Sister Rate just sent me the most profound article and nothing I could say today would compare, so I ask that you check it out! Please read it and share with friends, especially men! We WILL discuss this further!
The Black Male Privileges Checklist
By Jewel Woods
© Renaissance Male Project (2008)
“…Male privilege is more than just a “double standard”, because it is based on attitudes or actions that come at the expense of women. Just as white privilege comes at the expense of African Americans and other people of color, gender double standards come at the expense of women…Examining black male privileges offers black men and boys an opportunity to go beyond old arguments of “personal responsibility” or “blaming the man” to gain a deeper level of insight into how issues of class and race are influenced by gender. Gender is one of the most important tools in the production and reproduction of power because it relies on consent and not just coercion…The items represented on the Black Male Privileges Checklist reflect aspects of Black men’s lives that we take for granted, which appear to be “double standards,” but in fact are male privileges that come at the expense of women in general and African American women in particular.
I offer this checklist based on years of experience working with men, and with the faith that we as men have far more to gain than we have to lose by challenging the privileges that we take for granted.
Leadership & Politics
1. I don’t have to choose my race over my sex in political matters.
2. When I read African American History textbooks, I will learn mainly about black men.
3. When I learn about the Civil Rights Movement & the Black Power Movements, most of the leaders that I will learn about will be black men.
4. I can rely on the fact that in the near 100-year history of national civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and the Urban League, virtually all of the executive directors have been male.
5. I will be taken more seriously as a political leader than black women.
6. Despite the substantial role that black women played in the Civil Rights Movement and Black Power Movement, currently there is no black female that is considered a “race leader”.
7. I can live my life without ever having read black feminist authors, or knowing about black women’s history, or black women’s issues.
8. I can be a part of a black liberation organization like the Black Panther Party where an “out” rapist Eldridge Cleaver can assume leadership position.
9. I will make more money than black women at equal levels of education and occupation.
10. Most of the national “opinion framers” in Black America including talk show hosts and politicians are men.
Beauty
11. I have the ability to define black women’s beauty by European standards in terms of skin tone, hair, and body size. In comparison, black women rarely define me by European standards of beauty in terms of skin tone, hair, or body size.
12. I do not have to worry about the daily hassles of having my hair conforming to any standard image of beauty the way black women do.
13. I do not have to worry about the daily hassles of being terrorized by the fear of gaining weight. In fact, in many instances bigger is better for my sex.
14. My looks will not be the central standard by which my worth is valued by members of the opposite sex.
Sex & Sexuality
15. I can purchase pornography that typically shows men defile women by the common practice of the “money shot.”
16. I can believe that causing pain during sex is connected with a woman’s pleasure without ever asking her.
17. I have the privilege of not wanting to be a virgin, but preferring that my wife or significant other be a virgin.
18. When it comes to sex if I say “No”, chances are that it will not be mistaken for “Yes”.
19. If I am raped, no one will assume that “I should have known better” or suggest that my being raped had something to do with how I was dressed.
20. I can use sexist language like bonin’, laying the pipe, hittin-it, and banging that convey images of sexual acts based on dominance and performance.
21. I can live in a world where polygamy is still an option for men in the United States as well as around the world.
22. In general, I prefer being involved with younger women socially and sexually
23. In general, the more sexual partners that I have the more stature I receive among my peers.
24. I have easy access to pornography that involves virtually any category of sex where men degrade women, often young women.
25. I have the privilege of being a part of a sex where “purity balls” apply to girls but not to boys.
26. When I consume pornography, I can gain pleasure from images and sounds of men causing women pain.
Popular Culture
27. I come from a tradition of humor that is based largely on insulting and disrespecting women; especially mothers.
28. I have the privilege of not having black women, dress up and play funny characters- often overweight- that are supposed to look like me for the entire nation to laugh.
29. When I go to the movies, I know that most of the leads in black films are men. I also know that all of the action heroes in black film are men.
30. I can easily imagine that most of the artists in Hip Hop are members of my sex.
31. I can easily imagine that most of the women that appear in Hip Hop videos are there solely to please men
32. Most of lyrics I listen to in hip-hop perpetuate the ideas of males dominating women, sexually and socially.
33. I have the privilege of consuming and popularizing the word pimp, which is based on the exploitation of women with virtually no opposition from other men.
