&gt; There was no privilege associated with being a geek.<p>You still had some &quot;privileges&quot; by not being black, and not being a woman.  &quot;Privileges&quot; in the sense that you weren&#x27;t automatically assumed to be a thief, for example, when walking in to a store.  Or the privilege of actually being granted an interview for a non-secretarial position when you applied for one.<p>The &quot;white male privilege&quot; people speak of is less to do with people handing you bags of money and opening doors for you, and more to do with those doors not actively being shut in your face simply by dint of gender or skin color.<p>I speak as a white male who grew up in the 80s and in to technology.  I certainly remember it was not &#x27;cool&#x27; to be in to computers&#x2F;tech back then (not like now) but there should be little disagreement that being male was <i>not</i> a hindrance for most desired walks of life (whereas being female, moreso then, definitely was).