Feminism | Posted by Steph on 11/13/2009
Thinking About Privilege
Prompted by the comments on a post a couple of weeks ago, I started thinking more about privilege, and how we all have it, in some form or another. Male privilege is everywhere – men are assumed to be the default, and women are assumed to be weaker, less capable. If a man fails at something, it’s not because he’s male. If a man has sex, he’s not a slut – he’s a stud. Men can be loud or aggressive without being called a bitch. Men are under less pressure than women are to be thin and sexy.
But there is privilege EVERYWHERE, you guys, and we all have privilege too, even if we’re not male. There’s straight privilege – having the assurance that no matter where
you go, your relationships will be considered valid. There’s white privilege – having a way lesser chance that you’ll be racially profiled (assuming you’re in a white-majority area, and often even if
you’re not). There’s cisgender (read: non-transgender) privilege. There’s a LOT of it. There is privilege for just about everything out there.
The important thing about privilege is how we DEAL with it. When we’re blind to our privilege, and don’t even see it as being there, because that’s ‘just how things are’? That’s a problem. When we actively work to unpack our privelege and deal with how it effects us? That’s us winning. That’s making a better world.
One of the most insidious things ABOUT privilege is the level of obliviousness it allows. Men who’ve never thought about how certain things would effect women, whites who don’t bother to think about Asian or African experiences, straight people can be puzzled and confused by how queer couples could ever possibly have sex, and cisgendered people can ask ‘oh, so have you had the surgery?’ without maliciousness – because it was never intended to be malicious, only curious or helpful.
When we ignore privilege because ‘that’s how it is’, it’s not because we’re actively trying to oppress people. It’s because we’re blind to the fact that we’re oppressing people through our actions, because we could never imagine being so. These privileges are instead everyday, normal entitlements and customs. Not needing to think about just HOW everyday or normal these entitlements are is yet another expression of privilege.
So what can you do?
A lot, actually.
You can think about your privilege in day-to-day life, and see when and how it motivates your actions. You can call out others on their privileges, privileges they might not have been aware that they had. Just by being aware of privelege, you fight it. Because when we’re aware of our own privileges, we destroy the patriarchal notions that uphold them just by existing.
And that is awesome.
(11 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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madrone @ at 9:37 pm, November 13th, 2009
thanks so much for addressing this, especially the cisgender privilege…
dare2believe @ at 9:33 am, November 14th, 2009
YES! Yes, that’s so true! Also, there is social class privilege, which is not to be forgotten.
Emily @ at 11:30 am, November 14th, 2009
Another one that people rarely think about is the privilege that comes with believing in a god(s). Case in point: the atheist billboard that read, “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.” had to be removed due to death threats against the person who owned the land.
The only line that I couldn’t completely agree with was “Men are under less pressure than women are to be thin and sexy.” I’m not denying that, but anorexia and bulimia amongst men is a problem as well; the desire to have the chiseled abs and beefy arms that the male models and actors have today can be just as damaging.
Very good article though, this is certainly something that needs to be addressed.
Zoe @ at 11:46 am, November 14th, 2009
Good point, Emily, in the religion aspect. People will naturally assumed that a person is a Christian in my hometown. That, or an atheist.
Steph @ at 2:15 pm, November 14th, 2009
Emily, I totally agree that men are under pressure as well – my issue is the pervasiveness of the ‘women must be thin and sexy (and the second requires the first)’ concept in our culture, and how it’s considered not just *normal*, but *good* to aspire to unrealistic portrayals of the human body.
And yeah, there’s privilege for everything under the sun. A pretty fascinating thing to do is to sit down and try and list all the privileges you’re aware you have – by writing them down and being aware of them, you can help to unpack those privileges in yourself.
Kath @ at 1:53 am, November 16th, 2009
I’ve become aware of my privilege of living in the country I was born in, as in, I’m not an immigrant. I never thought about it until I became good friends with someone who immigrated to my country (Canada), and he expressed frustration that every time he told someone he was Filipino, people would ask questions about the Philippines, ask him about his first language and act like he didn’t know anything about Canada. They also assumed he was poor and couldn’t speak English as well as he could. I never asked him, but I imagine it would feel unwelcoming. Canada is his country as well, but it’s as if born citizens work to remind immigrants that they aren’t REAL Canadians. For example, I commonly hear “There are a lot of Filipino people, they are outnumbering white people”, which reinforces an “us” and the “others” idea.
Steph @ at 10:26 am, November 16th, 2009
For sure! I live in an area with lots of Chinese and Chinese-Canadian people, and I`ve heard (generally older) folk complaining about it – it`s ridiculous and offensive.
Austin @ at 4:08 pm, November 16th, 2009
Heya, just a pointer but talking about being “blind to privilege”, i.e. using blind in the perjorative, is ableist terminology and an exertion of ability normative privilege. I’m sure it’s just something you hadn’t thought of – another example of how pervasive privilege can be and how part of the privilege is not knowing about it.
Dave Rickey @ at 1:34 am, November 17th, 2009
You know why arguments over privilege go nowhere? Why “fighting against privilege” or “denying your privilege” is useless as a way of advancing equality?
Because definitions of what “privilege” *is* are sloppy, vague, and mostly wrong.
As some who has been on both sides of the “Privilege” fence, inarguably having and not having it under similar but critically different circumstances, I can define it for you, and explain why the typical “privilege” oriented strategies go nowhere:
Privilege is being treated the way everyone instinctively understands they *should* be.
–Dave
Steph @ at 9:35 pm, November 17th, 2009
@Austin: Shit, I didn’t even think about that, and you’re right. I`ll definitely keep that in mind, and thank you SO MUCH for politely checking me on it. Totally 100% my fault there, and again, I`m really thankful that you told me about it so I can try to change the terms I use. Would ‘unaware’ be a better choice?
@Dave: I agree with your definition of privilege, but I disagree that being aware of your own privileges and seeking to change that – not to bring everyone down to the lowest level, but instead to bring everyone up. Sorry if I was unclear about that.
Danine @ at 4:39 pm, November 23rd, 2009
This is a great post and something I’ve been thinking a lot about. I’ve been meaning to write a post about how I am privileged as a white, middle class cis-woman growing up in a predominantly white, middle-class community in the Midwest but haven’t gotten around to it. Hopefully, I’ll get my butt in gear and do it soon. Thanks for the food for thought!