Indeed. I've actually noticed the opposite from a lot of women in my field of study (international politics.) Especially at things like Model United Nations conferences. Some of the women are extraordinarily intelligent and motivated (no surprises) but also extremely vicious, in an attempt, I think, to "compensate" for the advantages that men enjoy.
I think the author (because she was using "I") was referring only to white people, not gender, in the list.



I would agree with this author. There are certain qualities that I possess that I realize will give me an unfair advantage in life.

__________________
"Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze."
Gospel of Thomas

Actually, that did occur to me - that I might not notice it.

I think part of it also is that I am a pretty large guy, and as a result I am extra quiet and deferential. I make a conscious effort to not intimidate (most of the time), so perhaps I'm not the target of that kind of behavior.

__________________
When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

I like Ethiopian food, but its quite different from what I have had in some other black communities. Its a bit like saying that all Americans (regardless of ethnic origins) should enjoy eating rollmops, or haggis, or whatever.

In fact - lumping all Africans together like that kind of demonstrates just how much we lump all people of a different race together. It would be more appropriate for me to lump together a black Califormian and a white New Yorker - culturally you have more in common than what do most other Africans with Ethiopians ....

I think a good thing to look at is the idea of double consciousness. It has been applied to both race and gender. Effectively (you will probably want to check on this) those who are in the relatively privileged position get to see things from one perspective/awareness only, while those of us who may be female, black or in another way have to become familiar with the 'dominant' perspective also have another dual perspective/awareness running alongside that one.

This gives us two reference points as to how things are.

This all seems pretty ridiculous. Let's run through the list.

1. I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
I don't see how this is a priviledge(unless your intentions are racially motivated).

2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area that I can afford and in which I would want to live.
This is a poverty issue. It only connects to race in that whites as a whole are more wealthy in many nations.

3. I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
As a white Mexican, the only time I've seen race affect my standing in a neighborhood was when I lived in a predominantly black community and got trouble for being white. This problem only existed as a youth and I've never seen in occur for members of other races though I'm sure it does.

4. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
I can now, but as a teen, this wasn't the case. I've never seen adults of any race getting any special attention unless they were acting suspiciously.

5. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
As I recall, blacks are actually over represented in the media. I'm not sure of other races.

6. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization", I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
I don't see how this could be untrue of any race. Obviously, cultural issues of the past had a major impact of the way in which members of different races made the US the way it is, but that's a matter of history. It's especially relevant for other nations. I don't imagine I'll ever go to England and here about all the great things the Central American Natives did to make the nation that way.

7. I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
I recall learning the history of people from all races in school. Perhaps not all ethnicities, but that applies across the board.

8. If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
This obviously applies specifically to the author but I've been writing a novel and a friend of mine, solely of British decent, who has completed several novels and neither of us can find a publisher.

9. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods that fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can deal with my hair.
My cultural traditions are mainstream American. Race doesn't really play a role. As far as 'music of my race', I don't even know what that means. Should I not be listening to Chuck Berry right now?

10. Whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
I expect it not to. I've never made an assumption about someone's financial reliability based on their skin color.

11. I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
I'm not even sure what that means. I've never seen school aged children who were liked by everyone they dealt with.

12. I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes or not answer letters without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty, or the illiteracy of my race.
I'm fairly certain noone expects members of any race to be illiterate in this day in America. As to swearing and wearing second hand clothes, these are rarely attributed to morality or poverty, let alone that of the persons race.

13. I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.
Anyone who can't isn't welcome to speak to me. I have no use for racism.

14. I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.
This is looking more and more like a simple assumption that every one else is racist.

15. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
I've never found anyone who was, though I have seen certain people who felt they'd take it upon themselves. Obviously the never succeed.

16. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color, who constitute the worlds' majority, without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
Can't anyone? I don't know that I've ever met a black man who spoke Swahili.

17. I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.
No. Anyone who expresses fear of government policies is generally seen as a paranoid conspiracy theorist.

18. I can be sure that if I ask to talk to "the person in charge" I will be facing a person of my race.
Throughout the several positions I've had in my life, I've worked for members of every race prevalent in the US.

I give up.

__________________
During the journey we commonly forget its goal. Almost every profession is chosen as a means to an end but continued as an end in itself. Forgetting our objectives is the most frequent act of stupidity.
-Friedrich Nietzsche, The Wanderer and his Shadow

All good socialists have villas in Southern France. That's not the point.
-Eurosocialist

As a male chauvinst pig, I wouldn't know about male privileges, but I think I can apply the list from the viewpoint of people of North African or Turkish origin living in Europe :

The following are definitely problematic:
[*] If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area that I can afford and in which I would want to live.
[*] I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me.
[*] Whether I use checks, credit cards, or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
[*] If a traffic cop pulls me over, or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because of my race.
[*] I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.

Cops are the worst problem. They systematically target these people and even have a knack for turning victims into offenders. 2nd on the list are houseowners and employers.

