Male Privilege, what a Joke

I went into the dining center this morning, and what did I find but a lovely table tent in pink, with a list of reasons why men have all the privileges and women have none.  Now usually, I find flyers other posting like this more humorous than offensive, but I guess today I was feeling cranky or something.  I read the list and seethed with anger, because some of these claims were so preposterous to strain even the credulity of the most ardent believer in male power.

The first item on the list was the worst.  It asked us men if we noticed how women face more charges of sexual harassment than men, and how that was a symptom of male power.  I almost burst out laughing and spurted milk through my nose.  Because no one in their right state of mind would believe that women face more claims of sexual harassment than men.  There are entire organizations at companies and businesses designed to protect women from anything remotely offensive and smacks of a sexual nature.  And its the women who get picked on? 

So I guess all the men who never shut their office door when a female coworker or student is in their office, or avoid being alone with female coworkers or students are doing it to protect the women from claims of sexual harassment and not themselves.  And all of the mandated sexual harassment training sessions which give dozens of examples of how a man can commit sexual harassment do it because all the women are getting charged and its time to let everyone know the men are gettign away with all the harassment.  Totally unbelievable, but hey the myth of male privilege is totally ubelievable as well.

The rest of the list was predictable, men have all the positions of power and are all the bosses, which is correct and does need reckoning, but I still argue that the pressure for men to be at the top and earn all the money in order to be viewed as a good man, really isn’t privilege.  No one would argue that the prize winning race horse at the derby who wins the race and then gets shot at the moment of his triumph is privileged.  And men are like the horse.  They work hard, rise up the ranks become the winner, then die from the stress.  Not really a privilege if you ask me, but then again I am a white male, so I am privileged and sexist and don’t even know it.

Oh and because women take forever to groom and men take a shorter time, men have all the power and privilege.  I disagree.  The new metrosexual man has to shower, remove excess body hair, shave, and style his hair before he can leave the door which takes a comparable amount of time to what women have to do.  And many women these days don’t put on any or a lot of makeup so their morning routine is considerably shorter.  Besides while the women are getting ready, men have been up for a couple of hours and are probably stuck in traffic for the two hour commute they have to take to their ‘privileged’ job.

I think its hilarious that men have the privilege and women supposedly don’t.  Both genders are privileged in different ways.  Men get the privilege of slaving all day in order to be looked up in society.  Women get the privilege of equality while still expecting the male to make all the moves and pay for all th dinners in a relationship.  And as always, women get teh privilege of living longer and healthier than their male counterparts, and if you ask me, power is all about who lives the longest and more stress free life.

Update:  At Dinner I read the flyer again, and the first item was that women faced sexual harassment more in the workplace, which is quite different than being charged for sexual harassment, and more along the lines of the normal cry of male privilege.  I screwed up and I’m sorry.  The flyer instead of being outrageous, is simply the same as every other flyer on male privilege.  I believe its reasoning to be deeply flawed, but I have already hemmed and hawed about all of the claims in the flyer anyway.