This might belong in a subforum more dedicated to race issues, but this was dropped on me when I was in college. I was in an English class that focused on minority writers ie. no white male writers, that had been excluded from the English canon. I wasn't feeling the class, and like most of my classes, skated by doing the bear minimum and getting good grades.

Well my teacher, a black man about ten years older than me, called me on it because he saw how I could be doing much better. He instigated and antagonized me a bit more than I thought appropriate, so I confronted him about it at which point he revealed his ploy to me, and we became quite great friends.

He talked about teaching cultural diversity lit and racial ideas at a predominantly white school, and what he expected and all that, but then he laid a bomb on me I never expected from such a progressive man at such a progressive school.

He basically said, in a nutshell, that he didn't envy me being a talented white male, as nobody would ever accept any of my 'excuses' or reasons for failure, that I will never have any acceptable reasons in society for not succeeding, that the pressure on me is wildly higher than the pressure he feels as a black male in society.

The reason I bring this up, is I think it's something MRAs have been trying to voice for a long time, that is inherent to being a man, and can explain many things ie. why men work longer hours, negotiate for higher salaries, feel obligated to pay for dates, feel pressure to be strong and in control etc. etc. etc. and it's something I think you don't hear being understood from the people who we voice these concerns to. Any thoughts?