeah, I missed that at first but edited it. Why did you bother making a thread about male privilege if you wanted to complain about female privilege? Did you miss the entire point of that list?

Can't we take about both? We're all humans after all and there is bound to be some overlap and interesting cross-sectionalities*.

*I made that word up to sound more learnered**.

** Made that up too..

 

[Vermillion]

I was fired from McDonald's because I didn't smile.

Fuck you Ronald, my smiles aren't free.

 

[Falcs]

What the fuck at people getting told to smile??
I've never heard of such a thing. Who the hell asks anybody to smile?
I mean unless you're taking a photo of them, why the fuck would you?
And it's not just coz I'm a male, who goes up to a woman and asks her to smile? Or is it when the person being asked is providing a service (eg. Waitress).
I just don't get it. The whole idea sounds obsurd to me.

 

[Vicetrailia]

What the fuck at people getting told to smile??
I've never heard of such a thing. Who the hell asks anybody to smile?
I mean unless you're taking a photo of them, why the fuck would you?
And it's not just coz I'm a male, who goes up to a woman and asks her to smile? Or is when the person being asked is providing a service (eg. Waitress).
I just don't get it. The whole idea sounds obsurd to me.

"Smile or you won't look pretty"

That's a pretty famous pick up line. Actually when I think about it, I notice instances of "smile" being asked of women almost daily. I just never really thought about it. People actually do go up to women and ask them to smile.

 

[Dash27]

Lists like these will keep being made because it pays to be the discriminated minority. Unfortunately it takes the impact away from legitimate concerns when you start whining about people asking you to smile.

 

[Shabutaro]

But I do have to ask if it has racist overtones. Of course me being a fucking male makes this irrelevant doesn't it? Because racism doesn't exist anymore. Obviously. I should be fucking grateful that I'm a man.

Whoa, no one i saying that at all. Its still relevant, you simply don't have to ask about sexism on a day to day. Racism is very much alive, and so is sexism. Just because there's a list talking about male privilege doesn't mean that racism has been deemed over. As a man you have certain privilege in our society. As a minority some of that is lost of course, but the fact remains you are male. A white woman still has white privilege but is still doesn't undermine the things on this list, just like you as a minority male are still subject to an equivalent list for minorities, while experiencing many (not all) aspects of male privilege.

 

[Bleepey]

That list is now 23-years-old and some of it seems a bit outdated. I don't think women are judged more than men for not having children. Seems pretty common and normal today for both sexes.



Not when the teacher was male. From day one of high school it was obvious that girls were favored if the teacher was male.

I remember when i was in primary school, i had maths tests and i was not too bothered what i got as long as it was above half. We had mental arithmatic tests daily and i got about 12/13 out of 20. Well parents' evening came and my mum found out.... a trip to WH Smith, an asswhopping and daily maths tests later i rarely got less than 17. When i did get 20/20 the maths teacher when she read our results out she didn't say a damn thing but the girl who were near top in the class got 18/19 got a well done! I am still pissed about it. I got the feeling teachers were harder on boys in my all boys school whilst girls got away with way more.

This is actually untrue, in Ireland, anyway. Will very much be attributed to being an 18 - 30 year old male.

I find it funny, women's driving is derided when for a long period of time they got cheaper car insurance.

most military rapes are male-on-male.



it exists because it's male wish fulfillment and fantasy, not because it's accurate. I wouldn't point to "mainstream television" to tell you anything about real life.

Money>>>>looks. Money can help a woman get a attractive man but it's much harder. Also men can be intimidated by a successful woman and would rather date a pretty girl that's poor than an average-looking girl that's rich.

I read an interesting article the other day about how the combination of girls getting better grades and school and being more likely to go to university combined with the gradual erosion of manual labour jobs for the uneducated is going to cause the reversal of the traditional trends of workplace power sooner rather than later - women will be more likely to get jobs because more and more jobs will require degrees as all of those that don't are continually shipped over seas. Quite interesting.

I remember hearing about how the last recession truly did a number on men far more than it hurt women. I wonder if women earning more money, the gender wage gap closing, and divorces staying the way they are whether there will be changes in the laws related to alimoney and divorce. I hear women are being more savvy and they are more likely to seek a prenup when they earn more money than men so it will be interesting to see.

edit: i have been criticised for not smiling enough at interviews. but then again i have had other interviews where they thought i was a huge joker. meh.

 

[Mael]

Anyways, I've got another one:

People will look me in the eye when talking to me if i'm surrounded by male colleagues (or hell, female colleagues).

My professor complained about this - she and her male colleagues were doing an interview, and the guy they were interviewing refused to look at her, looking at the other males instead.

I wish I was that lucky...

 

[AbsolutBro]

There's a lot in that list that seems off, but I got to this:

32. I can be confident that the ordinary language of day-to-day existence will always include my sex. “All men are created equal,” mailman, chairman, freshman, he.

and was genuinely confused. We are human. The terms "mankind" is not generally used to refer specifically to the male gender, but rather the human race. Likewise, "man" is often used to refer to humanity as a whole, not just those with dongs. Many similar words find their roots in "human" rather than "male", and "he" is actually used as a generic fairly often. Is the race being called human really that upsetting to some?

