{"id":145737,"date":"2025-09-06T15:39:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T19:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=145737"},"modified":"2025-09-09T15:52:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T19:52:55","slug":"entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When women speak up, challenge authority, or refuse to comply with traditional expectations, they often face backlash ranging from dismissal to outright violence. This isn’t a coincidence, according to Kate Manne’s book Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading for an overview of this provocative book and discover how invisible expectations impact everything from sexual consent to career advancement\u2014and why recognizing them is the first step toward change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Overview of Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kate Manne’s Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women<\/em><\/em><\/a> (2020) argues that we live in an inequitable society that teaches men to believe they are entitled to women\u2019s compliance with traditional gender norms\u2014and are also entitled to punish women who defy those norms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Cornell University professor of philosophy, Manne argues that the social and cultural mores of our still male-dominated society condition men to feel entitled to having women perform traditionally \u201cfeminine\u201d services, such as taking care of others, doing domestic work, and providing men with sex and children. On the other hand, society expects women not to venture too far into traditionally \u201cmasculine\u201d domains like knowledge and power. When women defy these gender norms, Manne says, they\u2019re punished with everything from dismissal to violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: While some critics have praised the book Entitled<\/em> for its analysis of current events, others have criticized it for ignoring historical feminist scholarship<\/a> and relying on examples that are open to various interpretations other than or in addition to<\/a> the ones Manne assigns them.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our overview of the book Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women<\/em> explores Manne\u2019s ideas about misogyny, gender norms, and how gender inequity is enforced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction to Key Concepts<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Manne uses the example of the 2018 Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to demonstrate the concepts of male entitlement, \u201chimpathy,\u201d misogyny, and sexism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entitlement<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

During Kavanaugh\u2019s confirmation process, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Christine Blasey Ford\u2019s allegations that Kavanaugh had sexually assaulted her. Manne writes that the hearing demonstrated the concept of male entitlement: the perception that men are owed something simply because they are men<\/strong>. Kavanaugh\u2019s demeanor during the hearing seemed to demonstrate resentment at having to respond to Blasey Ford\u2019s allegations at all\u2014as if he expected his confirmation simply to be rubber-stamped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne says that throughout the hearing, Kavanaugh displayed a demeanor of entitlement: He was irritable, aggressive, and had frequent emotional outbursts, such as yelling or crying. Blasey Ford, on the other hand, maintained a calm and helpful demeanor, even when testifying about highly emotional subject matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHimpathy\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Manne observes that Senator Lindsey Graham\u2019s defense of Kavanaugh during the Blasey Ford hearing is a good example of what she calls \u201chimpathy.\u201d According to Manne, himpathy is sympathy for the male perpetrator of a misogynistic act, rather than for the female victim<\/strong>. This sympathy is often accompanied by suspicion, blaming, and aggression toward the victim for daring to accuse the perpetrator of wrongdoing. In the hearing, Graham portrayed Kavanaugh, rather than Blasey Ford, as the victim, emphasizing what a hardship it was for Kavanaugh to have to answer to Blasey Ford\u2019s allegations and how they had the potential to ruin his life (as opposed to denying him a position because his actions disqualified him).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misogyny<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Manne also argues that the aftermath of the hearing demonstrates how misogyny works. Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court; Blasey Ford received death threats for having testified against a powerful man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While misogyny is commonly understood to be hatred of women, Manne defines it as the enforcement arm of the patriarchy: a system that punishes women who defy gender norms <\/strong>(and also acts as a deterrent to prevent women from violating these norms). She argues that misogyny is structural, rather than psychological. It\u2019s not defined by how men feel, but by whether a woman experiences unequal treatment because of her gender.