Privilege is one of those things that people either understand or completely deny. As a white person living in a middle class family in a semi-prosperous area in Northern New Jersey, I never really thought of my privilege when I was younger. That all changed sophomore year when my history teacher had us look around the room and count how many people of color were in the class. If I remember correctly there was only one person who counted as a person of color. This was a life changing moment as I realized how lucky I was to be living in a nice area, with food every day and a bed to sleep in. It also called to the attention the social and cultural segregation people face everyday but that is another topic for another post.
When I went to college I was finally in one of the most diverse areas in the world: New York City. Even though on campus there wasn't much class difference, I learned more and more about the privilege I have and didn't have. For example I am white, straight and identify with my original sex given to me at birth. However, I am a female that does not conform to social norms and strands up for what she believes in. This is where I stray from my privilege. Males do not have to worry as much about such tedious things like sexual harassment, pay equality and just general exploitation. However as a straight, white and cis-person I do not have to worry about people harassing me about my sexual identity or race.
So what is privilege? According to Merriam- Webster it is defined as "a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people".
I came up with this post idea because of a Buzzfeed video I saw called: How Privileged Are You? In this video participants are given a quiz to take in order to see how much privilege they have. The higher they score the more privilege they have. You should definitely take this quiz because you will be surprised at your number.
It is quite sad actually because my mom's side is partly Syrian but when I was younger I was glad that I didn't look like a "stereotypical Syrian" because I didn't want to be ostracized. Now I don't really care but I think it just shows how twisted things are that I was glad I looked like a "normal" white person. Cases such like these just show how dangerous privilege is and how toxic it can be.
Ultimately, privilege needs to be erased. There needs to be an even playing ground that does not discriminate based on religion, gender, sexual orientation,class, or race. People can deny privilege all they want but that's mostly because their views are obstructed by the comforting oasis they live in everyday. They do not see how much privilege they have because they never get off their high horse to see it. Instead they turn the other cheek and act as if privilege isn't a thing. This is a problem that needs to be fixed. Not only do people need to be able to see their privilege they should want to equalize the playing field as well.
