Axion: Privilege is a set of advantages (or a lack of disadvantages) enjoyed by a majority group who are often unaware that they possess such a vantage point. Privilege is not seized by individuals, it is conferred by the society. It is about how the society accommodates you, where you are one of the "normal" majority and the others are the deviation from the norm, the ones being oppressed by the -ism. Fate has just decided to deal them the worst lot in that case.

Not every privileged person is inwardly prejudiced (sexist, racist, anti-homosexuality etc) but they mostly support such oppression (even if they are unaware of it) because that is the life and society they are used to.

Privilege makes it hard for privileged people to see from the perspective of the ones being oppressed. i.e. your perspective as a _______ probably means that you're unaware that other groups struggle with issues like _______ .

Peggy McIntosh once wrote about White privilege. This list is compiled in a smilar manner by Barry Deutsch, and it is for males in general to better understand the feminism problem. I have separated them into groups of 10.

You know you're enjoying the Male privilege in your society if you're a man and most or all of the following applies to you. How many can you say YES to?

1.My odds of being hired for a job, when competing against female applicants, are probably skewed in my favor. 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 actually 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. I am far less likely to face sexual harassment at work than my female co-workers are.
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 ra'ped are relatively low.
8. On average, I am taught to fear walking alone after dark in average public spaces much less than my female counterparts are.
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 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. My elected representatives are mostly people of my own sex. The more prestigious and powerful the elected position, the more this is true.
15. When I ask to see “the person in charge,” odds are 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 sister(s).
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 protagonists were (and are) 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.

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. Even if I sleep with a lot of women, there is no chance that I will be seriously labeled a “slut,” nor is there any male counterpart to “slut-bashing.”
25. I do not have to worry about the message my wardrobe sends about my s'exual availability.
26. The grooming regimen expected of me is relatively cheap and consumes little time.
27. My clothing is typically less expensive and better-constructed than women’s clothing for the same social status. While I have fewer options, my clothes will probably fit better than a woman’s without tailoring.
28. If I buy a new car, chances are I’ll be offered a better price than a woman buying the same car.
29. If I’m not conventionally attractive, the disadvantages are relatively small and easy to ignore.
30. I can be loud with no fear of being called a shrew. I can be aggressive with no fear of being called a bit'ch.

31. I can ask for legal protection from violence that happens mostly to men without being seen as a selfish special interest, since that kind of violence is called “crime” and is a general social concern. (Violence that happens mostly to women is usually called “domestic violence” or “acquaintance rape,” and is seen as a special interest issue.)
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.
33. My ability to make important decisions and my capability in general will never be questioned depending on what time of the month it is.
34. I will never be expected to change my name upon marriage or questioned if I don’t change my name.
35. The decision to hire me will not be based on assumptions about whether or not I might choose to have a family sometime soon.
36. Every major religion in the world is led primarily by people of my own sex. Even God, in most major religions, is pictured as male.
37. Most major religions argue that I should be the head of my household, while my wife and children should be subservient to me.
38. If I have a wife or live-in 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.
39. If I have children with my girlfriend or wife, I can expect her to do most of the basic childcare such as changing diapers and feeding.
40. If I have children with my wife or girlfriend, and it turns out that one of us needs to make career sacrifices to raise the kids, chances are we’ll both assume the career sacrificed should be hers.

41. Assuming I am heterosexual, magazines, billboards, television, movies, po'rnography, and virtually all of media is filled with images of scantily-clad women intended to appeal to me se'xually. Such images of men exist, but are rarer.
42. In general, I am under much less pressure to be thin than my female counterparts are. If I am fat, I probably suffer fewer social and economic consequences for being fat than fat women do.
43. If I am heterosexual, it’s incredibly unlikely that I’ll ever be beaten up by a spouse or lover.
44. Complete strangers generally do not walk up to me on the street and tell me to “smile.”
45. Se'xual harassment on the street virtually never happens to me. I do not need to plot my movements through public space in order to avoid being sexually harassed, or to mitigate s'exual harassment.
46. On average, I am not interrupted by women as often as women are interrupted by men.
47. I have the privilege of being unaware of my male privilege.

If only guys would simply come out and say, 'I hate feminism because I like my male privilege and I want to keep it', perhaps the discussion could progress along intellectual lines. Instead they prefer to come up with fake or utterly re*tarded reasons as to why things must remain the way they are.

Nice Points...but then you should listed them by numbers to make it easier to pick out, so that if there is any of the above people disagree with, then it should be easily spotted.

ileobatojo: If only guys would simply come out and say, 'I hate feminism because I like my male privilege and I want to keep it', perhaps the discussion could progress along intellectual lines. Instead they prefer to come up with fake or utterly retarded reasons as to why things must remain the way they are.

This opinion above(**if only guys**) is a generalistic one...right?

Saint Chukz: This opinion above(**if only guys**) is a generalistic one...right?

I believe the statement in quotation marks clearly specifies which guys I'm talking about.

Saint Chukz: Nice Points...but then you should listed them by numbers to make it easier to pick out, so that if there is any of the above people disagree with, then it should be easily spotted.

Thanks for this useful suggestion, I've done it.

Didn't read the entire thing... but had to comment on No. 30, It's the major reason I cultivated the habit of calling men b.itches...Now back to reading the rest.

ileobatojo: If only guys would simply come out and say, 'I hate feminism because I like my male privilege and I want to keep it', perhaps the discussion could progress along intellectual lines. Instead they prefer to come up with fake or utterly re*tarded reasons as to why things must remain the way they are.

Damn...I stood up and shouted Amen!