Living in the Bubble of Privilege
Before taking this class, I never fully understood the meaning of the word privilege. I did not realize how “in-depth” it was or how sensitive of a topic it is for some people. I am fully comfortable to admit that I grew up in a very privileged life. However, one downfall of that life is not knowing the true meaning of privilege and how lucky I truly was. I lived in a bubble. Ah yes, the privilege bubble where people walk around blind to other problems that people face in the world. Although that statement is somewhat true, it is not 100% accurate. In Christie Launius and Holly Hassel’s “Threshold Concepts in Women’s and Gender Studies: Ways of Seeing, Thinking, and Knowing”, “privilege is defined as benefits, advantages, and power that accrue to members of a dominant group as a result of the oppression of the marginalized group; individuals and groups may be privileged without realizing, recognizing, or even wanting it” (95).
When taking Buzzfeed’s “How Privileged Are You?” quiz, I checked off way more boxes than I intended. There were also some options on there that I did not even realize were considered to be privilege. I am privileged in the fact that I am white, my parents are not divorced, I have never been the only person of my race in a room, I am heterosexual, I have never been called a racial slur, I have never tried to change my gender, and there are many more. It was a real eye-opening experience and made me think for many days after taking it about how my life would be if I did not have those certain advantages.
MTV’s video on privilege, “Why Does Privilege Make People so Angry?” discusses why privilege is such a sensitive topic. It talks about how everyone has privilege, even if they do not realize it. Additionally, she talks about how when people hear the world privilege, it feels like they are being blamed. I completely agree with this statement because more often than not it comes off very accusatory. This is one of the reasons why I loved this class so much because it gives us the tools to be able to have these types of conversations with others in a non-confronting manner. Privilege is something that should be more openly discussed because if we cannot talk about it then how are we supposed to fix it?
I am guilty of doing this as well! Guilty of not wanting to talk about something or purposely avoiding a topic because of the fear that I might offend someone. I think that it is okay for people to not understand something or a concept and I want people to feel comfortable asking others. This is the only way that we, as a society, are going to learn and get better. These kinds of topics should not be uncomfortable or shunned upon. My privilege has taught me to never take it for granted and to be more mindful of others around me.
