The Male Programmer Privilege Checklist

Original list and idea by Kake. Additions by Tim Chevalier and others.

Being male, as a programmer, means:

Not having to wonder whether you're well-known in your community simply for being "the female one".
Not having to be gay or bisexual in order to join in the appreciation of the sex object du jour.
Being able to have your desk near the entrance to your office without visitors assuming you're the receptionist.
Being able to tell someone to RTFM without being accused of PMS.
Not having to worry that any mistake you make, or stupid thing you say, will be added to the pile of "why women suck at computer stuff".
Being able to attend a technical talk without people assuming that you're only there because your boyfriend dragged you along with him.
Not having to explain why the term "gentlemen" doesn't include you.
Not thinking twice when someone refers to an inanimate software construct as "this guy".
Having colleagues who close the door when they talk to you.
Not having to think about what gender you are.
Having potential romantic partners assume from your career that you're smart and well-to-do rather than unattractive and unfeeling.
Not being the special case ("hi guys and girls, I guess, too, if you want to get really technical about it!!")
If you're married, having people take you to lunch without them speculating on how your spouse would feel about them taking you to lunch.
Not having people automatically assume you won't be interested in playing video games with them because of your gender.
Being able to have interests that are stereotypical for your gender without having to worry you'll be taken less seriously because of it.
Being treated like a hero if you compromise on work for childcare responsibilities, rather than having your commitment to work questioned.
Not having to choose between dressing/acting stereotypically for your gender and being thought unprofessional (or not a Real Geek) for it, and dressing/acting un-stereotypically and being thought a freak.
Never being described as a "hot guy" first and a competent professional second. (example)
Being able to laugh at jokes like this because women holding bumper stickers about closures is funny in the same way pictures of cats "reading" calculus books is funny, rather than wondering whether your colleagues see you in the same way as those women.
Not having to feel like if you switch to a less technical career, you're betraying the cause of gender equality.
Not fearing for your safety when you walk home after a late-night coding spree.
Not having to listen to speakers say that software should be so easy to use that even your mom could use it and wonder whether they have you in mind.
Not having to listen to speakers say that instant messaging isn't just for teenage girls talking about the Backstreet Boys and wonder whether they have you-ten-years-ago in mind.
Not having to sit on your hands when speakers use gender fields in database schemata as an example of an attribute that never changes and only has two possible values.
Enjoying the blissful illusion that computer science and/or the IT industry are pure meritocracies where gender never matters.
Being able to discuss the role of gender in programming without people thinking you're being (a) self-serving, (b) whiny, (c) bringing politics into realms where it's not relevant, or (d) all of the above.
Having the privilege of being able to deny the existence of your own privilege as a male programmer.

Got something to add? Email mylastname (see above) at alum dot wellesley dot edu and mention whether you want to be credited by name.

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