 

[Shabutaro]

Whoa, no one i saying that at all. Its still relevant, you simply don't have to ask about sexism on a day to day. Racism is very much alive, and so is sexism. Just because there's a list talking about male privilege doesn't mean that racism has been deemed over. As a man you have certain privilege in our society. As a minority some of that is lost of course, but the fact remains you are male. A white woman still has white privilege but is still doesn't undermine the things on this list, just like you as a minority male are still subject to an equivalent list for minorities, while experiencing many (not all) aspects of male privilege.

Lists like these will keep being made because it pays to be the discriminated minority. Unfortunately it takes the impact away from legitimate concerns when you start whining about people asking you to smile.

Since when did it pay to be a discriminated minority. Who wants to be discriminated against?

 

[Alucrid]

That's not pricey brand clothing. That's everyday clothing. And like I said, we have to wear something different because clothing just falls apart so quickly. Everything is designed so that we have to keep buying more.



Yeah, I missed that at first but edited it. Why did you bother making a thread about male privilege if you wanted to complain about female privilege? Did you miss the entire point of that list?

Planned obsolescence for clothing sounds ridiculous. If anything it's the style going out of date that would force you to buy more clothes.

 

[Alcotholic]

I don't mean to deride the article but I wonder which gender is more often called "bitch". I think I've personally witnessed it being directed to males 90%+ of the time .

I dont call men "Bitches", I call them "Bastards".

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

At least women have the market cornered on the privilege to make hokey presumptuous lists that are miraculously given prolonged consideration.

Not that male privilege doesn't exist, that's just a horribly glib list.

 

[Vagabundo]

There's a lot in that list that seems off, but I got to this:



and was genuinely confused. We are human. The terms "mankind" is not generally used to refer specifically to the male gender, but rather the human race. Likewise, "man" is often used to refer to humanity as a whole, not just those with dongs. Many similar words find their roots in "human" rather than "male", and "he" is actually used as a generic fairly often. Is the race being called human really that upsetting to some?

It comes came an old English word, I believe, the word man used to refer to both male and females:

man (n.)
Old English man, mann "human being, person (male or female); brave man, hero; servant, vassal," from Proto-Germanic *manwaz (cf. Old Saxon, Swedish, Dutch, Old High German man, German Mann, Old Norse maðr, Danish mand, Gothic manna "man"), from PIE root *man- (1) "man" (cf. Sanskrit manuh, Avestan manu-, Old Church Slavonic mozi, Russian muzh "man, male").

 

[Transhuman]

7. If I’m a teen or adult, and if I can stay out of prison, my odds of being raped are relatively low.

Prison rape must not be as important as "Real" rape I guess.

 

[FourMyle]

This list is right. It's pretty awesome being a man!

 

[DeaconKnowledge]

This is a stupid list.

 

[AbsolutBro]

It comes came an old English word, I believe, the word man used to refer to both male and females:

man (n.)
Old English man, mann "human being, person (male or female); brave man, hero; servant, vassal," from Proto-Germanic *manwaz (cf. Old Saxon, Swedish, Dutch, Old High German man, German Mann, Old Norse maðr, Danish mand, Gothic manna "man"), from PIE root *man- (1) "man" (cf. Sanskrit manuh, Avestan manu-, Old Church Slavonic mozi, Russian muzh "man, male").

Yeah that's sort of my whole point. The term "man" is used often as a generic term to represent the human race as a whole, both genders. How is its use in everyday literature some sort of privilege?

 

[Tim the Wiz]

But I do have to ask if it has racist overtones. Of course me being a fucking male makes this irrelevant doesn't it? Because racism doesn't exist anymore. Obviously. I should be fucking grateful that I'm a man.

This is the exact same argument poor white people make when confronted about white privilege. Well played, sir.

 

[Dash27]

Since when did it pay to be a discriminated minority. Who wants to be discriminated against?

People dont want to be discriminated against, they want policies enacted to make things easier for them. So it's an easy sell to tell a group of people they have it rough compared to another group.

 

[Jburton]

In general this list if full of shit, many things stated are patently untrue.


Better constructed clothes? ...... wtf!



Also what exactly is the point of this? ........ should men all start the hate themselves or something?

Have never benefited from so called "male privilege" nor have I worked to maintain it.

 

[Vicetrailia]

People dont want to be discriminated against, they want policies enacted to make things easier for them. So it's an easy sell to tell a group of people they have it rough compared to another group.

Ugh.

People do want policies enacted to make it easier from them.

But when the discrimination basis is there, at the least they want it equal. Is that too much to ask? Facts are facts.

 

[Mael]

Better constructed clothes? ...... wtf!

Well if only Armani is making clothes for male...

 

[Wind's Howling]

7. If I’m a teen or adult, and if I can stay out of prison, my odds of being raped are relatively low.

Wtf?