So this post on fetlife really got me going...

The post:

Do you see woman having privileges that men do not have...in our current society?

My response:

My wife and I talk about this topic a lot because it does seem that women get some privileges that men will never get.

As it has been said in numerous other comments: Women control consensual sex. Women have no trouble in getting consensual sex from a much larger pool of partners than men. In the case of my wife she doesn't always realize how large that pool is.

Some thoughts on the rape statement: I honestly find it a little hard to choke down a statistic like 1 in 3 are raped or molested. But even if that number is accurate the argument that men aren't raped(by women) isn't really a statement of men's privilege. Men not being raped comes more from the fact that women control consensual sex and most men are happy to get it and there is a much worse stigma associated with men reporting rape. If a man is raped by a woman and reports it he is relinquished as not a man. If a man is raped by a man he is thought of as weak and with the large deal of homophobia of gay men amongst many other men, raped men inherit that as well.

Beyond just sex: Women control most social interactions with men. My wife has a 10 times easier job of making friends than I do. Sure I am a socially awkward physicist but people in general are friendlier to my wife than me and more friendly to me when my wife is with me.

But what the big deal with making friends? Nothing... But consider that this extra friendliness ripples into situations where she needs(or wants) to get her way. Admittedly she has an easier time returning items to stores or in general it gives her extra power in the retail/customer service setting(especially with younger male workers). It also helps to get on the other side of the counter.

And her gender typically gives her a boost in the employment market. Men and their desire to sleep with women combined with women's control over sex easily implies that men who make hiring decisions would favor female candidates(depending on occupation this is especially true in the service industry). Count the number of women working at most grocery stores doing light labor as opposed to heavy labor and there is a strong correlation.

Take medicine: Count the number of women receptionists at offices versus men(overwhelming in 2007 thing like 6:1 women:men per the CDC). Now I know what the response is: Women aren't the doctors in the office maybe not now but the CDC says that women make up more than 50 percent of students in medical school. Will the women make less... maybe? I can't find any recent statistics. But considering they have an easier time getting into these professions something tells me that lifetime earning would be about equal.

Lets look at what happens to men in television and film: I challenge you to find me a sitcom where a woman is the bumbling idiot(the one that always screws everything up not the bimbo) character. Are you scratching you head? I am and the only one I can think of is Cougar Town and that character is just a bimbo but constantly gets episodes devoted to her growing up and evolving. Now look at men in these sitcoms. The only intelligent sophisticated men are gay(not that there is anything wrong with being gay but that seems to be the only way a man can not be a bumbling idiot on TV). I can remember all of those feel good sitcoms as a child which have shaped in many ways people in my generations view on gender roles (life imitates art or art imitates life?). The man of the house was always short tempered, educated but still dumb, lacked foresight, and almost never was considered to be the correct party in the dispute. I struggle to recall a story line of Family Matters lets say where Carl was *right* and more so when he won the dispute he had to have some kind of childish victory dance to make up for his ability to reason appropriately about a situation.

Do I have some advantages as a man? Sure... I am less likely to have a purse/wallet snatched or to be mugged(maybe depending on my outward physical fitness and percent of muggings which involve a weapon). I am less likely to be a victim of (*reported*) domestic violence. I am more likely to be able to get a heavy labor job like auto mechanic, welder, stock room worker, and *insert most jobs where you get really dirty or lift heavy things*. I don't have to bare children or go through child birth. And most importantly I get the opportunity to navigate in a society with all of the lovely women out there.