7 examples of prevailing male privileges that expose deep patriarchal bias
To compete against a man, for justified rights, while being a woman is already infuriating and tiresome. No matter the volume of unpaid labor women perform at work, managing ‘home duties’ with a career, they always get blamed for taking the ‘freedom’ for granted and not fulfilling their womanly duties towards husband and house properly.
Watching the men get praised for doing the bare minimum is sad and sickening with the worst being men get through everyday with disguised misogyny and prevailing patriarchy, and their male privilege.
Here are some privileges men were entitled to since birth but are accepted widely,
- Men’s bad mood doesn’t get blamed on their gender
When women complain about having a bad day or being grumpy, it’s conveniently blamed on mood swings, periods and PMSing. Instead of determining the actual cause of the malaise, the mood and the issue is blamed on ‘raging’ hormones. Men on the other hand are talked to about their troubles, the pressure of being a ‘provider’ and living up to the expectations.
- Society’s beauty standards don’t apply to men when it comes to their careers
Our society keeps updating the shrewd list of beauty standards for women and numerous advertisements show women who use fairness creams or lose weight to be excelling in life, especially at the workplace. While, for men, similar ads are made with the focus being on them getting a girl. While men undergo the strain of looking conventionally handsome too, but their exterior beauty plays no role in fetching them any career opportunities.
- Men can flash their money and not be called out for it
“And if I was flashing my dollars, I would be a bitch not a baller”, even Taylor Swift has spoken about how flashing self-made money goes down for men and women. Women are called careless for spending and showing off their money, while men are considered cool and suave for spending a lot on luxurious living and dressing the part.
- Men can sleep around and their worth isn’t based on that
The idea of casual sex from men’s perspective has always diminished women to mere ‘pleasure machines’. Men can be with multiple partners and sleep around but their worth and character isn’t questioned by society with their indiscretions often dismissed as ‘boys will be boys.’ However, when a woman prioritizes pleasure over commitment, she’s branded filthy, characterless and ‘loose.’
- Men’s choice of clothing isn’t put on trial after their complaints of harassment
If a man complains about being harassed, they are never asked what they were wearing at the time of the incident. Nor in any way, their clothing style is ever deemed inappropriate, skimpy, or inviting. However, when a woman complains of street sexual harassment or any kind of perverted advances that they didn’t consent to, the moral police puts their clothing on trial claiming that they invited the assault by luring men with revealing clothes.
- Women are still not paid equally as men for the same job roles
Getting paid equally as a man for the same job role is still on the to-do list of several women. Men don’t need to get worried about being paid less for doing the same work as a woman or less. The scopes for promotions are also higher for men with women having to drive inclusivity initiatives at the workplace to discourage gender pay gap.
- Men get extraordinary praise for providing basic parental care
A father doing the most basic things for their child receives enormous praise even when they are only marginally competent. A mother is always (24×7) expected to care for the child, while also taking care of the household chores and focusing on their individual career goals. Mothers are put on a pedestal as being the purest embodiment of love but when would the fathers start sharing the load of parenting?
Male privilege exists and it might take us decades to break through the toxicity to finally reach a place where we all are valued equally but to get there, we need to start calling out gender entitlement today.
