response 1 of 81:

Dec 28 03:56 UTC 1997

Hmm...
I like the fact that people don't assume I'm weak or incompetent - I don't
feel like I have to prove myself to people the same way women seem to have
to.
I like not having to deal with periods, or PMS, or worrying about getting
pregnant, although in a way I'm also a bit jealous of that.
As insignificant as it sounds, I like being able to go to the bathroom
standing up.
I like not having to worry about walking alone at night, but I also feel a
bit guilty when I realize how lucky I am in that respect.

Actually, it surprises me how hard a time I have coming up with this list...
hmm...

response 3 of 81:

Dec 28 13:37 UTC 1997

Peeing standing up is a big plus.  Facial hair and the need to scrape
it off every single day is a minus, but having the choice of letting
it grow if you like more than offsets that.  

Some comedian (Tim Allen or Dennis Leary) taunts the women in the
audience by casually dropping the line: "Of course, we own all the
good stuff."  ("We" meaning men.)  It gets a big cheer from the men
in the audience and nervous laughter from the women.  It may be more
or less true, but I'm not sure it's an advantage for any particular
man or a disadvantage for any woman.  It's like being an alumnus of
U. of M. and bragging about "your" school going to the Rose Bowl.
It give you a boost psychologically, but it's not going to pay your
mortgage.  Also, not only do we own all the good stuff, but we own 
all the really bad stuff as well, and we have the responsibility
that comes with ownership of stuff, good or bad.  Still, we do
own it all.  Can't deny that.

This next one is controversial and I know a lot of hands are going
to go up, but...   Men are *way* more competent with mechanical
things.  It's true.  And I'm beginning to think there's a genetic
element of some kind to it.  The exceptions (put your hands down,
please) are few and far between, and, frankly ladies, not very 
impressive.  The biggest exception I've ever seen was a fictional
character: Marisa Tomei's character in the movie "My Cousin Vinnie,"
who said her work history included "tune-ups, lube jobs, rebuilt a
few trannies" -- and that was like seeing a dog trained to walk on 
its hind legs.  So unusual and impressive was it that Tomei won an
Oscar for making it even a little bit believable.  ;-)

response 5 of 81:

Dec 28 17:23 UTC 1997

The Fortune 500.  The banks, the investment houses, the insurance
companies.

Land.  Airlines.  Trucking companies.  Shipping companies.

The great private libraries and art collections.

Most of the small businesses and franchises.

You know, stuff like that.

response 7 of 81:

Dec 29 23:08 UTC 1997

> Banks and insurance companies are *run* by old 
> white men.  Their time is almost up.  Shall we 
> throw them a going away party when they die?

Why the emphasis on "run"?  "Run" as opposed to what?  Owned?  But 
they're owned *and* run by men ("old white" ones, too, as you say).  
As to who replaces them when they die, the comedian I mentioned was 
only playing off an oft-repeated and well-justified feminist complaint. 
If it's about to be no longer true, then, all kidding aside, women 
won't be able to complain anymore, will they?  If I thought there was
the smallest chance of *that* happening I'd gladly join you in nursing
the preposterous hope that the current Gnomes of Zurich will be 
replaced by lady gnomes when they die.  I'd even go over there and 
whack a couple of gnomes myself.

> Businesses and franchises are not owned by men to 
> the extent they can claim ownership over ownership.

75% of all private corporations are owned by men, and these male-owned 
corporations generate 92% of the revenues of all private corporations.  
If you want to say that's not enough to "claim ownership over 
ownership," whatever that means, I won't argue with you.  I'm too busy 
counting my money.

> I thought the stockholders owned most of those 
> things and last I heard women were buying stocks 
> too, in large numbers.

I'm also too busy counting my money to look up what the percent of 
women-owned equity in public corporations is, but I bet it isn't very
big.  I don't know about these investrices you claim exist "in large 
numbers"; but there's no denying that there are some *staggering* blocks 
of stock in the hands of little old ladies who inherited them from
their husbands.  I'm rather fond of little old ladies, however, so I 
won't suggest throwing them a going-away party when they die.  (There 
are also the first-wives-club jackpot-winners like Ivana Trump.  You 
can have her.)

