Privilege...what a confusing word. Maybe you don't think it's confusing at all. You know what privilege means; you aren't stupid. At least that's what I thought. I thought I knew what privilege was and then I learned I had been looking at the word privilege and not the meaning of it.
I am a self-diagnosed BuzzFeedaholic, basically meaning I watch all the BuzzFeed videos on YouTube from all their different channels and I spend hours a day on their website. Almost a year ago I watched a video on BuzzFeed that showed people taking steps either forward or backward depending on how they answered questions that they were being asked. By the end of this short video I was crying and rethinking everything I knew. That video stuck with me and I watched it probably at least twice a month. So when a new BuzzFeed video came out called "How Privileged Are You?", I watched it and once again I cried.
The video shows a bunch of different people taking a test to see how privileged they are. People from all different backgrounds took this test and the questions made them feel uncomfortable, sad, or embarrassed. The test itself was simple: check all that apply to yourself. The answers on the other hand were sometimes difficult to check (or not check) off the list. For example, the very first statement to check or not is "Are you white?"
The test is trying to show how easy or hard you have had it in this world. It becomes clear to all the participants in the video that this was going to be an awkward test to take together. The test is out of 100 questions so the more you check off the more privileged you are. People's scores varied from a high of 78 to a low of 23 and a ton of scores in between. The people's reactions to their scores showed them realizing what this score says about them.
Everyone had a different attitude towards their results; some people were embarrassed or even a little ashamed that their score was so high, while others felt uncomfortable about how low their own score was. However, all of them were proud in a way. No matter what number they ended up with, they were proud of all the things they had accomplished in their lives so far. They were proud of their skin color, gender, and sexuality. Everyone in that video was owning who they were and they all left a little more informed about privilege.
At the end of the video there is a link to take the test yourself. I took a deep breath and pressed the link. Going into the test I knew my score was probably going to be on the higher side. I am white, heterosexual, and I am Christian. However, I still didn't get to check all those boxes. The questions about mental health I had to leave blank. I wasn't able to check the box saying I am a male and I couldn't check the box saying that I make more money than my professional counterparts of a different gender. I couldn't check that I have never been told I’m overweight or too skinny.
The score I got on the test doesn't matter. A number is a number and that's it. I am not going to let it define who I am. However, I have let the number help open my eyes and see that I have it pretty darn well compared to others, but I should never take that for granted and I need to be aware of it. The test did make me feel a little bad about myself at first, but then I felt better when I thought about how I wouldn't be me if I didn't have anxiety, occasionally have body image issues, or went to the school I went to. I am proud of who I am, and for every box I didn't check, it just showed all the hurdles I have overcome.
I highly recommend taking this test and becoming a little more aware of your own privilege. At the end, no matter what your score is, remember all those unchecked boxes are things you have or are trying to overcome. Don't feel bad that you had a car in high school. Just accept and understand the privilege you have. All parents want their kids to have a better life then they had, so don't let it bother you. Thank your parents or whoever it is who helped you get to where you are today and plan to do the same for your kids and the next generation.
