Lyanna Stark Posted August 25, 2014 Author Share Posted August 25, 2014 Apparently there was complaints in one of the other threads that the Feminism thread does not talk enough about "Female privilege" so how about it ladies and gentlemen. What "Female privilege" do we generally feel that we have***. Lesse if we can make a list. * I get to wear a dress and/or lots of pink without anybody wondering WTF* I am assumed to be an authority on everything that goes on in my children's life (even when I work 50+ hours a week and my husband is on parental leave, so this is not just a privilege, this is a double edged sword when the day-care staff call me while I am on the run to a meeting to tell me my daughter is sick and I need to pick her up, only for me to have to ring the husband and coordinate so he goes there instead, cos you know they don't phone him cos I am female an automatically Top Of the Care List)* Sometimes at fancy dinners, the guy next to me will pull out my chair for me So anyone got any other really great Female privilege ideas? Cos I got nothing. (I might mention here that I can list several linked to my social class, ethnicity, cisgender, being straight etc. but nothing else particularly linked to being female that is a net positive.) *** Trainwreck incoming in 3,2,1... :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theda Baratheon Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I get lots of messages from creeps on dating profiles!!some of them objectify me straight away!!! Others wait a day or two before they start demanding things from me!!! The dating world is *super cheerful voice* sureeee super duper easy when youre a woman!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalbear Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Here's one. I recently subscribed to a couple of parenting newsletters - red tricycle and parent map. Both are overwhelmingly assuming the parent that would be doing anything with these kids is a woman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lessthanluke Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I get lots of messages from creeps on dating profiles!!some of them objectify me straight away!!! Others wait a day or two before they start demanding things from me!!! The dating world is *super cheerful voice* sureeee super duper easy when youre a woman!!!BUT BUT BUT you can just get sex whenever you want it! RIGHT?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theda Baratheon Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I get cat calls sometimes!! Being told to flash my tits is so great for my self esteem!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theda Baratheon Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 BUT BUT BUT you can just get sex whenever you want it! RIGHT?!oh yeah!!! Women have it so easy in the dating world!!! I can go up to any random man and he will definitely have sex with me...because I AM A WOMAN and all men want sex all the time right!?!?? I'd be doing him a favour even!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeping Sore Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Apparently there was complaints in one of the other threads that the Feminism thread does not talk enough about "Female privilege" so how about it ladies and gentlemen. What "Female privilege" do we generally feel that we have***. Lesse if we can make a list. * I get to wear a dress and/or lots of pink without anybody wondering WTF * I am assumed to be an authority on everything that goes on in my children's life (even when I work 50+ hours a week and my husband is on parental leave, so this is not just a privilege, this is a double edged sword when the day-care staff call me while I am on the run to a meeting to tell me my daughter is sick and I need to pick her up, only for me to have to ring the husband and coordinate so he goes there instead, cos you know they don't phone him cos I am female an automatically Top Of the Care List) * Sometimes at fancy dinners, the guy next to me will pull out my chair for me So anyone got any other really great Female privilege ideas? Cos I got nothing. (I might mention here that I can list several linked to my social class, ethnicity, cisgender, being straight etc. but nothing else particularly linked to being female that is a net positive.) *** Trainwreck incoming in 3,2,1... :P I think the acceptability of using make-up to look better is an advantage, though having to do so can be burdensome. In high school girls could use make-up to make their pimples less prominent. Definitely a plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theda Baratheon Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I will admit guys should totally be able to wear makeup, skirts, nail polish, dresses - these are all awesome things and should be shared with all!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I suffered a concrete example of female privilege last week. I was going down in the lift leaving work one day last week, there was me and one other guy and 3 or 4 women (I was at the back, the other guy was at the front). When it got to the bottom the other guy gestured for the women to go out first, and then looked somewhat annoyed when I also went out in front of him - like being polite to me was less important than being polite to them. Female privilege in action! