What is privilege?
It's not the dictionary definition. (Which, for the record, is: a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most: the privileges of the very rich.)
But it does get close. In a social activist-type context, "privilege" refers to a set of advantages that groups favoured by society receive, just by being in that group.
Think of it like this: upon birth, members of the privileged group get an invisible jetpack. They're so used to having this jetpack that they don't notice it at all, even though they use it to help them get past daily obstacles. For everyone who's not in the privileged group, the jetpacks are pretty damned obvious. The thing is, if you had the pack on, you'd never notice unless you started looking for it.
This is privilege: benefits or advantages that someone receives by being part of a majority group. (I am referring to a power majority, not necessarily a numerical majority.)
Privilege is very dependent on culture. For example, a white person living in America is privileged, because they are part of an ethnic majority. But if the same person moved to China, the list of privileges they would have would be drastically different. Similarly, a Han Chinese person living in China would have very different privileges if that person moved to a country where the Han Chinese were an ethnic minority.
tl;dr: Privilege is a societal phenomenon, where members of a certain, favoured group have advantages that non-members do not have.
There are many lists on the internet that detail the specific kinds of privilege different groups have. They are generally written as if a member of the privileged group was saying them, but are often compiled by the non-privileged group.
Who is privileged?
Generally speaking? Groups which have held power over the country for a long time, and those that society views as "normal". In other words:
racial majorities
men
straight people
cisgendered people
neurotypical people (i.e. not on the autism spectrum and without mental disorders)
able-bodied people (people without disabilities)
sexual people (people who experience sexual attraction)
religious majorities (if applicable)
the rich
the well-educated
middle-upper class
I'm sure there are more that I've not thought of.
Lots of people are privileged in some way. In fact, I'd wager that most of us are. Remember, though, you can't 'cancel out' privilege. Being privileged in one area and not another doesn't balance out and magically get rid of someone's privilege.
Being privileged is not an insult. Being privileged doesn't mean that you cannot be discriminated against, or picked on, or insulted...
...but being privileged does mean that you have put up with a lot less crap than people who aren't privileged in the same way. And this is a very important thing to keep in mind. This goes double for those of us who are not privileged in one way, but privileged in another. Always, always, always remember to check your privilege.
When people start denying their privilege, that's when things get ugly. When people ask you to check your privilege they're not being insulting, it's generally just an attempt to ask you to recognize that you might not be as qualified to speak on some topics.
Another effect that privilege has is its normalizing effect on the experiences of the privileged, and its othering effect on the experiences of the marginalized. Things that the privileged group experience are the "template" for what society sees as normal: for example, the "normal" or "standard" human being in America could arguably be a white, middle-class, educated straight cis man. Those are all traits of privileged groups. Minorities or other people who don't have those same privileges are seen as the "other", forming a barrier between the privileged and the non-privileged. This has massive consequences; off the top of my head, one of them is the use of this non-privileged identity as the sole defining characteristic of a character in media (if you know TVTropes, think of tropes like The Chick or the Magical Native American). This is like putting a minority character in the spotlight and going "hey, look! Isn't this person strange?" Needless to say, this is very offensive.
Intersectionality and Passing Privilege
What do I mean by "intersecting privilege"? Well, as I've said above, privilege comes in many forms and in many different areas. Sometimes, these areas overlap. A rich man, belonging to a racial majority, benefits from many more privileges than a poor woman belonging to a racial minority. But when you start having different combinations of privilege, this starts to get a little tricky.
Essentially, you can be non-privileged in one way, but privileged in many others. The net effect is, therefore, positive: you are disadvantaged in some aspects but have an advantage in many more. This is why, for example, men can say that some women do better than them. This is true, but completely misses the point: that the majority of women are not, and - because of privilege - don't have access to the same kinds of resources or opportunities.
For example, an upper-middle class person benefits from the intersection of privileges from being financially secure, being part of the middle class and presumably being well-educated. If the person is also part of a racial majority, that person benefits from another form of privilege. In short, this person enjoys many different intersecting privileges (class, financial, education and ethnic majority privileges).
Passing Privilege (Thanks to throwingExceptions for help on this bit.)
Quite a lot of how people interact with other people is dependent on perception. In fact, sometimes what people think you are is more important than what you actually are. Passing privilege stems from that. If people think that you are a member of a privileged group, they will treat you the same way, and so you have access to the same advantages.
For example, a closeted gay man might be able to pass very easily for a straight man. Therefore, he'd have passing straight privilege so long as he does not come out. Of course, the major problem with passing privilege is that it's all based on keeping the assumption intact. (For example, the gay man's "straight assumption" - he is assumed to be heterosexual.) Passing privilege can happen without any move towards acquiring it specifically, or by intentionally hiding or obfuscating the truth, or by outright lying about it. Possessing passing privilege is sometimes a major barrier, as fear of losing this privilege can sometimes form an obstacle to confronting the truth about yourself.
Passing privilege can also be described as "conditional privilege". Conditional privilege makes it somewhat clearer that this type of privilege depends on a certain condition being maintained; this conditional privilege is gone once people no longer perceive you as part of the majority group.
As far as I'm aware, term itself comes from mixed race people who could "pass" for white, and so could enjoy white privilege - provided that assumption was never lost.
SUMMARY:
Privilege is a social phenomenon, where members of a favoured group get advantages that other groups don't get. Privilege comes in many forms and in many different areas. Privilege does not cancel out; being privileged in one area does not remove privilege in another. It is possible to benefit from more than one form of privilege at the same time. If people think that you are a member of a privileged group, even if you aren't, you have "passing privilege".
Last but not least: one thing that is universal to ALL privilege lists is that the privileged group never has to be aware that they are privileged. Knowing is the first step to dismantling this whole unfair system.
