As I read through the checklist of male privileges as written by Peggy McIntosh many new things are brought to my attention. I think the McIntosh makes a lot of good statements about the privileges given to male just because they were born a certain gender, but I also disagree with a few of the ones she had mentioned.
Privilege number 4 I think is extremely relevant to our Women in Science class. As we all head into a predominately male field I think the pressure is on the women more then males to not make errors during work. If perhaps a woman were to diagnosis someone incorrectly in the medical field not only would she be held accountable but it would also but a black cloud over the entire female capabilities.
Privilege number 24 is also one that I agreed with. I have had many conversations with my guy friends about why its ok for guys to go around having sex and why it isn’t ok for women. The guys that I speak to can’t give me a direct explanation as to why its ok, but they think that for guys it is more of an accomplishment and for women it makes them seem used and un wanted. The guys that I speak to who believe in this would like to be called “champions” but when asked the question “what would they think if women slept with the same number of the opposite sex as them, what would they be called would be a Whore.” I don’t like how society has made it acceptable for both sexes to be allowed to have sex and make it socially acceptable.
The other one that I strongly agreed on was privilege number 32. I know from personal experience that if I am having a bad day at work or at school, one of my friends (male or female) assumes that it is just that time of month for me. It makes it seem like I am not allowed to have a bad day every once and a while, because I am predisposed to mood swings because of my gender.
There were also a few of the things mentioned in this article that I didn’t agree with. Number 10 for example states that if a male doesn’t take care of his kids his masculinity will not be questioned. I think in a male environment this may be true, but the females around him and his wife/girlfriend are going to think lower of him and his masculinity because he isn’t helping take care of his own child.
Number 16 I also didn’t agree with. When I was growing up my mom encouraged me to be outside and playing with the guys. I think it is unfair for the article to generalize that all American families want their female children to stay inside and not be outside with the boys.
Number 22 also is something that I think varies form the sex. I know that I generalize people by sex when they drive, if it is a careless driver I assume that the driver is male, and if it is a slow driver I assume the driver is female. I think this doesn’t have to do with sex just as a person in general.
I think this article is very good at making you consider how much society bases certain privileges based on something we have no control over.