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sexism<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Manne defines sexism as the ideological arm of the patriarchy: a set of beliefs used to normalize patriarchal expectations<\/strong>. Men who don\u2019t hold sexist beliefs can still be part of a misogynist system. For example, Kavanaugh argued that his employment of women attorneys showed that he wasn\u2019t sexist. But Manne says this has no bearing on whether he committed a misogynistic act by assaulting Blasey Ford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entitlement and \u201cFeminine\u201d Gender Roles<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Manne contends that misogynistic social structures teach men to feel entitled to women\u2019s compliance with traditionally \u201cfeminine\u201d gender roles. Society expects women to provide\u2014and entitles men to receive\u2014attention and admiration, sex, children, and care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entitlement to Attention and Admiration<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Manne uses the example of incels to show how some men feel they\u2019re entitled to sex and attention from women<\/strong>\u2014and believe they\u2019re justified in reacting with violence when they don\u2019t get what they\u2019re \u201cowed.\u201d Manne focuses on Elliot Rodger, a self-proclaimed incel who murdered six people and injured 14 others in Isla Vista, California, in 2014. Rodger wrote extensively about his incel beliefs and how they justified his actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incels are self-identifying \u201cinvoluntary celibates\u201d: heterosexual men who can\u2019t find sexual partners. Incels often frequent online forums dedicated to their belief that women who don\u2019t want to engage in sex or have a relationship with them are depriving them of a \u201cgood\u201d they\u2019re entitled to. Manne says that in addition to receiving the sex they feel they\u2019re denied, incels believe that female attention will let them advance up the hierarchy of male power<\/a>.<\/strong> They think possessing feminine \u201cgoods\u201d will enable them to gain the admiration of other men. By incels\u2019 reasoning, not only are women to blame when incels are celibate, they\u2019re also at fault when incels aren\u2019t as powerful as they\u2019d like to be in relation to other men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne observes that incels often believe they are victims who have been traumatized by women<\/strong>. This is the case even when women have done nothing to hurt them and may not have interacted with them at all (such as the women Rodgers killed). Incels are particularly dangerous because seeing themselves as persecuted victims acts as a moral justification for violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entitlement to Sex<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Manne argues that social and cultural conditioning leads men to feel entitled to sex from women and, in some cases, leads women to consent to sex they don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sexual Violence<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Manne argues that our society downplays and normalizes sexual violence against women <\/strong>because, although most people believe rape is wrong, society operates on an understanding that certain men are entitled to sex from women. Manne claims that the justice system and the media systematically dismiss women\u2019s allegations of sexual violence due to \u201chimpathy\u201d for male perpetrators\u2014particularly those who are white, privileged, and young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne recounts the story of Rae Florek, a woman who was raped by her boyfriend, Randy Vanett, while she was unconscious. Although Florek had audio recordings of Vanett\u2019s confession, and he also confessed to the police, no charges were brought against him. The police and prosecutors said they didn\u2019t pursue the case because it was a \u201che-said-she-said\u201d situation<\/strong>, even though both parties\u2019 accounts of the facts were identical. An officer also said the decision not to prosecute was influenced by the fact that Florek and Vanett were in a consensual relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne says that the justice system and the media were similarly sympathetic to the perpetrator in the Brock Turner<\/a> case, in which Turner raped an unconscious young woman, Chanel Miller. As in the Vanett case, there was no question that Turner committed the crime (in this case, he was caught in the act). Nonetheless, the judge in the case expressed concern about destroying the <\/strong>perpetrator\u2019s<\/em><\/strong> future<\/strong>, and the media also focused on Turner\u2019s promising future as a swimmer at Stanford University. Media outlets and Turner supporters emphasized that Miller had been drinking, thus blaming the victim<\/a> for the perpetrator\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne also examines two law enforcement practices that she says demonstrate systemic failure to take sexual violence against women seriously: \u201cexceptional clearance\u201d and the large backlog of untested rape kits. \u201cExceptional clearance\u201d means that a sexual assault case is closed without an arrest.<\/strong> Law enforcement experts say it\u2019s supposed to happen only in exceptional circumstances, such as when the suspect is dead or the victim refuses to cooperate. However, an investigation of 60 jurisdictions showed that almost half used exceptional clearance to close the majority of rape cases, even when the victim wished to proceed and evidence existed to make an arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, police jurisdictions across the country are sitting on thousands of untested rape kits.<\/strong> There are about 400,000 untested rape kits nationwide. Manne says that in Detroit alone, testing of 10,000 backlogged rape kits identified 817 serial rapists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne also points out that 86% of untested rape kits belong to victims of color.<\/strong> She argues that not only is the justice system (and society as a whole) more likely to dismiss sexual violence allegations involving privileged or powerful men, it\u2019s also more likely to disregard these allegations if they involve less privileged women, including women of color, transgender women, and disabled women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne writes that women who report sexual violence are often punished for it.