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraPrime Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 * I get to wear a dress and/or lots of pink without anybody wondering WTF I actually think this is pretty substantial as a privilege, when it comes to dress code freedom. A woman can wear pants and not be challenged for her womanhood (well, in most circles other than the fringe religious ones), but a man cannot wear a dress (not kilt, but a dress) without having to endure a lot of social repercussions. The asusmption of a nurturing nature is another one, which brackets what Kalbear was talking about, and ties into custodial assignments in divorce courts. I think someone else in that thread also mentioned, in the U.S. and some other countries, not being conscripted to the military. I also think that there's data on female murderers getting lighter sentences on average (though it separates by types of murder)? Another one I can think of is the freedom to experiment bisexuality with fewer (not not none) social stigmas against it. As the joke goes, a man can lick a thousand vaginas, but if he sucks one cock, he's gay. My sense is that it is not such a... rigid, delineation for women. But of course, this is born out of subjugating women's sexuality for the pleasure of the heterosexual men's fantasy, so not sure if it's a privilege? :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeping Sore Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 a thousand vaginas...my tongue is tired just thinking about it. ETA: RE: female privilege w/r/to openly identifying as bi - the ratio of IRL openly bi women to openly bi men seems to be about 10:1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraPrime Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 It's all about time management. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily Valley Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Flip side of the dress code coin is that I am judged far more harshly by what I am wearing in a professional environment than my male counterparts. I'm in the second week of school and it's a struggle every day for me to put an outfit together that doesn't make me look like a messy 12-year-old. My boss teaches the same classes I do and he is jeans and t-shirt from day one. By the third week I will have achieved enough rapport with my students to dress casually, but it annoys the crap out of me that I need to put in the extra effort every semester. Conversely, I'll take the comfy dress and low heels or skirt/jacket combo over those terrible suits that are standard for men's business wear. Those things are hot and I won't even start on how uncomfortable ties are. I am about the same height as an average Japanese man. This means that Honda and Toyota make wonderful cars that fit me perfectly and last forever. I don't have to bend over as far to push a cheap stroller. Although the handles are too low for anyone over 5'4". It's fairly easy for me to get laid if I'm not picky and there is less fallout if I never call a one night stand again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraPrime Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Flip side of the dress code coin is that I am judged far more harshly by what I am wearing in a professional environment than my male counterparts. I'm in the second week of school and it's a struggle every day for me to put an outfit together that doesn't make me look like a messy 12-year-old. My boss teaches the same classes I do and he is jeans and t-shirt from day one. True. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brook Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Double post, blah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brook Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 The asusmption of a nurturing nature is another one, which brackets what Kalbear was talking about, and ties into custodial assignments in divorce courts.Lets not forget the flip side of that one though...I don't want full custody of my kids, I never asked for it, never wanted more than 50/50 and when it comes to one of my children I have severe doubts about my long term ability to do even that.And yet... here I am almost certainly about to have custody for all but a couple of weeks a year and this is considered my privilege... My ex has the freedom to walk away and still even be considered a good parent while as the 'default' parent it isn't socially acceptable for me to say 'I want less time with my kids'. Even when I first left, while on the verge of mental breakdown if I stayed a second longer in the house he refused to leave, I still had to deal with direct judgement and accusations of 'abandoning my kids' because I left them in their fathers custody overnight while still spending 14+ hours a day, every day, caring for them. Meanwhile he moves states away from his children and people sympathise about how hard it is for him.I sympathise for those dad's who want more time with their kids (I do know one who has been fighting for it for years although he is asking for *more* than 50/50) but being seen as default parent really doesn't feel like such a privilege right now, and I know a lot more women in similar situations to me with their ex than the reverse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 So anyone got any other really great Female privilege ideas? Cos I got nothing. Women get much lighter sentences compared to men for the same crime, at least according to the studies I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yersinia Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 People tend to assume that I have some kind of innate cooking ability because I'm a woman, I guess. My husband and children aren't fooled, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brook Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Another actual privilege is that, as a woman I can access the full range of human emotions (except anger) without my femininity being called into question. Men frequently are allowed very little *except* anger.Also as a small women I had several people offer to help as I was lugging heavy bags around London. I doubt that would have happened if I'd been a weaker looking man (although maybe I under-estimate people) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 Conscription. It's not a big of an issue in the Europe and North America as it used to be, but it's still in place in the rest of the world and if there is a major war, in the West too most men would be mobilised. Not having to serve in the army is pretty much the only thing I've ever seriously envied women for, though it turned out I had no reason too since the law was changed just in time for me to avoid being drafted. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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