Some of those examples are indeed very true (others extremely subjective)... but don't women have "privileges" that men don't, too? I mean that's what "benevolent sexism" is all about, after all. My argument is that the expectations and restrictions men and women face are around equal, though the nature of the prejudice is different (men are expected to be assertive, cold and stoic, women are expected to be chaste, nurturing and reliant on others).dragonswarrior said:So... Your definition of privilege is something that is statistically proven to improve someone's life over the lives of others that cannot have it or access to it?
http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/11/30-examples-of-male-privilege/
I think the expectation of "greater responsibility" thrust upon men is seen as more "noble", therefore sexism (in a broad sense) is skewed in their favour. I don't personally find this to be the case, as vulnerability is a trait we all exhibit.
I'd rather just ditch the word "privilege" and make people aware that any gender double-standards are damaging (as I believe sexism to be something that contributes to more sexism).
Interesting example, I don't doubt that it's sexist... however, if one of the boys chose to play with girls' toys, what would the reaction be? I know this depends on the place (some toy stores really push the "gender neutral" idea which I think is cool on a conceptual level). But I know that boys are taught from a very early age what's appropriately "masculine" for them, an attitude that comes from both authority figures such as teachers and parents and their peers.I can even give a real world anecdotal example. I work with Kindergartners (5 year olds if you don't have Kindergarten in your country). My more ignorant coworkers are constantly telling the (5 year old!) girls in my classes to "close their legs" or "do not sit that way" or "ladies do not sit like that." The boys never get told this. They can sit however they want.
Hmm, I can bring up anecdotal examples where the opposite is true (and statistical evidence that in many supposedly "gender neutral" subjects, females have higher chances of succeeding), but I think responding to anecdotes with anecdotes stagnates the discussion. We also live in different countries so maybe there are different attitudes.Additionally, I have repeatedly witnessed the girls in my classes being talked to as though they were all idiots, regardless of skill, while the boys are all given patience and understanding, regardless of their skill.
I think it depends on the tone of the conversation. Now I understand that the USA has a more toxic and widespread problem with racism than we have here in the UK (here far-right parties like the BNP and to a lesser extent UKIP get ridiculed on a daily basis for their bigotry, high-profile racism gets a lot of social media attention too). But when the tone shifts to "guilt by association", it gets unnecessarily hostile.Speaking about racism in terms of the privileges and disadvantages that white people and PoC have to deal with actually makes the conversation easier, and still completely accurate.
Now I love to make fun of fellow caucasians. I think some "white stereotypes" are hilarious, but when they're consistently portrayed as the "oppressor"... that's when it gets awkward. I mean I probably agree with you on this, just the word "privilege" makes me uncomfortable. And no, it's not because I have to "check my privilege", it's because it's not unusual for an environment of condescension to come along with it.
But then again maybe that's just because of where I live, often characterised as "notoriously" multicultural.