My new favorite terrible Tumblr blog is this is female privilege, a blog that posts user-submitted examples of, well, female privilege. It’s a pretty MRA-adjacent idea for a blog, seemingly designed to be appreciated only by those who can use the word “misandry” without giggling. The woman who runs the blog seems to be fairly MRA-adjacent type herself; she recently responded to one critic with a sarcastic “Wow waahhhh it’s so hard to be a woman wahhhh!” (Literally; that’s an exact quote.)
So it’s hardly surprising that many of the posts seem to have been cut and pasted straight from the Men’s Rights subreddit – at least figuratively, if not literally. (Click on the pics to see the posts in context at this is female privilege.)
But a lot of the alleged privileges are a bit, well, odder than that. The blogger says she posts everything she gets, so either a lot of people have pretty cockeyed notions of just what privileges are, or some feminists are trolling her blog by sending along the dumbest non-privileges they can think of to make the blog even more ridiculous than it already is.
Some suggest that biological differences are “privileges.”
Some of the so-called “privileges” are the results of traditional gender roles that box both men and women in:
Dude, if you want to shave your body hair, shave your fucking body hair. There are lots of guys who shave or wax.
Some are comically delusional:
Chance this last one was submitted by a guy: 110%.
Some are just kind of whiny.
You know, there’s an easy solution to this: wait for a fucking stall, like women do.
Some are kind of weird:
And some are just, well, beyond hope:
Seriously, if you see these things as female privilege, you really, really shouldn’t be talking about privilege in public on the internet. You’re just making a fool of yourself.
The one redeeming thing about the blog: people argue back in the “notes.”
EDIT: Another redeeming thing: It’s inspired the response blog Actually This is Male Privilege.
EDIT 2: Amanda Marcotte riffs on the one about women having the wonderful privilege of sex any time they want!
I find it strange that “getting kicked in the genitals” which can happen to anyone, by the ways, is presented as the ultimate pain. Like, the mras try to present it as the worst kind of pain ever, and say that it only happens to men, so… female privilege somehow?
There are plenty of things more painful than getting kicked in the genitals, is part of what I’m saying. Kidney stones, for one.
Also also, I’ve worked as a server before. Hooters or not, it’s just not a privileged position. It’s a miserable job.
I’d guess having acid thrown on you can be more painful than being kicked in the balls. 🙁
David, are you sure that site isn’t satirical? Most of the examples of female privilege on there are too ridiculous for it to be serious. Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is serious. MRAs and their sympathizers aren’t known for having a firm grasp on reality.
Now, I’m not saying that women don’t have any privileges related to being female, but those “examples” are just fucking stupid.
I don’t know about y’all, but I definitely feel privileged having the option to work for minimum wage at a place where guys will stare at my tits and grope my ass all day. Besides, men work at Hooters too, dumbass.
Perhaps because women don’t have prostates? Men don’t have to be tested for uterine cancer, so does that make us even?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…
Yeah…being kneed in the crotch hurts like hell. The pubic bone should not be rammed against other hard objects, generally speaking.
(On the other hand, I can still make my fiance turn red and stammer when I mention that one)
muwahahahahaha 😀
So if it’s female privilege never to be tested for prostate cancer, is it male privilege never to be tested for uterine or ovarian cancer?
Well, if it wasn’t satirical before, it sure will be now…
The thing about that picture that annoys me, is the man is laying out his coat for the woman to step over because she is rich, not simply because she is a woman. I doubt he would do the same for the chambermaid that scrubs his sheets. He definitely would not do that for the female slave working in the fields. That quote from Sojourner Truth comes to mind. A few rich women enjoyed an extraordinary lifestyle, but most women were poor and working themselves to death. Stupid stupid stupid.
There are a couple good ones, but most of the good ones use either a common (as opposed to an activist’s definition which if I recall tends to be rooted in historical precedent, “power structure” analysis, etc.) definition of “privilege” or hit on the “man box” notion.
Neither of these are necessarily bad, but I am not entirely sure that “being free from certain societal expectations of the opposite gender” counts as privilege. It might lead to a form of privilege, but alone it doesn’t feel sufficient.
@Polliwog
“While I don’t disagree with your basic premise – enforced gender roles absolutely do hurt men, too – I think you may underestimate how much crap is dished out to women in the same vein. Using your examples here, it’s absolutely true that, if I cry in public, I will not be accused of being a “sissy.” I will instead be accused of being hysterical, irrational, and a “typical woman,” and have this used as a reason to dismiss anything I say. It’s absolutely true that, if I choose to become a stay-at-home mom, I will not be considered “weird.” I will, however, frequently be considered stupid and useless, not to mention being blamed for anything less-than-perfect about my hypothetical children.”
Hallelujah.
When people ignore everything you have to say, or outright dismiss it as irrational simply because you have a vagina, talk to me about female privilege.
When you are the most qualified person in the room, but you have to find a man to say what you want said because no one takes your extpertise seriuosly because you have a vagina, talk to me about female privilege.
When nobody gives a shit about what you contribute to society because you aren’t “hot,” talk to me about female privilege.
When half of the population can physically overpower and rape you, so you have to always have to watch your back when traveling alone or at night, talk to me about female privilege.
When you are called a “bitch” for being assertive, confident, or just anything besides sweet and accomodating, talk to me about female privilege.
When people call you a cocktease when you won’t sleep with a man, and a slut when you will, talk to me about female privilege.
