Cheshire Cat Logic

aboutmaleprivilege:

Male privilege is talking about how there’s “a lot of women” in a film, book, TV series, etc, when the number of men still outnumbers them.

Male privilege is thinking it’s impossible to create a woman character that feminists will be happy with because “oh whatever you do with her, they’ll complain that it stereotypes women” without ever considering the possibility that you can have more than one female character and give them varying personalities, skills and appearances… you know, like exactly what happens with male characters in pretty much everything ever?

Male privilege is complaining that feminism isn’t about you, when nearly everything else is unless specified otherwise.

Male privilege is rolling your eyes and complaining that “the girlfriend/wife wants to see it” whenever you watch a “woman’s film”, but expecting women to have no objection to see male-dominated films about men.

Male privilege is saying “but romantic comedies have women ‘getting the guy’ so it’s fair that men get the girl”, without realising that a) romantic comedies are directly aimed at just women, whereas films where male leads ‘get the girl’ are considered “unisex”, “mainstream” and “family” films, b) when men ‘get the girl’ it is usually not the point of the film; the woman is just a natural reward for completing other tasks, but when a woman ‘gets the guy’ it’s usually about her changing herself and actively seeking out a relationship as the whole plot of the film. Male privilege is reading this and still not understanding that the two can’t be equated!

(TW: Allusion to sexual assault in next entry)
Male privilege is the film industry shamefully using the ‘rape back-story’ as a cheap plot device to gain sympathy for female characters, or as a throwaway joke to make fun of how weak and womanly a male character is.

Male privilege is having misogynistic womanisers be considered likeable, charismatic characters (How I Met Your Mother and F.R.I.E.N.D.S, anyone?) but having any woman who even flirts with more than one male character be demonised as a “slut” whose “character flaw” she needs to “get over”.

(Heterosexual) male privilege is having lesbians (or hints at lesbian activity) considered “hawt” and recognised as such by mainstream film/TV industries, but having gay men (or hints at gay male activity) in media be considered “gross”, “unnecessary” or “really gay” (as an insult??). Male privilege is never stopping to consider that maybe straight women and homosexual men watch films too, and that these scenes are there for them. Male privilege would be complaining that these scenes are in there because, damn it, if straight guys can’t ogle it, no one is allowed to!

Male privilege is thinking women who “fangirl” over attractive actors or male characters are “crazy”, and “obsessive”, whereas men acting the same way towards attractive actresses or female characters are normal.

Male privilege is thinking it’s okay, or even funny, to yell things like “show us your tits” or “take it off” to women on stage, when it is very rare for men on stage to have any such comments ever directed at them.

Male privilege is being unable to “relate to” female characters, or consider them “good role models”, when women are expected to sympathise with and idolise men all the damn time.

Male privilege is complaining that women “are a mess” if they don’t look amazing - even if they’ve been doing something unlikely to retain picture-perfect looks - whilst men are allowed to be slobs, look casual, be ungainly, have messy hair, be unshaved, etc.

Male privilege is “it’s for girls” being synonymous with “terrible”.

Male privilege is boys’ TV shows having a wide spectrum of colourful male characters - maybe with a token female or a love interest -  whilst girls’ TV shows all have the same flat, 2D, “token girl” personalities.

Male privilege is boys’ TV shows having epic adventures, high stakes and acts of heroism (such as saving the planet), etc, whilst girls’ TV shows have watered-down, sitcom-esque “girl problems” such as losing lipstick or being late for a party.

Male privilege is having “the woman” be considered an acceptable personality for a character.

Male privilege is having men actually like a programme targeted at girls, and feel they have to describe it as “manly” and “not JUST for girls” in order to explain that it’s not awful, as if it being aimed at females (or considered as such) would mean it’s bad by default. (In regards to bronies)

Male privilege is having male action heroes use firearms, actual martial arts moves, etc, whilst female action heroes use “graceful”, acrobatic versions that look more like gymnastics or dance moves than fighting.

Male privilege is, similarly, having male superheroes have typically offensive, but all-round rather variant, superpowers (such as super-strength, super speed, built-in/supernatural weapons, telekinesis, etc) whilst superheroines tend to have defensive, support powers (such as invisibility, telepathy, healing people, or other non-combat abilities).

Male privilege is, at the end of an action film with more than one woman in it, the women always being faced off against each other in a “cat fight”, and having it generally acceptable because of course all women have a natural rivalry with one another, and because of course neither would stand a chance if they had to fight a male adversary.

Male privilege is whining that Brave had “no decent male characters”, but never noticing that pretty much ever other film in existence has few to no decent female characters at all. Male privilege is not even realising that every other Pixar film has quite literally about males with their male allies (and maybe token female, and love interest) against male adversaries who also have male allies in order to solve their manly masculine male man-problems.

Male privilege is having men of several body types (small, burly, chiselled, soft, chubby, fat, elderly, geeky, etc) be seen with decent regularity in films, but having the only exception to ‘young adult conventionally attractive fairly feminine-looking thin woman’ be a fat woman who’s only there to be seen eating and have jokes about her weight/looks made.

Male privilege is the above being so common, that even your friends and family agree “sometimes it’s difficult to tell female characters apart because the actresses look so similar”, due to their being such a narrow range of ‘acceptable looks’ for women in films.

Male privilege is films about “inner beauty” and “blind love”, ALWAYS be the woman loving a man who isn’t conventionally attractive.

Male privilege is an “unattractive female character” meaning fat (see aforementioned ‘entire personality and role in film centred around fat jokes’, and a fat woman will NEVER be a leading role or even a love interest) or, more often, “completely conventionally attractive in every way, but with glasses… and maybe pigtails/braces or a fake mole”. Either way, they’re still typically more Hollywood-beautiful than 90% of women in real life, who don’t have professional make-up artists/outfit designers working on them for several hours beforehand.

Male privilege is honestly believing that “men are also objectified” because superheroes are sometimes unrealistically muscled. Failing to notice that, a) they’re not objectified because they aren’t treated as objects (how often do you see men draped submissively around a woman, obviously just there to serve as eye-candy scenery for the real centrepiece: the male?), b) super-burly and strong men are not a female fantasy; they are a male fantasy, c) they’re always in proactive, strong stances - and roles - unlike women who are nearly always in provocative and/or passive poses/roles.

(via verycunninglinguist)