34. I can hear and use language bitches and hoes that demean women, with virtually no opposition from men.
35. I can wear a shirt that others and I commonly refer to as a “wife beater” and never have the language challenged.
36. Many of my favorite movies include images of strength that do not include members of the opposite sex and often are based on violence.
37. Many of my favorite genres of films, such as martial arts, are based on violence.
38. I have the privilege of popularizing or consuming the idea of a thug, which is based on the violence and victimization of others with virtually no opposition from other men.
Attitudes/Ideology
39. I have the privilege to define black women as having “an attitude” without referencing the range of attitudes that black women have.
40. I have the privilege of defining black women’s attitudes without defining my attitudes as a black man.
41. I can believe that the success of the black family is dependent on returning men to their historical place within the family, rather than in promoting policies that strengthen black women’s independence, or that provide social benefits to black children.
42. I have the privilege of believing that a woman cannot raise a son to be a man.
43. I have the privilege of believing that a woman must submit to her man.
44. I have the privilege of believing that before slavery gender relationships between black men and women were perfect.
45. I have the privilege of believing that feminism is anti-black.
46. I have the privilege of believing that the failure of the black family is due to the black matriarchy.
47. I have the privilege of believing that household responsibilities are women’s roles.
48. I have the privilege of believing that black women are different sexually than other women and judging them negatively based on this belief.
Sports
49. I will make significantly more money as a professional athlete than members of the opposite sex will.
50. In school, girls are cheerleaders for male athletes, but there is no such role for males to cheerlead for women athletes.
51. My financial success or popularity as a professional athlete will not be associated with my looks.
52. I can talk about sports or spend large portions of the day playing video games while women are most likely involved with household or childcare duties.
53. I can spend endless hours watching sports TV and have it considered natural.
54. I can touch, hug, or be emotionally expressive with other men while watching sports without observers perceiving this behavior as sexual.
55. I know that most sports analysts are male.
56. If I am a coach, I can motivate, punish, or embarrass a player by saying that the player plays like a girl.
57. Most sports talk show hosts that are members of my race are men.
58. I can rest assured that most of the coaches -even in predominately-female sports within my race are male.
59. I am able to play sports outside without my shirt on and it not be considered a problem.
60. I am essentially able to do anything inside or outside without my shirt on, whereas women are always required to cover up.
Diaspora/Global
61. I have the privilege of being a part of a sex where the mutilation and disfigurement of a girl’s genitalia is used to deny her sexual sensations or to protect her virginity for males.
62. I have the privilege of not having rape be used as a primary tactic or tool to terrorize my sex during war and times of conflict.
63. I have the privilege of not being able to name one female leader in Africa or Asia, past or present, that I pay homage to the way I do male leaders in Africa and/or Asia.
64. I have the ability to travel around the world and have access to women in developing countries both sexually and socially.
65. I have the privilege of being a part of the sex that starts wars and that wields control of almost all the existing weapons of war and mass destruction.
College
66. In college, I will have the opportunity to date outside of the race at a much higher rate than black women will.
67. I have the privilege of having the phrase “sewing my wild oats” apply to my sex as if it were natural.
68. I know that the further I go in education the more success I will have with women.
69. In college, black male professors will be involved in interracial marriages at much higher rates than members of the opposite sex will.
70. By the time I enter college, and even through college, I have the privilege of not having to worry whether I will be able to marry a black woman.
71. In college, I will experience a level of status and prestige that is not offered to black women even though black women may outnumber me and out perform me academically.
72. If I go to an HBCU, I will have incredible opportunities to exploit black women
Communication/Language
73. What is defined as “News” in Black America is defined by men.
74. I can choose to be emotionally withdrawn and not communicate in a relationships and it be considered unfortunate but normal.
75. I can dismissively refer to another persons grievances as ^*ing.
76. I have the privilege of not knowing what words and concepts like patriarchy, phallocentric, complicity, colluding, and obfuscation mean.
Relationships
77. I have the privilege of marrying outside of the race at a much higher rate than black women marry.
78. My “strength” as a man is never connected with the failure of the black family, whereas the strength of black women is routinely associated with the failure of the black family.
79. If I am considering a divorce, I know that I have substantially more marriage, and cohabitation options than my spouse.
80. Chances are I will be defined as a “good man” by things I do not do as much as what I do. If I don’t beat, cheat, or lie, then I am a considered a “good man”. In comparison, women are rarely defined as “good women” based on what they do not do.
