What Does Privilege Mean to You?
Exploring different forms of privilege beyond race and gender
What is Privilege?
Privilege is a complex concept that has evolved over time and has different meanings depending on the context. Essentially, privilege refers to unearned advantages that a person or group has, that others do not.
This privilege is not asked for, it’s out of the person’s control, and may even be something they don’t even notice unless they are open to intentionally educating themselves about it.
In recent years, privilege has become increasingly associated with discussions of social justice and equity, particularly in relation to race and gender.
White privilege, for example, refers to the advantages that white people have in society based solely on their race, such as greater access to education, job opportunities, wealth, and even health and beauty products.
Male privilege refers to the advantages that men have over women in areas such as pay, leadership positions, and societal status and expectations.
Heterosexual privilege refers to the advantages straight folks have over those belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community, such as never having to “come out,” explain your sexuality, having greater representation, and never having to worry about being seen as a threat to children for simply existing.
It’s important to acknowledge that privilege is not just limited to race, sexuality, and gender. People can be privileged in a myriad of ways — socioeconomic status, education, nationality, religion, and able-bodiedness, for example, also provide certain advantages.
It is also worth noting that privilege is not a personal attack on individuals who have it. Instead, it’s a way of understanding and acknowledging how systems of power and privilege operate in society, and hopefully, a way to work towards dismantling systems of oppression so we can collectively create a more just and equitable society for all.
With all that being said when I widen the frame of what it means to be privileged outside of all these things mentioned above, I think of privilege as simply being blessed.
Looking back, before privilege became a political term, privilege was a word solely used to express gratefulness.
Often people would say something like, “It’s an honor and a privilege to be here.” Indicating it was a blessing just to be alive, to be present, to be welcomed.
This takes me further back to my youth days in the A.M.E. church when church folks would say during testimony service —
Lord, I thank you that I woke up in the land of the living, that the four walls of my room wasn’t my grave, and my bed wasn’t my cooling board, and my covers, weren’t my winding-sheets.
They’d go on to say they were thankful that they had a roof over their head, clothes on their back, shoes on their feet, and food on the table. I know God is able!
It was a privilege to be in the land of the living, in your “right mind.”
Because someone didn’t wake up this morning, somebody won’t get a chance to go home tonight, and some folks woke up but had to live with the knowledge that their loved ones passed on in the night.
And to all that, I say amen! I am thankful to be alive.
I’m also beyond thankful to have had the privilege of birthing three healthy babies, having a beautiful home, making it out of my wild and rough years alive and well, and having a job where I don’t have to break my back anymore.
I consider all these things privileges.
I have so much to be thankful for!
When we look at what privilege means outside of race and sex, so many of us are privileged. Collectively, we have so much to be grateful for.
However, there is still much work to do to make this world more equitable.
At the heart of it, being privileged means that you have some sort of advantage over others, whatever that advantage may be.
Though we are not all privileged in the same ways, I hope we as a human race can strive towards a world where everyone has the same opportunities and can thrive regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, or other factors that may provide advantages or disadvantages.
