So You’ve Recognized Your Privilege, Now What?

It can take a long time to accept that you are favored by society, and it will take even longer to make something good come of it.

Privilege cultivates disparities in basic quality of life and well being, often due to one’s skin color, gender, or social class. It is systematic and structural in maintaining resources, respect, and knowledge available only to those already in the position of greater power. Being ascribed at birth, privilege reflects the advantage point from which you started regardless of your character or work ethic. For this reason, many of us try to deny our privilege. We don’t want to crush our illusion of meritocracy, and come to terms with the fact that our comfortability in life is not necessarily reflective of the work we did to get there but instead of the better opportunities that were afforded to us, usually outside of our own control. It is difficult to admit that we have faced fewer obstacles, or obstacles less fundamental to our basic survival, than those who don’t happen to share whatever label gave us such a fortunate life. This was especially frustrating for me as a young adult, wondering if I really deserved the life I was living. Those who are privileged are more accepted and supported by society, and for that reason are enviable by those in disadvantaged situations. Privilege should not be envied or admired because it only represents unearned power that is not backed by any strength of character. The promotion of privilege as positive does not benefit society in any way, it only highlights the unequal opportunities granted to some and denied to others.

Once we have realized that privilege feels tainted and dirty, we decide that want to wash our hands of it. We think that we can reject it by reminding ourselves we didn’t ask for this life of ease, and pretending our playing field has been leveled down — a notion that is naive and actually halts any progress being made. A person with privilege may work to become incredibly aware and empathetic, and even attempt to deviate social norms or stereotypes, but will still be seen and treated as privileged by the world. One’s privilege, much to our own dismay, also becomes intertwined with the one’s own sense of identity and understanding of the self in relation to the rest of the world.

Females are encouraged to fulfill our identities by “becoming” a woman or “assuming” our femininity, so that the formation of our identity is in line with the social practices, institutions, and discourses that have shaped our experiences as subordinate to males. Feminism aims to combat these expectations for women that have held us as inferior throughout time. We contend gender-based privileges but face a challenge in unifying against oppression as we easily overlook the inherent differences in privilege that exist within our “movement”. It is too idealistic to believe we can use our privilege to bring attention to and “solve” the struggles faced by women of color. White women claiming the voice against a struggle they don’t experience or fully understand objectifies the women they are intending to support. Often, this appropriation of a suffering that is not one’s own further perpetuates the trope of colored women as victims rather than relieving their injustices and celebrating their strength. In order to actually make progress, all Feminists should consider the implications of their words and actions which can carry different meanings. An internal conflict sometimes appears: the fine line of when we should refrain from speaking on the behalf of someone else, and when it is right or we are needed to use our privilege to amplify the voice of those who are not being heard. Each controversial situation that we encounter is a chance to increase our sensitivity and understanding, until we can foresee a way of fighting alongside our Feminist sisters, not in place of them.

We like to believe that if we, as individuals, act in a manner that is “morally good”, we are compensating for our status of privilege. However, this assumption overlooks a major privilege in itself: the option of a) living a complicit life of oblivious entitlement without fear of being overlooked and/or persecuted; b) criticizing and publicly resisting that life without fear of being ignored and/or persecuted.

So, take accountability for your privilege. Now that you know it exists in your life, assume responsibility for any of your behaviors that perpetuate it: If the effect of my attitudes or actions objectifies others, even if it is unintentionally, I am morally at fault. What we are born into and who we are shaped to become may have been constrained by society, but our actions and attitudes belong to us as individuals and we each have the free will to do and be better. Taking ownership of your identity and understanding how your place in society affects those around you allows you to contribute to a culture in which those who have started with a leg up are eager to make the race fair for all.