<\/strong> She provides examples of women who were prosecuted for supposedly filing false reports that later proved accurate, and others who faced severe legal consequences for defending themselves against sexual assault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consensual Sex<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Manne also argues that social and cultural conditioning frequently leads women to consent to sex they don\u2019t want.<\/strong> Because women are socialized to be \u201cgood girls\u201d who are helpful, polite, and sweet\u2014especially around male authority figures\u2014they may agree to sex to avoid hurting a man\u2019s feelings or being labeled as rude. Manne says women\u2019s sense of obligation to perform a feminine gender role even when they\u2019re being mistreated is a type of internalized misogyny.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne gives the example of \u201cGrace,\u201d a woman who claimed in an online publication that comedian Aziz Ansari repeatedly and forcefully pressured her for sex over the course of an evening in his apartment, despite her efforts to prevent this from happening. Manne notes that Grace received backlash for speaking out, with some commentators accusing her of trying to humiliate Ansari and ruin his career, and others saying the only thing Ansari was guilty of was not being able to read minds. Manne argues that this backlash is typical of how women are punished for refusing men\u2019s advances or talking about men\u2019s problematic sexual behavior.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne asserts that women who comply with men\u2019s demands for sex even when they don\u2019t want to are behaving similarly to the subjects of the 1960s Milgram experiment, which showed that most people feel compelled to comply with authority figures even when they\u2019re uncomfortable doing so<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the experiments, hundreds of subjects gave increasingly severe electric shocks to a stranger at the direction of another stranger, who wore a lab coat and was presented as a Yale researcher. (The shocks weren\u2019t real, and the man receiving the shocks was an actor.) Even though the \u201cvictim\u201d of the shocks screamed in pain and pounded on the wall\u2014and even though the majority of the subjects expressed that they didn\u2019t want to go on\u2014they nonetheless continued to administer shocks that would have been fatal had they been real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entitlement to Police Women\u2019s Bodies<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Manne contends that men feel entitled to control what women do with their bodies<\/strong>, as evidenced most clearly by abortion restrictions, \u201cbathroom bills\u201d attempting to regulate transgender women\u2019s use of public restrooms, and violence against transgender women. In particular, Manne argues that abortion bans are an extreme form of state control over women\u2019s bodies and moral choices<\/a> that society doesn\u2019t allow in any other context. (For example, there are no laws prohibiting cheating on your partner.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She contends that the purpose of laws regulating abortion isn\u2019t actually to protect \u201clife,\u201d but rather to control women.<\/strong> She says this is demonstrated by 1) the intentional misinformation surrounding abortion, 2) anti-abortion activists’ failure to care about life in any context other than abortion, and 3) the way the Republican Party transformed abortion into a partisan, religious issue as a political strategy to win Christian votes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne argues that anti-abortion activists promote misinformation about pregnancy and abortion. For example, the term \u201cheartbeat law\u201d is intentionally misleading because at six to eight weeks of pregnancy, when these abortion bans kick in, there is no heart, and there\u2019s not even a fetus\u2014there\u2019s just a pea-sized embryo. Claims about late-term abortions are also misleading, as they make up less than 1% of abortions and are almost always due to fetal anomalies or the pregnant woman\u2019s health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Manne says those who rally around abortion bans because they purport to care about \u201cunborn children\u201d seem to care very little about children once they\u2019re born. Many abortion opponents don\u2019t support laws protecting poor children, expanding affordable health care, or addressing maternal mortality rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, while many people say they are against abortion because of their religious beliefs, Manne writes that Republicans have manipulated Christian beliefs to serve their political agenda<\/strong>. During Richard Nixon\u2019s presidential campaign, Republicans tried to recruit Christian Democrats to their side by playing on fears of \u201cimmorality\u201d using the \u201cAAA\u201d strategy: Acid, Amnesty, and Abortion. They attacked Nixon\u2019s opponent as representing drugs, amnesty for Vietnam War<\/a> draft dodgers, and abortion\u2014which they condemned as contrary to traditional gender roles<\/a> that required women to be wives and mothers. In other words, abortion was positioned as a violation of Christian family values. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne argues that there are similarities between antiabortion laws and state \u201cbathroom bills\u201d attempting to regulate transgender people\u2019s use of public restrooms. Both are centered on a false notion of an \u201cimmoral\u201d female perpetrator and an innocent victim.<\/strong> A cisgender woman who gets an abortion is seen as a baby-killer, while a transgender woman who uses a women\u2019s restroom is seen as a predator seeking to abuse cis girls and women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne notes that cis men are much more likely than trans women (or cis men allegedly posing as trans women) to prey on someone in a public restroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne says transphobic men feel that presenting as female when you have (or used to have) male genitalia is a form of deception.