These are not problematic or I don't see their importance.
[*] I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.
[*] I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.
[*] I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented. (WoI : if 'widely' is read as -more or less- 'proportionally')
[*] If I want to, I can be pretty sure of finding a publisher for this piece on white privilege.
[*] I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them.
[*] I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children's magazines featuring people of my race.
[*] I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

The rest of the list appears to have some issues.
[*] When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization", I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.
'Civilization' was first invented in present day Iraq, ancient Mesopotamia. It also emerged unrelatedly in numerous other places such as South America, Australia, China,....The issue makes no sense in this context.

[*] I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.
What does this mean ? That children should be given mirrors ? Only an extremely racist regime would actually deny the existence of the children in front of the teacher.

[*] I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods that fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can deal with my hair.
Races have their own music now ? Does that mean that I can't listen to my man Jimi anymore ? I love couscous, my Arab family member prefers Belgian fries (eat that, Frenchies )

[*] I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial.
Depends on the individual speaking, doesn't it ?

[*] I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color, who constitute the worlds' majority, without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.
'The language and customs of person of color' is a bigoted expression in itself. We're talking hundreds of languages and thousands of customs here. It evokes the idea there is 'white language and customs' and ...other.

[*] I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without being seen as a cultural outsider.
Depends on the average level of conformism in the culture in question.

[*] I can be sure that if I ask to talk to "the person in charge" I will be facing a person of my race.
This is a silly one. There tends to be 1 (one) person in charge. It will have to be a very kaleidoscopic person to allow everyone facing someone of his/her own race.

[*] I can go home from most meetings or organizations I belong to feeling somewhat tied in rather than isolated, out of place, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, or feared.
Depends on the individual's personality more than anything.

I would like to respond to the original post, which questioned how much of the "women's studies" article referred to was actually true. I personally have not seen instances of such privilege.

Since leaving academia, I have witnessed other individuals, who are not eligible to receive this privilege afforded only to white males, whom I personally know to have graduated with lower grades, and fewer accolades;gain employment where with prestigious employers, with whom my efforts to gain employment have failed. On average, these individuals, whom I remain close friends with, earn more money, and spend less time at work than I. As I am a member of individuals who are white males, I would officially like to submit my request for my 'privilege'.

I believe the article was written by someone with a skewed view of reality. I suppose the writers' views could be affected by the fact that if it were ever found that no such 'privilege' existed, there might be less interest in "women's studies".

I have a unique perspective on male privilege. I am a Male to Female transsexual and I spent my first 50 years living as a white male in the western US.

Like most males, I didn't give much thought to the way I was treated vis a vis women, but as I transitioned I began to notice it very markedly. I transitioned in a small town where I had lived for almost 40 years as a male, perhaps needless to say, my transition was a cause of much approbation, vigorous disagreement, and open hostility. Most of the people I knew simply quit speaking to me--especially men. I have retained only one male friend from all the years of living there. People simply would not accept my transition, so 9 months later I closed my business and moved to a city hundreds of miles away.

Passing reasonably well, I began to be treated as a female by men who are notoriously unobservant--if she dresses and behaves like a female, and has bumps under her shirt, then men usually assume she's female. First I noticed that I had lost about 25 points off my IQ immediately and that there were subjects that I simply could not know anything about--such as my profession of construction. Interestinly enough Lowe's and Home Depot have been very different in their treatment of me. No one at Lowe's has ever been impolite to me, except one Asst. Manager when I applied for a job--he thought my resume was a lie--but all the sales people have been unfailing polite and treated me as an uneducated woman. Some of the male employees at Home Depot however have been aggressively impolite when they thought I was a guy in a dress, saying things like, "Can I help you, SIR!" which I think was usually triggered by my voice. Other than that when I go in there and they treat me like an idiot, I know I'm passing. Men tend to ignore women in conversations and interupt them far more than they would another man. Men take up more space than women, on a sidewalk a man will usually take at least half the space, women tend to take a narrower slice especially when passing men. Men are far more dismissive of me now that I present as female, men tend to be in competition with each other alot so they keep an eye on each other. When I was a man I was 6 feet tall and weighed almost 200 lbs., I had done hard manual labor most of my life and I was very strong, I also had a full-beard. Now, while I'm still about 6 feet tall, I have lost over a third of my muscle mass, lasered the beard away, grew my hair long, and learned feminine deportment to help me pass. I have also been on female hormones for years and my body shape has changed dramatically. Men give and get more respect from other men and from women, though from women there is a component of fear involved. Testosterone gives men much more strength than the average woman and men are enculturated to be more aggressive.

Women's response to me was a surprise, women are far more observant and many of them recognize that I am not a genetic female, but for the most part it's not an issue. I have found a camaraderie amongst women that simply does not exist in male culture. I have been given advice, counsel, and encouragement by women that I didn't even know, women have gone out of their way to help me on more occasions than I can count. My experience has been that women are not in competition with each other in the same way that men are--partly this may be due to my age--but except for a few young teenage girls, no woman has had a harsh word for me. Whatever my imperfections maybe, I have found that interacting with the world from the female perspective has brought a peace into my life that I never even knew existed when I was trying to be a man.

