Most of us would recognize the concept of white privilege.
We walk into pricey stores and wander around without suspicious looks from management, we stroll through immigration lines with poise and we have an edge when we interact with police.
We are white, after all.
But there is another privilege that is less recognized and equally potent: male privilege.
Many men feel that we can be assertive without being bitchy and we can demean the women’s movement because we know — with confidence — that their proper place is as God intended, taking care of our kids and preparing our food.
We know that we are superior in sports, more wise in politics and better at war.
After all, we were schooled in those assumptions and wear those robes in confidence.
Sadly, fewer of us than ought are unaware of the fallacy of these assumptions and decry the arrogance underlying these thoughts.
I am unconvinced — by the way — that being better at war is as good as being good at working toward less bellicose alternatives.
As males, we are unconvinced that we give affront on a daily basis, consciously or not.
We have to reexamine our attitudes. How we say and what we say matters.
It is acceptable to go into a garage and see depictions of scantily clad women?
Would we be discomforted at seeing scantily clad men posted on the walls behind female clerks, secretaries and managers?
Do we have one standard of behavior or two?
I often wonder why women put up with us at all.
Ian Robertson,
Sequim