<\/strong> These men feel entitled to know immediately <\/em>whether a person can provide them with what they see as the primary services of womanhood: heternormative sex and biological children. This entitlement can lead to violence against trans women. Manne cites the 2002 case of Gwen Araujo, a 17-year-old trans girl who was murdered by four cis men (two of whom had previously had sex with her without realizing she was trans) after a forced search of her body revealed she had male genitalia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entitlement to Care<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Manne argues that society\u2019s expectations for heterosexual women require that they care for their male partners, their shared home, and their children. On the flip side, men are deemed entitled to receive care, both from the women in their lives and the entire medical profession<\/strong>; women, as caregivers, are not seen as entitled to receive care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestic Work<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Manne says that men\u2019s sense of entitlement<\/a> to their female partner\u2019s domestic labor is so entrenched that women have been doing at least an extra month of housework and childcare every year since the 1980s, a phenomenon sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild called women\u2019s second shift<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worldwide, women do between two and 10 times as much domestic labor as men.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discrepancy is particularly pronounced if a heterosexual couple has children. Studies consistently show that even when both partners work full-time jobs, women do twice as much childcare as men<\/strong>\u2014and the childcare that men do usually involves activities like playing with the kids. In contrast, the childcare women do involves responsibilities like bathing the kids or getting them ready for school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some people claim that women are naturally better at childcare, Manne cites studies showing that when men are the primary caregivers for their kids, their brains change to become more like those of women who are primary caregivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne notes that a woman\u2019s domestic labor doesn\u2019t just encompass everything she gets done<\/strong>, but also includes keeping track of and preparing for everything that needs<\/em> to be done for everyone in the family: making appointments, making grocery lists, remembering where everything is, delegating tasks, knowing what needs to be packed for trips, and more. These are all forms of emotional labor<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medical Care<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Manne writes that women\u2019s pain and medical issues are often ignored, underdiagnosed, and undertreated compared to men\u2019s<\/strong>\u2014even though women tend to be more sensitive to pain than men <\/strong>(and experience more painful conditions unique to women). Women\u2019s physical<\/em> pain is much more likely to be treated as a psychological<\/em> issue than men\u2019s pain. Manne points to studies showing that men are given more pain medication than women for the same painful operations. When it comes to boys and girls who experience pain after surgery, boys are more likely to be given codeine; girls, Tylenol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne says the health care industry takes men\u2019s pain more seriously than women\u2019s pain in part because it deems men less likely to complain about pain and more deserving of prompt, effective treatment when they do<\/strong>. However, there is very little evidence that men are actually more stoic than women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne also observes that medical research and training often assume that a male body represents a typical human<\/strong>; many medical studies are still performed exclusively or primarily on men. This can result in doctors failing to catch serious problems like heart attacks in women because women\u2019s symptoms are different from men\u2019s. Similarly, treating men as the \u201cstandard\u201d can mean women don\u2019t get the benefit of important new medical developments because research performed primarily on men deems those developments unnecessary for women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entitlement and \u201cMasculine\u201d Gender Roles<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Just as society expects women to provide men with certain \u201cfeminine\u201d services, says Manne, so too are women excluded from the traditionally \u201cmasculine\u201d domains of knowledge and power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entitlement to Knowledge<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Manne argues that some men believe they are the exclusive repository of knowledge on any given subject.<\/strong> They take the approach that not only are women\u2019s thoughts or opinions wrong, but women shouldn\u2019t be speaking (or writing) at all. To illustrate this point, Manne points to the behaviors of mansplaining<\/em> and gaslighting<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mansplaining<\/em> is a term that became popular following the publication of author Rebecca Solnit\u2019s essay, \u201cMen Explain Things to Me<\/a>.\u201d In it, she describes an incident in which, upon learning that she\u2019d written a book about photographer Eadweard Muybridge, a man she\u2019d just met pontificates at length concerning an important book about Muybridge. When he finally realizes that Solnit is the author of the very book he\u2019s explaining to her, he\u2019s shocked. This is mansplaining: when a man explains something to a woman in a way that presumes she knows nothing about a topic she\u2019s an expert in.