The [Black] Male Privilege

 

So, I had the epiphany of all epiphanies today, a light-bulb moment of sorts where a lot of things finally started making sense.

My Ah-Ha! Moment came in response to Josie's comment on the Re: Where's the Love post that I wrote a few weeks ago. Specifically, this part of her response:

"As a black men you are seeming to miss your own privilege....Please re-read [Belle's] blog post objectively, with a lens not so covered by black man privilege."

Admittedly, the sociological term "male privilege" was a foreign concept to me up until recently. Never studied it. Never even heard it mentioned  before.  (And mind you, I took quite a few sociology electives in undergrad.)

Nevertheless, it piqued my curiosity so I did some digging to find out exactly what the term meant. I found two awesome articles that laid a pretty good foundation for me.
     1. "What is male privilege?" - gives a clear, unbiased explanation of the concept.
     2. "The Black Male Privilege Checklist" - explains the concept as it relates to the black male, duh. 

For fear of omitting something important, I'll spare you the paraphrases. I DO SUGGEST READING BOTH ARTICLES IN THEIR ENTIRETY, THOUGH (especially if you're a man). I was aware of a few male priveleges, but not to this extent. Hopefully some of you will be enlightened, as well.

Sidenote: There's a common misconception that people who benefit from privilege (which is ALL of us in some form or fashion) willingly see things through rose-colored glasses. But I think this analogy explains it best: "Fish don't know they're in water. They're so surrounded by it, that it's impossible to see." I say that to say this: Be affable when giving people correction. Fortunate enough for me, I have internet access and  people like y'all who help make me aware of issues like this, but not everyone can say that. Peace!