Privilege

“Privilege refers to the uneven distribution of power within a society.  Privilege exists when that aspect of your life is seamlessly accepted into the world without scrutiny or suspicion.”

I recently read this article on privilege - I didn’t understand male privilege until I became a stay-at-home dad.  While I enjoyed the article, I really liked the site that was linked to in the article - Managing Privilege.

I have always thought of myself as fortunate, but would never have described myself as privileged.  For me privilege had a negative connotation. After reading Managing Privilege though, I no longer think of privilege as a negative (or positive,) it just is what it is.

I am committed to be more aware of my privilege and will try to be more mindful of it. I will try to listen to others who are not as privileged, to give them a chance to speak up/share and to educate myself and continue learning.

A couple things I liked from Managing Privilege:

• “Privilege is a fact, not an insult.  You can’t help it if you have it, and you don’t have to feel guilty about it.”
• “Privilege is not absolute.  Most people occupy multiple social positions with multiple levels of privilege or disadvantage.”

I decided to look at where I hold/don’t hold privilege:

Privileged

• White
• Cisgender
• Straight
• Able bodied/pass as able bodied
• Weight and height “accepted” by society
• Educated
• Financially stable, “intact” family

Not Privileged

• Mentally ill
• Chronic illness