81. I have the privilege of not having to assume most of the household or child-care responsibilities.
82. I have the privilege of having not been raised with domestic responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, and washing that takes up disproportionately more time as adults.
Church & Religious Traditions
83. In the Black Church, the majority of the pastoral leadership is male.
84. In the Black Church Tradition, most of the theology has a male point of view. For example, most will assume that the man is the head of household.
Physical Safety
85. I do not have to worry about being considered a traitor to my race if I call the police on a member of the opposite sex.
86. I have the privilege of knowing men who are physically or sexually abusive to women and yet I still call them friends.
87. I can video tape women in public- often without their consent – with male complicity.
88. I can be courteous to a person of the opposite sex that I do not know and say “Hello” or “Hi” and not fear that it will be taken as a come-on or fear being stalked because of it.
89. I can use physical violence or the threat of physical violence to get what I want when other tactics fail in a relationship.
90. If I get into a physical altercation with a person of the opposite sex, I will most likely be able to impose my will physically on that person
91. I can go to parades or other public events and not worry about being physically and sexually molested by persons of the opposite sex.
92. I can touch and physically grope women’s bodies in public- often without their consent- with male complicity.
93. In general, I have the freedom to travel in the night without fear.
94. I am able to be out in public without fear of being sexually harassed by individuals or groups of the opposite sex.
Jewel Woods is a gender analyst specializing in men’s issues and executive director of the Renaissance Male Project . He is also the co-author of ‘Don’t Blame it on Rio: The Real Deal Behind Why Men Go to Brazil for Sex.’
To learn more about the author, check out his website. What are your thoughts? Did he leave any out? I think I have one to add:
95: (A Black male) can write a list of Black male priviliges and not be disregarded as a “bitter Black woman” and ignored.
Discuss!
Sister Toldja
Damn this article was on point! And I’m loving your number 95!!! And on top of that I will add some more.
96. I can state that the reason that I dont have a woman is because of something that women are not doing and not myself and still be considered right in my assumption.
97. I can state that the reason for my desire to date outside my race is because of my own race of women’s attitude and not be combatted
98. I can have a number of children by various women and not be responsible for any of them and if I am I am some how a good man who takes care of his children and still not be considered..a hoe.
99. I can live off of the opposite sex and be coddled by the opposite sex and still be considered a “real man” and not be considered a gold digger
100. I can be fat ass hell, ugly as sin and still manage to have a plethora of women falling all over themselves for my ass!
I do hope you follow up with your thoughts on this list…loves it!
LOVED this…some of these points were issues that I hadn’t even thought of! Keep preaching the knowledge ST!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
I’m a baby blogger and I found your blog by way of Stuff Black Folks Hate and I have to say…I love it!
Count on me being a regular here too!
This post spoke truth. Currently, I’m speechless!
Actually, I’d like to hear more Black men weigh in on this. Dare I say that, as women, we know these things already are true though I doubt (pray) that one man isn’t walking around acting out this whole list. I dare you to find ten MALE bloggers over the age of 27 who won’t dismiss this as a result of the author being soft (or some other negative adjective).
Damn, if not for me wanting to keep my true identity a secret, I would send some dudes here to read this.
Great post ST!
This was very thought provoking. I hope more brothas read this and gain SOME kind of understanding of how their behavior effects black women. I often wonder do they even care??? They never seem to have much to say about this topic….
Fellas?
I get the feeling that any Black man who laid his eyes on this, stopped reading at #6 and went on to the next blog.
i totally agree with Hostess.
Hostess- I’ll forward it to your email and you can send it to the guys in your circle!
As far as responses, I’ve heard from three brothers today (two are popular bloggers). Two of the three agreed with MOST of the list, with some objections (some I understood). One talked about how he distrusts anti-sexist males and is pretty okay with his priviliege. Like, he knows better, but he doesn’t want to do better.
I think a lot of things on the list apply to men in general and not neccessarily specific to Black men.
I agree with some of the points and disagree with others. The thing with privilege is, no matter what your race or gender is, they’ll always be certain priviges that goes along with the association. History and socialization has always leaned towards men over women and white over black (or other ethnicities), so it’s natural for sistas to feel like they’ve gotten the short end of the stick.
A question for the ladies: what do you think we BOTH can do to try to change this?
as a man we need to learn about ALL subject matters and all cultures and civilizations and as of late, subjects as well, like the economy.