If these MRAs had to go through one day experiencing the level of disrespect, objectification, and condescension women face simply for being women, they would really have something to be mad about.
So, skinny weak men. This is just as true of the bottom percentiles of men.
So far, so MRA.
But people just don’t think that about men. The fact that people think about the fact that women can be physically forced into rape is a fact the like of which men just don’t have to contend with. That’s where a whole pile of victim-blaming and bullshit comes from.
Small framed men can still be incredibly strong. So yes, some men can be overpowered by other men. But very very few men can be overpowered by a woman. And like you said, I don’t think a man ever anticipates being raped by another man while he’s walking down a dark street, because he’s a MAN. And that attitude hurts men.
I actually think there IS one of those female privilege ones that’s vaguely on point (http://actuallythisismaleprivilege.tumblr.com/post/27449796831/actually)
“Female privilege is not being expected to get a professional career and take on all the challenges thereof”
It’s definitely true that unambitious men are heavily looked-down-upon as “losers” in our society. I wouldn’t put TOO fine a point on it because most people are vaguely ambitious, but the flip side to the male privilege of heightened career success is that the men who lose at the success game do frequently get pretty emasculated.
@MorkaisChosen
“So far, so MRA.”
What does this mean?
Atlantas commented MGTOWMRA: Yes, gender roles hurt men too, and feminism addresses that too (if only indirectly: as a byproduct of their work in addressing the gender roles that hurt women). Gender roles hurt men, but they hurt women more. Hence, priorities; hence the term “feminism”.
Atlantas I disagree, gender roles severely hurt men as much as women. Men still die a couple of years before women and much of it is a result of men not being allowed to cry, show emotion or express their feelings.More men statistically succumb to alcoholism and drug addiction because of this as well. Men dying a couple of years before women is a severe consequence of gender roles hurting men.
Polliwog it is not necessarily true that you will be considered stupid and useless by men if you are a stay at home mom. There are conservative men such as Bill Bennett who wrote an offensive book to MRA’s called “Man Up”, who revere stay at home moms. Check out this link http://www.the-spearhead.com/2011/10/05/reader-responses-to-bill-bennetts-man-up-piece/
There are lots of MRA’S on good websites such as The Spearhead, A Voice for men, and The Good Men Project who believe that women should be drafted in the military and fight on the front lines in a war and men should be allowed to knit in public without shame and ridicule.
MRA’s believe gender roles hurt men very much. A good book to read is “Loving men, Respecting Women” by Tim Goldich. If some people say feminism is all about equality for men as well as women.in terms of gender roles, the term “feminist” is offensive to me as an MRA. I would prefer the term “equalism” rather than “feminism”
This article talks about how crying women are judged more harshly than crying men are. And when Ellen DeGeneres cried on her talk show, which was around the time of the last election, Bill Maher used that as “proof” that a woman should not be president.
YooHooCthulu – I don’t think “not being expected to succeed” is much of a privilege at all.
@Yoohoo: “Female privilege is not being expected to get a professional career and take on all the challenges thereof”
No, it’s more like women were until very recently barred from the education and employment of ANY professions (public school teaching and nursing were fairly low-level on the hierarchy of professions vs. jobs): I fucking remember when employment ads were for MALE and FEMALE.
And women were barred from all the PERKS that go along with those challenges — and if you think working jobs like motel maid and waitress don’t have ‘challenges’ and also lack the perks, you (generic you) are a know-nothing jerk.
That is not, and was not, privilege — and the “challenges” that women faced who wanted to work in these professions were a shitload harder than men faced.
Oh yeah. All those grandmas who outlived their husbands are having a fucking ball. Especially the penniless widows who werent allowed to hold a job. The ones who were legally abused by their partners in life but are, somehow, out of the market at 80. The ones who begged the love of their life to just get a fucking prostate exam already. Lucky bitches.
@Fembot: That was making the point that the first sentence was pretty much in line with stuff MRAs might say.
“Small framed men can still be incredibly strong. So yes, some men can be overpowered by other men. But very very few men can be overpowered by a woman. And like you said, I don’t think a man ever anticipates being raped by another man while he’s walking down a dark street, because he’s a MAN. And that attitude hurts men.”
This is the sort of thing I was meaning, yeah.
Okay some of those are definitely submissions from funny feminists.
Impossible: humor was banned from Femiland by Dworkins Decree in 1993.
There was an episode of the TV show Undercover Boss where the manager at a Hooters would force his waitresses to do degrading tasks to get time off or leave work early. He called it “reindeer games” and made the waitresses eat a plate of refried beans with no utensils as fast as they could to decide who would go home early that day. He was definitely on a power trip and enjoyed humiliating the women. The undercover CEO made the manager go to sensitivity training and take another position. Anyway, I would not envy the waitresses, knowing the harassment they deal with. They earn every dime they make and then some.
I found a link to the incident at Hooters from the show.
Maybe NSFW, depending on where someone works. I don’t know if it’d need a TW, too, but I’ll warn that the guy took pleasure in watching the waitresses be humiliated, and he said they were “primadonnas”. It’s obvious he was a misogynist, and he wanted to punish the waitresses for being conventionally attractive.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIg4j43Lqaw&w=560&h=315%5D
>Female privilege is thorough representation in the mermaid community.
I simply adore this one.
SCRABBLEEXPLOSION:
Uh-huh. Do you read Playboy for the articles?
(Actually, I’ve only ever read Playboy for the articles)
(Actually, nowadays I can’t think of any other reason to read Playboy)