I have lately been doing some thinking about privilege. Privilege, by definition, is something that is taken for granted. If you are living with privilege in a particular way, it is difficult to notice just how much it impacts your life. Or I should say, it is difficult to notice what you don’t have to go through because of your privilege.
People often talk about racial privilege or gender privilege and maybe even sexual orientation, religion, or socioeconomic status. However, I realized that these are just the tip of the iceberg. I was shocked when a friend introduced me to what she described as “fat culture” and how people don’t usually think about how overweight and obese people are marginalized by society.
It was after this realization that I decided to make a list of every privilege I know of. The way I figure it, everyone has privilege in some way or another. Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with that, but I believe people should be more aware of the privilege they take advantage of. That was the intended purpose of the list.
In the list, I identify what I believe to be many or most of the human privileges that exist and provide an example of it in action. Of course, depending on where you live, the amount of benefit a person with privilege receives from being in the majority will vary. It entirely depends on the stereotypes that exist, the diversity of the community, the attitudes of the people, etc.
And though this is an imperfect list, I still encourage you to take a look through it and identify each privilege you take advantage of. Remember that each category has different implications. For instance, with weight, if you identify with either extreme (ie. extremely overweight versus pencil thin) you can become marginalized. However, in the case of sex, being of one extreme (ie. being male) will grant you the privilege in most cases. As I mentioned, it all depends upon where you live and what communities you are a part of.
List of Privilege (in no particular order):
- Race – Refers to one’s skin color and perceived culture/background
- A middle-eastern person in America may be assumed to be Muslim
- Ethnicity – One’s country of origin, language, traditions, history, and background
- A Chinese person may find comfort in a “Chinatown” in an American city
- Culture/Sub-Culture – The specific communities with which one associates
- People who are perceived to be “goth” may be grouped together by others
- Background – One’s family life, general upbringing, history, and childhood
- A person raised in an orphanage will have different life experiences than most
- Religion – The religion (or absence of) with which one associates
- A person may become stigmatized for labeling themselves as Jewish
- Spirituality – One’s spiritual beliefs, practices, and rituals
- A person may be criticized if they wear a hijab in a non-Muslim society
- Ideology – One’s stance on political/controversial issues and questions
- A conservative person may be targeted in a liberal society
- Priorities – One’s life goals, desires, and aspirations
- An athlete training to enter a competition will have different life experiences
- Diet – One’s eating habits and preferences
- A person may feel marginalized for being vegetarian
- Ability – One’s physical abilities, aptitude, and limitations
- A handicapped person may have difficulty in non-accessible places
- Mental Health – The presence or absence of mental conditions, pathologies, or disorders
- A bipolar person may feel alienated because of his/her behavior
- Physical Health – The presence or absence of health conditions, diseases, allergies, etc.
- A diabetic person must always be aware of what he/she eats
- Height – One’s height compared to others
- An extremely tall person is highly noticeable to others
- Weight - One’s weight or physical size/shape
- An extremely thin person may be labeled as “anorexic”
- Appearance – One’s physical attributes and perceived attractiveness
- A very attractive person may feel bombarded with unwanted advances
- Fashion – One’s style of dress
- A person who wears “flashy” clothing may be judged by others
- Gender – One’s performed sex
- A man who identifies as a woman may become criticized by others
- Sex – One’s biological sex
- An intersex person often must chose a sex to identify as
- Sexuality – One’s sexual preferences
- A person with an unusual sexual fetish may hide this fact to avoid scrutiny
- Mannerisms – One’s individual quirks, habits, and ticks
- Someone who speaks with their hands may be criticized for this
- Speech – The presence or absence of accents, impediments, or pathologies
- A stutterer may feel too embarrassed to speak in public
- Sociability – One’s comfort, skill, and/or temperament in social settings and interactions
- A shy person my feel left out of social interactions
- Education – One’s scholastic background
- A person with a college degree may gain preference with an employer
- Occupation – One’s job, profession, or role in a community
- A doctor may be held in a higher regard among others
- Class – One’s socio-economic status
- People may assume a person with more money is more trustworthy
- Fame – Facial/name recognition or notoriety among others
- A celebrity may have difficulty being in public without feeling scrutinized
Each item on this list can have an extreme impact on one’s life, even if this impact goes largely unnoticed. Depending on where you fall in any of these categories (inside or outside of your community’s majority), you may or may not benefit from privilege. If, based on where you lie in one of the categories, others view you in a particular way or you are forced to change the way you act around others in order to better fit within the rest of society (or cope with your inability to do so), then you are most likely in a marginalized group.
And as I said before, this is not an exhaustive list. If you have others, I would love to hear your thoughts. I can then add to the list. Let me know what you think!
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