Male Entitlement to Women's Spaces

[Zooey]

Just so everybody knows how I look at these discussions...

PaulaQ and I disagree on a number of things. I also think she's fantastic, and we've talked quite a bit about this and other issues. Debate is valuable. Much like Jenny Boylan and Kate Bornstein, we are diametrically opposed in some ways, but can also be friends while standing on the common ground we do have. I enjoy it when people make me think, as some of you in this thread have.

Actually this is not entirely true, for example there are currently 2,888 men on death row in the US and only 55 women on death row. 90% of convicted murderers are men, 10% are women. If women didn't receive "institutional and systematic benefits" the number of women on death row would be about 288....the male privilege most people generally are concerned with usually has other factors, like race and socioeconomic class...if I as a woman, entered a men's room dressed in traditional male clothing, it is doubtful I would be escorted out, but a man dressed in traditional women's clothing enters the ladies', is more likely to have security called and it some places even cited. As much as I hate to admit, female privilege does exist so does male privilege, it's a matter of context.

Oh, don't get me wrong. Female privilege absolutely exists, and it's equally important to recognize it.

I do believe, however, that when looking at the issues of equality in the US (for example) women have been on the receiving end of systematically engineered inequality in much the same way as people of color have, with women of color losing out BIG TIME by way of combination. I'm not trying to equate their experiences or the extent of the discrimination at all, but the mechanism of the problem's creation is similar. Ultimately, straight white cis men have some of the biggest privilege of anybody in this country, while I would argue that queer trans women of color have some of the least. There are a million other combinations strewn about in the middle.

Allison - with respect to that golf course, I assume that like most such clubs it is a private institution which is generally open only to invited members. If men want to have a space, I have no problem with that. It is also the British Open's right to state that they only support clubs which are gender neutral. I applaud the British Open for promoting equality in sports, and while I disagree with their reasons, I respect the rights of the club to make their choice. Where I would have a bigger problem with the club would be if they were whining publicly about the British Open's decision. Everybody is entitled to make a choice, but they have to be willing to live with the consequences.