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.
