Male privilege

Male privilege is a concept used to examine the social, economic, and political advantages or rights that are made available to men solely on the basis of their sex. A man's access to these benefits may also depend on other characteristics such as race, sexual orientation, and social class.

The use of male pronouns in language to refer to both sexes is often cited as an example, as well as the preference for sons in some cultures.

Male privilege is often examined alongside the concept of patriarchy within the feminist movement, while some men's rights activists dispute the existence of male privilege and patriarchy in modern western society.

In legal cases alleging discrimination, "sex" is usually preferred as the determining factor rather than "gender", because it refers to biology rather than socially constructed norms which are more open to interpretation and dispute. In "Defining Male and Female: Intersexuality and the Collision Between Law and Biology", Julie Greenberg explains that although gender and sex are separate concepts, they are interlinked in that gender discrimination often results from stereotypes based on what is expected of members of each sex. In J.E.B. v. Alabama ex rel. T.B., Justice Scalia distinguishes sex and gender:

The word ‘gender’ has acquired the new and useful connotation of cultural or attitudinal characteristics (as opposed to physical characteristics) distinctive to the sexes. That is to say, gender is to sex as feminine is to female and masculine is to male.

Thus, biologically "male" privilege is only one of many power structures that may exist within a given society. The term "male privilege" does not apply to a solitary occurrence of the use of power, but rather describes one of many systemic power structures that are interdependent and interlinked throughout societies and cultures.

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