I’ve been reading this blog for awhile and I havent really commented on it: you write some really funny stuff.
But now to the point as a heterosexual black man, I can honestly say that I agree with most of the points. However there are some that are simply false.
#15, #24 and #26: the internet has every kind of porn you can think of
#20: the words relate more to the physical being of the participants. meaning how can a woman lay pipe if she has nothing that resembles a pipe
#22: so do alot of woman these days
#27: i think “yo mama” jokes have less to do with disrespecting women and more to do w/ disrespecting a figure who many of us hold near and dear to our hearts
#28: tyler perry sh* was funny, and i dont see it as degrading to women (i might be wrong hey lol)
#35: is this really an example of black male privelege? does this have to do w/ black males as much as it has to do with males in general. and in movies, wife beaters be wearing wife beaters
#37: he used martial arts films as movies that are based on violence, what does this have to do with black male privelege?
#41: returning the males to the historical role in the family and black female independence does not necessarily contradict. black female independence is what has held black america together for so long but we can also say that the absence of the black man from the home is what led to the initial decay
#49: woman sports are just starting up, they have a relatively short history, give em some time
#50: just about every successful chear squad has male cheerleaders
#54: only perverts
#66: i actually disagree b/c there are in fact less black men in college and thus black women should be able to date outside their race
#76: not black male privelege, this is jsut a dude who doesnt have a strong vocabulary. i know plenty women who dont know these words
#77:see #66
Like i said before, I agree with most of what the author has said but there are a few that struck me as silly
I read the entire article and I agree with majority of what she is saying. Oh yeah and I’m a black male. I think those who really study the history of blacks know there were many pivitol female black leaders. The most unappreciated everyday black leader is a mother. Often times raising black men by themselves trying to be a mother and father. True story, noe year I gave my mother a father’s day gift too, because I never knew him and she was both a mother and a father. My site did an article recently on how Michelle Obama could be the next great female black leader, kind of a modern day Coretta Scott King.
-JM
MrSwagger.com
YO! The list was written by a MAN!!!! Please note that!
Monk- The only way we can change this is to recognize the privileges and challenge them. If men stop using anti-female language, start seeing women as people and equals and treating them as such. If women demand this and do the same. Oh, and that will never happen, btw.
Hey Toldja,
Number 35 stuck out to me. When my White BFF told me about the origins of the Boston Strangler, I stopped using “wife beater” immediately.
Everything Woods said was spot on (although many of the items exist with plain sexism). Loves it!
I read the whole list and it was very eye opening.
One thing tough, and I forgot what number it is, but I still don’t think you can blame men because young women like crusty old man and men don’t like old women…
Toldja, I totally agree, unfortunately, it will never happen.
FYI
i reviewed Jewel Woods first book. Didn’t like it at all.
I did read this off whataboutourdaughters.com.
I have to say, I am feeling him on this check list.
Like Kevin Powell, I am a recovering misogynist.
Should this checklist be called… “The Male Privilege Checklist, with a few things added to make it more relatable solely to African-American’s,” lol. I’m just saying.
I’d venture to say that the majority of this list, is attributable to basic sexism by men, on women, without any regards for ethnicity whatsoever. In keeping with that notion, the Male Privilege Checklist, is rooted in history and religion, IMO.
I personally didn’t take issue with any of the entries on the list (then again, I may be forgetting something, it was a lonnnnng list). The thing is how does/can one discern, what is intentionally referenced privilege (if you will) v. what is learned and unintentionally taken advantage of privilege? And in addition to that, what is woman supported, privilege?
Now that I go back and scroll over some of that list, there are some things I definitely disagree with. For instance some of the relationship/family entries – as well as some of the physical safety issues, just to name a couple. All in all though, ehhh, gr8 post as this is just something that I never would have taken the time to examine this in-depth on my own. But a high percentage of this, IMO, steps clean over race (1) and (2) is DEEPLY rooted in the sands of time.
Additionally, a smaller percentage of these are supported by female thoughts/beliefs/exclamations. With those however, it goes back to what is a societal-learned point of thinking and how does one break out of/away from that thinking. Thus further re-enforcing said “privileges” for or in men. IDK
It does a great job representing another extreme end of the spectrum. The truth lies in balancing dignity and sense of self worth with being secure and confident in yourself.
