It is said that men have these privileges but tend to be unaware of them. Perhaps because these privileges are givens in our society that males don’t even recognize their extraordinary edge. As a child, chances are he was encouraged to be more active and outgoing than his sisters. He got more attention from the teachers in class than the girls who raised their hands just as often. When he glanced at the front page of a newspaper, he saw more pictures of people of his sex.
His grooming routine is expected to be cheap and quick, but will still produce dashing results. If he drives badly, it has nothing to do with his sex. If he screws up his finances, his sex won’t be blamed. If he sleeps around, he will not be labeled a ‘slut’ (there’s no male counterpart of slut-bashing). He can be loud or aggressive and will be called assertive (his counterpart will be called a bitch).
In everyday language, he will hear and read about his sex most of the time (e.g., chairman, freshman, hitman, etc.) In fact, if a sentence refers to any person, the chosen sex will likely be referring to his, down to the pronouns ‘he,’ ‘him,’ ‘his.’
In practically all media, we can find images of scantily-clad women intended to sexually appeal to him. Advertising to sell most products that are not of baseline necessity has him in mind, because he has the bigger purchasing power due to bigger expendable incomes.
At the office, his officemates won’t think that he got the job because of his sex (even if it was the case). If he competed for the post against female applicants, his chances were already tilted to his favor. The higher the job rank, the bigger his chances were. If he is not promoted, it’s not because of his sex, either. If he fails at his job, his sex won’t be blamed. If he did a particular task along with a female, chances are people will think he did a better job.
If he chooses to be childless, his masculinity will not be questioned. If he opts to have children along with a career, no one will think he’s selfish if he’s not home all the time. If he has children, he will be praised as an extraordinary parent if he takes time out to take care of the kids. He and his wife will both assume that she will have to sacrifice her career to raise the kids.
Every major religion in the world is led primarily by people of his own sex. Even God, in most major religions, belongs to the category. Most major religions state that he should be the head of the household, while his wife and children should be subservient to him.
By and large, people who belong to his sex make more money, and occupy the major positions in government and corporations.
With privileges, however, come expectations. He is also expected to work more to earn more. The provider will simply have to provide. The sexist society that bestowed him perks also puts him under tremendous pressure.
There are more chances he’ll meet harm while walking on dark streets because, unlike his female counterpart, he was not really warned as much and as often about the perils of being alone outside in the dark. He was probably bullied in school and will, most likely, be the soldier who will die in a war. The sexist society that gave him his privilege also gives him harm.
No comments:
Post a Comment