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne notes that the term gaslight<\/em> originated from a 1938 play called Gas Light<\/em><\/a> and its two movie adaptations. In the play, a husband tries to drive his wife crazy by (among other things) telling her she\u2019s imagining things and hiding items that he then accuses her of losing. He does this to obscure his criminal activity: He killed the former owner of their house for her rubies, but then was unable to find them, so he sneaks around the attic every night looking for the gems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wife notices that each night after her husband disappears, the gaslight dims; just before he reappears, the light becomes bright again. This indicates that her husband has turned on a light in the attic during his absence. However, her husband\u2019s constant undermining of her perceptions makes her question everything she knows, even her own observations<\/strong>. This is the phenomenon we now call gaslighting. Manne notes that the wife feels it\u2019s impossible to challenge her husband because she\u2019s made to feel crazy if she tries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne argues that while both mansplaining and gaslighting are a product of men feeling entitled<\/a> to be the sole possessors of knowledge, gaslighting is more egregious because men who engage in it exercise complete control over another person\u2019s reality\u2014in effect substituting a man\u2019s understanding of reality in place of a woman\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entitlement to Power<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Manne notes that people are much more comfortable with male leaders than female leaders<\/strong>. She cites studies showing that, all other things being equal, people see men as more competent in leadership positions than women. What\u2019s more, people tend to dislike women in traditionally male leadership roles simply because they\u2019re successful. However, if study participants are told that both a male leader and a female leader are helpful and community-minded, participants are more likely to choose the female leader as a boss and to judge her more likable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne argues that the double standard around leadership means that male politicians can get away with being jerks, while female politicians are punished if they display any anger or lack of compassion.<\/strong> A female politician can be successful only if she\u2019s seen as authentically caring and compassionate. Manne argues, however, that this can be difficult to accomplish because both authenticity and compassion are open to interpretation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manne gives the example of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who was widely perceived as kind and a team player at the beginning of her presidential campaign (she even made personal calls to small donors to thank them for their campaign contributions). However, every minor misstep she made was criticized. Manne opines that Warren may have lost the most support when she and Bernie Sanders disagreed about something Sanders said during a private meeting. Manne argues that even though their disagreement was a classic \u201che said-she said\u201d scenario, Warren was likely perceived as attacking Sanders and challenging his authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to the presidency, US voters consistently choose a male candidate over a female one, even if it means voting against their own party. Manne notes that the concept of a woman being \u201cunelectable\u201d to the presidency is in some ways a self-fulfilling prophecy<\/strong>: If people believe a woman is \u201cunelectable,\u201d they won\u2019t vote for her, and then she becomes unelectable. Manne cites a June 2019 poll finding that most people planned to vote for Joe Biden, but if they could have anyone they wanted <\/em>as president, they\u2019d choose Elizabeth Warren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Valid Entitlement <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Manne says that while she\u2019s focused on men\u2019s unjustified entitlement to women\u2019s services, there are forms of valid entitlement that she hopes women and girls can reclaim. Inspired by the imminent birth of her daughter, Manne writes that she wants her daughter to feel entitled to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Being believed and cared for when she expresses her needs or desires, whether emotional or physical\/medical<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Bodily autonomy, including consent to being touched, consent to sex, and reproductive choice<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Shared domestic labor<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Feeling unself-conscious about her body<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Being LGBTQ<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Speaking up and sharing her knowledge<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Not feeling required to change herself to please others<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Being powerful, but also being allowed to make mistakes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Manne concludes that we are all obligated to fight for a world in which women and girls are no longer subject to male control and entitlement<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When women speak up, challenge authority, or refuse to comply with traditional expectations, they often face backlash ranging from dismissal to outright violence. This isn’t a coincidence, according to Kate Manne’s book Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women. Keep reading for an overview of this provocative book and discover how invisible expectations impact everything from