new bruce fan.....
- From: kivrin22@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: 28 May 2007 17:35:11 -0700
hi-i wandered in here expecting to read a lot about springsteen but
what
i have read is even more interesting..
thought
i would add this article to thevery interesting flow ofideas.
i hope it brings more interesting conversation.
i hope you are enjoying .
The Male Privilege Checklist
An Unabashed Imitation of an Article by Peggy McIntosh
by B. Deutsch
In 1990, Wellesley College professor Peggy McIntosh wrote an essay
called White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. McIntosh
observes that whites in the U.S. are "taught to see racism only in
individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring
dominance on my group." To illustrate these invisible systems,
McIntosh wrote a list of 26 invisible privileges whites benefit from.
As McIntosh points out, men also tend to be unaware of their own
privileges as men. In the spirit of McIntosh's essay, I thought I'd
compile a list similar to McIntosh's, focusing on the invisible
privileges benefiting men.
Since I first compiled it, the list has been posted several times on
internet discussion groups. Very helpfully, many people have suggested
additions to the checklist. More commonly, of course, critics
(usually, but not always, male) have pointed out men have
disadvantages too - being drafted into the army, being expected to
suppress emotions, and so on. These are indeed bad things - but I
never claimed that life for men is all ice cream sundaes. Pointing out
that men are privileged in no way denies that sometimes bad things
happen to men.
In the end, however, it is men and not women who make the most money;
men and not women who dominate the government and the corporate
boards; men and not women who dominate virtually all of the most
powerful positions of society. And it is women and not men who suffer
the most from intimate violence and rape; who are the most likely to
be poor; who are, on the whole, given the short end of patriarchy's
stick. As Marilyn Frye has argued, while men are harmed by patriarchy,
women are oppressed by it.
Several critics have also argued that the list somehow victimizes
women. I disagree; pointing out problems is not the same as
perpetuating them. It is not a "victimizing" position to fight against
injustice; we can't fight injustice if we refuse to acknowledge it
exists.
An internet acquaintance of mine once wrote, "The first big privilege
which whites, males, people in upper economic classes, the able
bodied, the straight (I think one or two of those will cover most of
us) can work to alleviate is the privilege to be oblivious to
privilege." This checklist is, I hope, a step towards helping men to
give up the "first big privilege."
The Male Privilege Checklist
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 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. The odds of my encountering sexual harassment on the job are so
low as to be negligible.
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 raped are so low as to be negligible.
8. I am not taught to fear walking alone after dark in average
public spaces.
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 pursue 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. Chances are my elected representatives are mostly people of my
own sex. The more prestigious and powerful the elected position, the
more likely this is to be true.
15. I can be somewhat sure that if I ask to see "the person in
charge," 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 sisters.
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 heroes were 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, every day,
without exception.
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. If I have sex with a lot of people, it won't make me an object
of contempt or derision.
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.
26. My wardrobe and grooming are relatively cheap and consume little
time.
27. If I buy a new car, chances are I'll be offered a better price
than a woman buying the same car.
28. If I'm not conventionally attractive, the disadvantages are
relatively small and easy to ignore.
29. I can be loud with no fear of being called a shrew. I can be
aggressive with no fear of being called a bitch.
30. 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.)
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.
32. My ability to make important decisions and my capability in
general will never be questioned depending on what time of the month
it is.
33. I will never be expected to change my name upon marriage or
questioned if i don't change my name.
34. The decision to hire me will never be based on assumptions about
whether or not I might choose to have a family sometime soon.
35. Every major religion in the world is led primarily by people of
my own sex. Even God, in most major religions, is usually pictured as
being male.
36. Most major religions argue that I should be the head of my
household, while my wife and children should be subservient to me.
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.
38. If I have children with a wife or girlfriend, chances are she'll
do most of the childrearing, and in particular the most dirty,
repetitive and unrewarding parts of childrearing.
39. If I have children with a 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.
40. 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
much rarer.
41. I am not expected to spend my entire life 20-40 pounds
underweight.
42. If I am heterosexual, it's incredibly unlikely that I'll ever be
beaten up by a spouse or lover.
43. I have the privilege of being unaware of my male privilege.
.
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