Chuck Darwin (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} chuckdarwin) wrote in ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} livejournal_uk,@ 2006-05-24 01:12:00 |
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The Male Privilege Checklist
43 instances of how men are better off than women.
This list is full of rash generalizations and woefully short on anything resembling facts, statistics or evidence. Some of the entries are patently true and hard to argue against. Other things on the list are simply untrue, unprovable, or completely based on anecdotal 'evidence'. Some of the issues the author (B Deutsch, whomever that is) chooses to focus on are, in my opinion, embarrassingly petty and do more harm than good to the whole cause.
And before you get pissed off at me... at least this post doesn't have anything to do with Big Brother.
5. The odds of my encountering sexual harassment on the job are so low as to be negligible.
Anecdotal. Unprovable. As a manager, I have fired people for sexually harrassing men at work.
11. If I have children and provide primary care for them, I'll be praised for extraordinary parenting if I'm even marginally competent.
Harsh. Strident. Unprovable. I know single dads that no one has ever called 'extraordinary'.
16. As a child, chances are I was encouraged to be more active and outgoing than my sisters.
Plenty of parents don't encourage any of their children to be active at all.
24. If I have sex with a lot of people, it won't make me an object of contempt or derision.
Two words: Bill. Clinton.
25. There are value-neutral clothing choices available to me; it is possible for me to choose clothing that doesn't send any particular message to the world.
Really? All clothing denotes class, IMO. I don't own a single item of designer clothing. What does that say about me as a man?
26. My wardrobe and grooming are relatively cheap and consume little time.
Metrosexuals, even? I know men who spend an hour every day getting ready.
27. If I buy a new car, chances are I'll be offered a better price than a woman buying the same car.
Salesmen just want your money, no matter who you are. While it may still happen in rare cases, this is just neurotic tinfoil hattery and an unimportant concern in the grand scheme of women's issues.
31. 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.
This has changed. Not completely, but gender-neutral terms are much, much more common. Splitting hairs over P.C. verbage does nothing to help one's cause.
37. If I have a wife or girlfriend, chances are we'll divide up household chores so that she does most of the labor, and in particular the most repetitive and unrewarding tasks.
This one is just plain old insulting.
41. I am not expected to spend my entire life 20-40 pounds underweight.
Come on, now. This is all based on 'target weight', which is in no way an exact science (and that's as nice as I can be about the 'subject'). No one EXPECTS any woman to be 40 pounds underweight. Some famous models and actresses may try this, but most people actually say it's a BAD thing (reading the tabloids whilst in line to purchase groceries).
43 instances of how men are better off than women.
This list is full of rash generalizations and woefully short on anything resembling facts, statistics or evidence. Some of the entries are patently true and hard to argue against. Other things on the list are simply untrue, unprovable, or completely based on anecdotal 'evidence'. Some of the issues the author (B Deutsch, whomever that is) chooses to focus on are, in my opinion, embarrassingly petty and do more harm than good to the whole cause.
And before you get pissed off at me... at least this post doesn't have anything to do with Big Brother.
5. The odds of my encountering sexual harassment on the job are so low as to be negligible.
Anecdotal. Unprovable. As a manager, I have fired people for sexually harrassing men at work.
11. If I have children and provide primary care for them, I'll be praised for extraordinary parenting if I'm even marginally competent.
Harsh. Strident. Unprovable. I know single dads that no one has ever called 'extraordinary'.
16. As a child, chances are I was encouraged to be more active and outgoing than my sisters.
Plenty of parents don't encourage any of their children to be active at all.
24. If I have sex with a lot of people, it won't make me an object of contempt or derision.
Two words: Bill. Clinton.
25. There are value-neutral clothing choices available to me; it is possible for me to choose clothing that doesn't send any particular message to the world.
Really? All clothing denotes class, IMO. I don't own a single item of designer clothing. What does that say about me as a man?
26. My wardrobe and grooming are relatively cheap and consume little time.
Metrosexuals, even? I know men who spend an hour every day getting ready.
27. If I buy a new car, chances are I'll be offered a better price than a woman buying the same car.
Salesmen just want your money, no matter who you are. While it may still happen in rare cases, this is just neurotic tinfoil hattery and an unimportant concern in the grand scheme of women's issues.
31. 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.
This has changed. Not completely, but gender-neutral terms are much, much more common. Splitting hairs over P.C. verbage does nothing to help one's cause.
37. If I have a wife or girlfriend, chances are we'll divide up household chores so that she does most of the labor, and in particular the most repetitive and unrewarding tasks.
This one is just plain old insulting.
41. I am not expected to spend my entire life 20-40 pounds underweight.
Come on, now. This is all based on 'target weight', which is in no way an exact science (and that's as nice as I can be about the 'subject'). No one EXPECTS any woman to be 40 pounds underweight. Some famous models and actresses may try this, but most people actually say it's a BAD thing (reading the tabloids whilst in line to purchase groceries).