sexual consent to career advancement\u2014and why recognizing them is the first step toward change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":145744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,24],"tags":[1858],"class_list":["post-145737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-society","tag-entitled","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nEntitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne) - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kate Manne says entitlement powerfully shapes women's daily experiences. Here's our overview of Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kate Manne says entitlement powerfully shapes women's daily experiences. Here's our overview of Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-06T19:39:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-09-09T19:52:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"571\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Whitworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"18 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\"},\"headline\":\"Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne)\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-06T19:39:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-09T19:52:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/\"},\"wordCount\":3940,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Entitled\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Books\",\"Society\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/\",\"name\":\"Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne) - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-06T19:39:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-09T19:52:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"Kate Manne says entitlement powerfully shapes women's daily experiences. Here's our overview of Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":571,\"caption\":\"A woman with curly brown hair swooped up and large eyes indicating a surprised look\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13\",\"name\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elizabeth Whitworth\"},\"description\":\"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.\",\"sameAs\":[\"rina@shortform.com\"],\"award\":[\"Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)\",\"Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)\",\"Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)\",\"Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"History\",\"Theology\",\"Government\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Senior SEO Writer\",\"worksFor\":\"Shortform\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne) - Shortform Books","description":"Kate Manne says entitlement powerfully shapes women's daily experiences. Here's our overview of Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne)","og_description":"Kate Manne says entitlement powerfully shapes women's daily experiences. Here's our overview of Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2025-09-06T19:39:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-09-09T19:52:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":571,"url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Elizabeth Whitworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Whitworth","Est. reading time":"18 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/"},"author":{"name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13"},"headline":"Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne)","datePublished":"2025-09-06T19:39:17+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-09T19:52:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/"},"wordCount":3940,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg","keywords":["Entitled"],"articleSection":["Books","Society"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/","name":"Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne) - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-09-06T19:39:17+00:00","dateModified":"2025-09-09T19:52:55+00:00","description":"Kate Manne says entitlement powerfully shapes women's daily experiences. Here's our overview of Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg","width":1200,"height":571,"caption":"A woman with curly brown hair swooped up and large eyes indicating a surprised look"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/entitled-how-male-privilege-hurts-women\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women (Kate Manne)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d2928cf6c11a69ced1491d6a5b74fb13","name":"Elizabeth Whitworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1fff9d65a52ac4340660218e7b63ee5e365cf08e7aa7adff79a0142cd4b96f84?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elizabeth Whitworth"},"description":"Elizabeth has a lifelong love of books. She devours nonfiction, especially in the areas of history, theology, and philosophy. A switch to audiobooks has kindled her enjoyment of well-narrated fiction, particularly Victorian and early 20th-century works. She appreciates idea-driven books\u2014and a classic murder mystery now and then. Elizabeth has a Substack and is writing a book about what the Bible says about death and hell.","sameAs":["rina@shortform.com"],"award":["Contributions to joint task force efforts (FBI)","Contributions to Special Operations Division (DOJ & DEA)","Efforts to fight the war on drugs (NSA)","Contributions to Operation Storm Front (US Customs Service)"],"knowsAbout":["History","Theology","Government"],"jobTitle":"Senior SEO Writer","worksFor":"Shortform","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/elizabeth\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/woman-big-eyes-surprised.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145737"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145752,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145737\/revisions\/145752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}