I do very much like the list. However, I do object to one of the points on the list: #19. Much less likely to be raped, yes. Less likely to get blamed for the rape? Not hardly. On the contrary the majority of people will say it’s partly your fault, and a significant minority will say it didn’t happen at all, that males can’t really be raped, and that even if it wasn’t really consensual, you probably enjoyed it anyway. Again, I found the list mostly very interesting and accurate. However knowing how some of the most sensetive, understanding people I know regard male rape (and, having done the research, that in general the statistics back me up) I can say with some degree of certainty that a black man who is raped will still get blamed for it, if they can bring themself to report it at all.
This is so wonderfully detailed and correct about male privilege!! Regardless of race all men in patriarchal societies are treated better then women, and the humans that are treated the worst on planet Earth are minority women. The hierarchy goes like this: White males, minority race males, white females, minority race females. What is revealing is that, historically and traditionally, even though sexism is and always has been much worse then racism; women have been and continue to be treated much worse then males of minority races, racism is emphasized and deemed much more important then sexism. Why is this the case? I believe the reason is with racism, there are males within each race, and these males, because they are male, the default sex, are favored and therefore hold a privileged role over women. Males are considered autonomous, individual humans, spokespersons for the human race so to speak. Conversely, women in patriarchal societies are only considered a part of man, or a subgroup under man, not individuals or complete humans. Therefore since women aren’t complete humans, they and their problems, concerns or needs not important and are essentially invisible. Consequently, sexism, a very real problem in our society, is also invisible.
The other thing that is extremely frustrating about sexism is that women, the victims of sexism, are frequently blamed for their own victimization. We would never blame an African American male or a Native American male for being enslaved by the white man, however we do blame women for their enslavement. I have heard it time and time again, that women are just as much to blame for all of the atrocities men have done historically. That women were not just passive bystanders to all of the wars, exploitation and greed. But the truth is that women were innocent, passive bystanders up until recent history. Men took women as their slaves and by law women were no more then property to their husbands, having absolutely no rights as human beings. During most wars in our history, women had absolutely no say in war matters, let along any matters! Some men have said to me “men fought wars for women!” The truth is, men did fight wars for women literally, they fought for wars to win, rape and enslave women. By no stretch of the imagination were women saying “yes oh please, come to my home, kill my family, rape and then abduct me as your slave! To blame women for their own rape and enslavement is ludicrous!!
Women were not allowed into society or allowed to get an education until after the 1920′s when some very brave women said ENOUGH and began to fight for human rights. And then it wasn’t until the recent 50 years that women have ventured into politics and places of decision making about our world. And still even now women are greatly outnumbered in positions of power. Currently, whenever I mention that most violence in our society is done by men, I get defensive exclamations that women are just as violent as men. Again this warped idea of reality, that women are to blame alongside men for violence and war, is another outcome of the belief that women are not autonomous beings, but instead a part of man, since women are not considered separate from men, they are guilty by association.
Because of its enigmatic nature, It has been very frustrating trying to explain this phenomenon. Most of the time when I am discussing this with women and men who are not already knowledgeable feminists, I get either empty stares, utter denial or defensiveness. Part of the issue is that most humans have not been versed on the plight of women in history. Why? because women and what they have done historically has been deemed not important by men and the only history that has been noteworthy has been male history. Therefore if a person isn’t actively seeking information out, looking in hidden places or taking elective woman’s studies courses like Lauren, they would not learn about the plight of over 50% of our human population! Instead we only learn about men and what men have done which is riddled with stories of exploitation and war.
In conclusion, women are considered invisible in our society because they are not considered separate from man, therefore since men are the default sex, the only humans that count in our society, anything to do with women is invisible, not important; consequently, sexism the false beliefs that keep these ideas about women going strong in our society, are also invisible. Further, since women are considered only to be an appendage of man, they not only are invisible, but are also held accountable for all the atrocities of “man” because male nature is the only nature that’s validated. Even though female nature and her nurturing, instead of dominating, idea of power is sorely needed in our society today, we aren’t able to see this or learn from this because the only kind of nature we see is male nature, everything else is suppressed. Women and men alike need to really acknowledge this illusive phenomenon so that we can finally take steps towards correcting it. If sexism remains invisible, not important like it has historically, we will never be able to eradicate it.
A good deal of this is nonsense 1. bw can date outside their race 2. the decay of the black family is blamed on black men not women…and i don’t have the time to further comment but a great deal of this is babble