Lucky me. Seriously.

At times, it frustrates me as a man when I talk with other men about male privilege.  I often face resistance. Perhaps, as a straight and white middle-aged man, this is a symptom of the sort of men that I have these discussions with, perhaps it’s not. However, because of my own personal experiences I also know myself that class, or if we prefer, social status and likewise other prejudicial social factors can detract from the advantage of male privilege.

While this fact may be important to recognise, it does not negate the fact of male privilege. I recently watched the excellent BBC documentaries on the Maxwell and Murdoch media dynasties. They both served to highlight patriarchal power (as expressed by both men and women) as well as male social advantage in various forms. It is one thing (for a man) to be blind to the male privilege at the top of the pyramid of wealth and global influence, it is another thing altogether, and far more concerning to be blind to the lived experiences of our mothers and sisters and daughters and partners.

It is a fact that men hold the majority of power globally. Some might argue this is evidence of superiority. This is literally a myth. I’m so confident that rigorous academic research could prove this, that I can’t even be bothered to do the data collection and analysis right now. However, I would bet that if one were to do a content analysis of all of the most popularly consumed mass-media product in the UK, (let alone other power structures, and the rest of the anglophone world) that male production, male perspectives, and male agency would be represented at something like a 5:1 ratio against the same for women. From a philosophical standpoint I would argue that this discourse at the very least puts one in the position of not knowing which came first, the chicken, or the egg? Scientifically speaking, the phenomenon is what you would label as confirmation bias.

One mistake that some men seem to make is believing that we are more different than we are similar to women. This also happens to be the narrative of our male-dominated power structures.  The evidence would show however that women can equally endorse, prop-up, perpetuate and exhibit toxic “male” power if it suits them. The problem with men then, and male privilege, is not being men, it is equivocating maleness with power. This is of course not to ignore the differences between men and women.

I believe I can remember the first time I equated an erection to a sexual feeling; I was 10 years old. It was an exciting and unsettling but ultimately benign experience, only tinged slightly with guilt having not been polluted by religion. I guess it also represented the gateway to my adult masculinity. I can only try and imagine what it might have been like, in that vulnerable situation, to have started bleeding heavily from between my legs. Women obviously teach girls about these things. Men rarely have to think about them.

As a straight white man, I rarely walk down a dark street at night feeling unsafe. I’ll take the dog for a walk late at night, down quiet paths where no witnesses watch, and I just don’t worry. How many women feel this free?

I could have unprotected sex with your (adult) daughter, get her pregnant and then disappear, leaving her to pick up the pieces. Do women have this freedom?

I wouldn’t, by the way. But Roe Vs Wade. Just saying…