Member-only story
I used to work for a boss who loved me. It’s a good feeling when your boss likes you, right? Well, it didn’t take long for me to realize I wasn’t the only one my boss adored.
My boss loved all the men in our office. She deferred to us in staff meetings but her tone demeaned women. She also had words for what the women wore to the office.
Often, I had to reassure her about the competency of the other women in the office, one of whom became my more qualified successor.
I could never say, “Boss, do you have an issue with other women?”
But, I knew the role I had to play in the workplace based on being a male to her.
Since maleness has a currency, I wonder about male privilege. Is maleness like whiteness to women and the world?
Maleness as Whiteness
When Peggy McIntosh named the advantages whites have as ‘white privilege,’ she based it on her gender studies with male privilege as one of her reference points.
Male privilege varies and not every male experiences it the same. But, male privilege is obvious given our nation’s history and our current state.