Nicolas Cage probably doesn't think he's rich either
that doesn't mean he's not.
This is the worst response
WELL YOU SEE ON A GLOBAL SCALE YOU ARE RICH
Too bad my life does not exist on a global scale
all I'm saying is you're talking with strangers all across the world in an air conditioned room and outside you've got your own personal gas-powered chariot that can take you anywhere in the country
Nicolas Cage probably doesn't think he's rich either
that doesn't mean he's not.
This is the worst response
WELL YOU SEE ON A GLOBAL SCALE YOU ARE RICH
Too bad my life does not exist on a global scale
all I'm saying is you're talking with strangers all across the world in an air conditioned room and outside you've got your own personal gas-powered chariot that can take you anywhere in the country
Nicolas Cage probably doesn't think he's rich either
that doesn't mean he's not.
This is the worst response
WELL YOU SEE ON A GLOBAL SCALE YOU ARE RICH
Too bad my life does not exist on a global scale
all I'm saying is you're talking with strangers all across the world in an air conditioned room and outside you've got your own personal gas-powered chariot that can take you anywhere in the country
Technically, I'm borrowing a chariot that belongs to my bank.
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ButtlordFornicusLord of Bondage and PainRegistered Userregular
Nicolas Cage probably doesn't think he's rich either
that doesn't mean he's not.
This is the worst response
WELL YOU SEE ON A GLOBAL SCALE YOU ARE RICH
Too bad my life does not exist on a global scale
all I'm saying is you're talking with strangers all across the world in an air conditioned room and outside you've got your own personal gas-powered chariot that can take you anywhere in the country
ON A GLOBAL SCALE and similar relativistic response are asinine
"You don't have it as bad as a sweatshop worker, so shut up!"
But I still got mad respect for you, so if we ever run into each other, remind me that I owe you alcohol.
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ButtlordFornicusLord of Bondage and PainRegistered Userregular
Basically your whole "Well globally speaking you're rich" reminds me of a parent going "There are starving children in India, eat this shitty goulash!"
And no fuck you the fact that worse shit is happening around the world does not change the fact that on a much more immediate level I'm not in a good position at all
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Blake TDo you have enemies then?Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.Registered Userregular
Posting the privilege thing over and over again will not make someone who did not read it the first time read it.
I mean if you want to raise awareness for it that's cool and all, but it's going to get to far more people if you have a conservation about it rather than text dumping stuff and everyone saying yay.
Usually I find when we want to talk about privilige, I feel like I'm under attack and have to defend myself but that article did a great job of explaining it in a non-accusatory manner
For the record I am in favor of making America better and raising taxes on more-rich Americans and using the money to help less-rich Americans and stuff
Usually I find when we want to talk about privilige, I feel like I'm under attack and have to defend myself but that article did a great job of explaining it in a non-accusatory manner
I just read some of it.
It sure sobered me up.
I don't usually feel under attack so much as stupid and depressed when it comes up.
Usually I find when we want to talk about privilige, I feel like I'm under attack and have to defend myself but that article did a great job of explaining it in a non-accusatory manner
This is very common and I felt it too until it might have been tfs who posted a similar link. It's extremely important not to feel you're under attack when someone discusses privilage, because that just makes you defensive, and people are more likely to be stubborn and bullheaded when defensive.
Posting the privilege thing over and over again will not make someone who did not read it the first time read it.
I mean if you want to raise awareness for it that's cool and all, but it's going to get to far more people if you have a conservation about it rather than text dumping stuff and everyone saying yay.
You could try having not having the attention span of a baby.
Posts
Sit down, read some posts, few minutes later. *gurglegurglegurgle*
"whelp, back to the trenches."
but he is
This is the worst response
WELL YOU SEE ON A GLOBAL SCALE YOU ARE RICH
Too bad my life does not exist on a global scale
8->
Truly equivalent to the pain of oppression
Just sayin'
well 1 out of 3 ain't bad
you rich people love tax write-offs right
tax write-offs, caviar, and solid gold jet pack polo
Technically, I'm borrowing a chariot that belongs to my bank.
ON A GLOBAL SCALE and similar relativistic response are asinine
"You don't have it as bad as a sweatshop worker, so shut up!"
No, fuck you, that's horseshit
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
I can be an ER DVD boxset for $30?! Sold!
27
but I will not go to a pax we have discussed this
is the most cop out argument against improving shit in 'merica that one can make
and i hate it
wandering is reminding me of it
But I still got mad respect for you, so if we ever run into each other, remind me that I owe you alcohol.
And no fuck you the fact that worse shit is happening around the world does not change the fact that on a much more immediate level I'm not in a good position at all
I mean if you want to raise awareness for it that's cool and all, but it's going to get to far more people if you have a conservation about it rather than text dumping stuff and everyone saying yay.
Satans..... hints.....
Fun fact
The UN passed a resolution on the rights of children not too long ago
For the longest time the only members of the UN that didn't sign it were the US and fucking Somalia
Recently, one of them signed it. Guess which one (Hint it was fucking Somalia)
edit: mentioning global poverty I mean
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
oh I will
and paths will probably cost
we east coast after all
Usually I find when we want to talk about privilige, I feel like I'm under attack and have to defend myself but that article did a great job of explaining it in a non-accusatory manner
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
It sure sobered me up.
I don't usually feel under attack so much as stupid and depressed when it comes up.
This is very common and I felt it too until it might have been tfs who posted a similar link. It's extremely important not to feel you're under attack when someone discusses privilage, because that just makes you defensive, and people are more likely to be stubborn and bullheaded when defensive.
You could try having not having the attention span of a baby.
Satans..... hints.....
interacting with oneself is one of my definitions of sentience! where is that science thread...