Anyway, I only said it was "more or less true."  There are always 
exceptions.  So we own *almost* all of science, technology, commerce, 
finance, transportation, communications, energy, real estate, sports 
and the arts.  I won't deny that women own almost all of everything 
else. ;-)  

response 9 of 81:

Dec 29 23:59 UTC 1997

Too, women have come much farther in stock ownership than in executive 
suite residency.  Current corporate culture is that the latter really
means far more than the former.

response 13 of 81:

Dec 31 03:10 UTC 1997

(It occurs to me that enjoying being male because 'men are better mechanics'
and enjoying being female because 'women are more flexible' or 'women are more
open' aren't too far apart, and nobody's objecting to the stereotypes on the
female side.   I don't know whether the difference in reactions is justified
or not...)

response 15 of 81:

Dec 31 06:03 UTC 1997

I think there are enough exceptions to these stereotypes that
they are useful only to those who need to feel part of a group.
Some get a sense of "specialness" from being part of a religion.
Some get it from having similar color skin.  Some get it from
sharing similar genitals.

All those who can assemble a bicycle on Christmas Eve now
raise their hands.  But I don't think those who can't are
any more likely to be sitting near the tree in a lotus positon.

response 17 of 81:

Dec 31 14:12 UTC 1997

The traditional feminist explanation for the huge discrepancy in
culinary abilities between men and women is that the patriarchy
keeps women confined to the kitchen (and the nursery) so they won't
be able to compete with men in the workplace.  If there was ever 
any truth in that, you'd think it would've entropied itself away
to nothingness by now.  I, for one, am offended by the stereotype
of the cartoon dad in his barbecue apron and singed-off eyebrows
standing over a pile of unrecognizably burnt gobbets of meat on
the grill, or the hapless husband cracking an egg on the counter
and then trying to carry it messily over to the frying pan on the 
stove, as his wife stands amusedly by.  

Luckily, I belong to yet another of those groups that Mary says 
impart a sense of "specialness" to their members: I'm Italian.  
As a result, I fit the equally cartoonish, yet, in this case, 
accurate stereotype of the man who will shove everyone else of both
sexes and all ages out of "his" kitchen, at gunpoint if need be, so 
he can create, from scratch, a pot of delicious pasta sauce, 
complete with meatballs or sausage or whatever the family request, 
as depicted in one movie after another.  Think of Danny Aiello in 
"Two Days in the Valley" or Paul Sorvino and Ray Liotta in 
"GoodFellas."  (Note that they have to get actual Italians to play 
these parts.  No amount of mere acting can make you look like you 
know what you're doing in the kitchen.)  In general, though, I 
agree that my fellow testiculo-Americans are lamentably deprived in 
this area.  Any time you're tired of the meatloaf and stuffed 
cabbage, guys...

response 19 of 81:

Dec 31 21:24 UTC 1997

What do *you* think the reason is, 'noco?

response 21 of 81:

Jan 2 15:38 UTC 1998

Women have the attribute of being able to have babies.
  (*really* impressive upbringing)
Men have the attribute of being macho stupid jerks.
  (can't help it, genetic, not our fault, more denial, etc.)

response 23 of 81:

Jan 3 04:18 UTC 1998

Stereotypes can be a comfort.  When I attack some defective device with an
array of tools, I have my whole culture behind me, assuring me that I can
figure out how to use a pipe wrench because I'm a guy and guys know how to
do these things.  Actually, I don't know anything of the sort, but the
stereotype makes it easier for me to bluff, and a good bluff works out an
amazingly large percentage of the time.  The cultural presumption of
competence allows me to easily approach anything from walking through a
dubious neighborhood at night to addressing the board of directors with
relative confidence.  This is one of the nice things about being a guy.

Of course, the cultural presumption of confidence abandons me completely when
it comes to things like picking up a baby.  If a guy picks up a baby, our
culture watches suspiciously, since he is quite likely to drop it on its head.
Similarly, while a man may walk the streets at night with less fear, it is
a sure thing that every woman that he meets on those dark streets will suspect
him of being a rapist.

Hmmm...I guess I don't have much to add to "what I like about being male"
beyond what orinoco said in the first response.  Mostly minor things.  I don't
think much about being male.  I try to like being myself.  Maleness isn't that
important a part of that.