Things Male Never Thought They Had as Privilege and That Most Women are Denied of
From our childhood, we are imposed with a lot of stereotyping like these. Boys don’t cry. Girls have to look pretty. We are continuously exposed to uncountable numbers of normalised sexism. Like ‘girls run like a girl’. Meaning we cannot run.
Like the social burdens of oppression, the humiliation of being ‘poor’, or ‘fat’, or ‘unsuccessful’ or ‘colored’. I have heard a woman with perfect body shape calling herself fat. And a rather wealthy middle-class man calling himself poor. Because she did not fit into a particular dress and he could not buy the luxury car he longed for.
With the advent of agriculture and the idea of property, men wanted to keep track of their progenies. Therefore, women were locked inside the house. Also, having more hands to work in the field was very helpful. Their roles varied depending on the class and context. But the chain around their ankle was never longer than the threshold of the house.
The truth behind this propaganda is that some people just love to keep their power and they invent these convenient dichotomies. There is nothing natural about it. However, male privilege in the society prevails enormous even though that seems to be not occurring no specific attention is given to it.
The Male Privilege Checklist
Let’s now hear the inner voices of the heads of men in the society where they can effortlessly enjoy unlimited privileges in the same society where women are denied such fairness.
1. Favour For Men At Workplace:
What if this runs in the mind of a man who is sitting in sane after an interview. “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.”
How does this sound? Very normal, obviously existing but unnoticed. When a woman is around the corner, does she get a similar tag like the man does? What would be her inner voice? “A lot of pending domestic work alongside with the will to balance the mood swings and managing the diverse physiology patterns in the body.
2. Men In Their Childhood:
Growing up as a boy is to have a lot of freedom attached without any judgements on his decisions. It is a natural phase for the boy to think, “As a child, chances are I was encouraged to be more active and outgoing than my sisters.”
“If I’m a teen or adult, and if I can stay out of prison, my odds of being raped are relatively low.” Probably there wouldn’t be anything that he missed out in the early years of life that as instantly he would choose and act on his wants.
3. Do Men Are Highly Prone To Sexual Abuse?
While this question can never bring out a positive answer. Let’s capture some thoughts of men here in general. “I am far less likely to face sexual harassment at work than my female co-workers are.”
Females are used to be the victims and prey of most of the sexual harassments. Men can never fit in their shoes when it comes to ignoring such obnoxious acts and achieving amidst the odds.
4. Appreciation Towards Men:
Men with less effort are valued highest amongst the super hard as well as smart working women in the world. Yes! This sounds unrealistic but this is the reality that has existed for centuries. Men go super proud as they think, “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.”
“I can speak in public to a large group without putting my sex on trial” Also he can take up any roles on being a speaker where he is left unjudged among the women who are misjudged or overjudged.
5. Life Of A Married Man:
Marriage never makes a difference to a man’s life. He remains the same, however his privileges become much wider. Can you find a man who has changed his name after marriage? Or does giving birth to a child have an influence on him?
“I will never be expected to change my name upon marriage or questioned if I don’t change my name.”
“If I choose not to have children, my masculinity will not be called into question.”
6. Men Who Are Fathers:
Fathers are called superheroes. Yes, that’s because their responsibilities and privileges go higher and higher. “The decision to hire me will not be based on assumptions about whether or not I might choose to have a family sometime soon.”
“If I have children with my girlfriend or wife, I can expect her to do most of the basic child care such as changing diapers and feeding.”
7. Men Are Men:
Men either want or don’t want it, their privileges are theirs. And there is an absolute measure of masculinity revolving around it.
Here’s a general thought that lingers over the mind of every man!
“My ability to make important decisions and my capability in general will never be questioned depending on what time of the month it is.”
“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.”
Equality will never happen unless we all believe that we are equal. Everyone can be equal despite their differences — race, gender, sexuality, background, mental and physical abilities. Differences do not mean someone is better than someone else. Especially when criteria for comparisons are themselves highly biassed, subjective, flawed, and purposefully manufactured.
“You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur.”
― Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride