Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women

Privilege based on ethnicity or gender, and its natural extension – entitlement – have been at the forefront of public discussion since Trump’s election four years ago. While most of us recognize entitlement in its most pernicious forms, most of us haven’t clearly defined it, and hence fail to recognize its more subtle, and more common manifestations.

This book aims to classify and demonstrate the forms of male entitlement around us and cites references to support their existence. The first chapter starts with Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court proceedings and introduces the overall framework. The last (concluding) chapter is more meaningful in that it frames ideals of the type of society the author wishes for her new-born daughter. Each chapter deconstructs a specific facet of entitlement. The list includes consent, access to education, domestic labor, access to power, medical care, and others. Chapters start with a true and well-known encounter that serves as a reference for a deeper dive into that facet. As new aspects are discussed, examples are brought in to make that facet real, and understandable. The point that hits home is that these are not theoretical discussions – they have real-world implications. The narrative also reveals the large gulf between our egalitarian ideals and our lived reality.

This book is certainly an eye-opener. It will leave most readers with a sense of out-rage and may help some readers realize the (unconscious) ways they have been perpetrating entitlement (either as assailant or victim). While readers may not agree with every viewpoint, the book is worth reading for the dialogue it creates.