__________________
The apocalypse is coming... we're gonna need more ammo.

Thanks for that - very interesting. I have just read this out to my daughter. she says that the competition thing is definitely an age thing with women (I tend to think that a lot of the time too). Being in a competition for a man is not fun. And thats where a lot of the cracks appear in female relationships.

As for being treated like an idiot - can't compare it as you do - but on a number of occasions recently friends have discussed how being an older woman is to be invisible - something that doesn't occur with men to the same extent - from what I can understand. I certainly find some men seem to believe they have the God given right to talk over others, and find women are more likely to defer to another if you both start speaking at the same time.

I see what you are saying re 'taking up space' on a sidewalk - and I've noticed on quite a few occasions that men are less aware of the need others may have for space.

My daughter says older women often treat her as an idiot more than older men do - she is quite short, and thinks this may be because they see her as a child. Older men tend to be interested in what she says. She is quite articulate - more so than many of her age peers, and I think this is a factor.

She often finds younger men can be intimidated by her. She looks directly at them, and believes this may be the problem. She thinks that young women shouldn't look young men in the eye unless they are romantically interested. She looks because she is curious about people. I don't know if young guys look each other in the eye but I find young men are not shy of looking people in the eye if you are conversing with them.

I've often heard women talk about not being taken seriously - and when I think about it, this is a problem. A colleague recently was talking about how she went to a meeting with one of her co workers (her junior). this was a fairly high level meeting, and although she was known to hold the senior position - most of what was said was directed to him, even when she tried to refocus it back.

I've had the same in some situations and especially where people don't tell ME whats wrong with my car if there is a man present - they'll tell him. And tradesmen have preferred to tell a visiting male about what they are doing than tell me - even though its my house they are working on.

For the most part though I don't worry. If men treat me as a moron I mostly shrug it off. I think things are changing.

Everyone's responses have been very interesting to read. I'm so glad you chimed in, Mare. If anyone would know about male privilege it would be you given your experiences. I say I've never felt at a disadvantage even though others tell me I am, but really, what do I have to compare that to? I guess I look at it, as a female, I have some advantages that males don't have - perhaps in the end it's all a wash. People with subjective attributes such as charm, beauty, sense of humor - all of those things can lead to advantages that have nothing to do with race or gender.

Also, reading through everyone's responses reminded me of a couple of instances when being white worked against a couple of people I know. I used to work with this girl who was half hispanic, however, she had a 'white' last name. She was common law married to a hispanic man and would on occassion use his last name. She went to apply for Section 8 housing. When she used her 'white' last name she was told the waiting list was 8 months long. She went back in and used her hispanic last name and a house became available almost immediately. Another example is a woman who lives in San Antonio was looking for work. Like the girl in the previous example, she used two last names. When she submitted her resumes with her 'white' last name she didn't recieve one single call back. She submitted the exact same resume changing only her last name and received many call backs. Interesting, yes?

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Namaste,

I was thinking about the male priviliege aspect. It ties into an article I read yesterday while reading Slashdot. A link was posted about an article in Psychology Today called:

Most of the article addresses things related to mens attitudes towards women and the biological and evolutionary reasons for it being so. It led me to examine why I react to women in certain ways despite my best rational and meditational efforts to do so. It turns out that a great deal of the way I react is driven by evolution and therefore not a thing of rationality at all.

The question becomes one of Male privilige being a cultural issue or is it driven by evolutionary biology. The truth is that there are very valid differences between men and women. What may be perceived as privilige derived from Western Civilization is, in fact, something else entirely.

In Peace,
Eglaelin

__________________

This is one of my favorite essays ever. I used to argue about white privilege with my friends, but I got tired of hearing them get all bent out of shape and say "but I'm not a racist!". I find it difficult to even explain what the concept of privilege is, and there are some who will refuse to see it no matter how clearly it's spelled out for them.

Original essay that the wiki is referencing:

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack


The "knapsack" of white privilege (and male privilege and straight privilege, etc.) is invisible. That's why you'll never get some people to admit that it even exists.

I had mentioned heteronormativity in another thread. How similar would that be to "straight privilege"? Little things, such as buying a card for your significant other, is much easier for a straight person. I've never seen a love card or anniversary card geared towards a same-sex couple.

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The Tenets of Political Correctness #101

1. Self-righteousness
2. Self-absorption
3. Self-pity
4. The division of human beings into group stereotypes
5. Bitterness

It's always the same message: white heterosexual men are evil. Anyone who disagrees is in denial.

And the authors of these self-pitying diatribes are usually affluent feminists who insist they are victims. Shameless indeed.

__________________
"Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep; in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety."

Macbeth 3:1