What are some advantages seldom noticed that men in American society have that women do not?

As some of you know, I am a women’s studies minor at my university and this semester, I am taking the required women’s studies seminar. It is a very small class so we can talk about many issues and ideas that we couldn’t otherwise. In our class is one man. Every once in a while, he makes a comment intended to spark discussion about some differences in gender. Most recently, during one of our classes, he said that he, as a man, never feared being raped. This lead to an interesting and thought provoking discussion about why women often fear rape or sexual assault of some kind and what can be done about it.

This got me to thinking about the advantages in American society that men have that women tend not to have. Everyone knows about the more obvious ones such as the gap in pay and how few women are in positions of power. However, there are, I’m sure, a number of ones that exist but are not very noticeable. In the example I gave above, I had never really thought about how I am more careful after dark if by myself or with other females because I have always been taught to be careful and afraid. Once the man in my class pointed out that he never feared being raped or assaulted, that’s when I started to think about it.

Can the collective inform me of other advantages that often go unnoticed?