Hey, Readers!
***Trigger Warning: Please note that, while not graphic in depiction, there is some discussion in this post of restriction of reproductive freedom, misogynoir, 'splaining, murder, police violence, violence against people of color, discrimination against the poor, and other, brief mentions of discrimination against marginalized groups.***
So we're back on Feminist Friday, and today we're gonna pick up where we left off about oppression and privilege.
[Image Description: A rectangle divided into two sections, the left dark blue and the right white. The left side has white text that reads "Oppression" in all caps, and the right has dark blue text that reads "Privilege" in all caps.]
Just to rehash a bit quickly, previously we discussed what oppression is, a couple of types of it, what forms it can take/how it can present itself, and how the types feed into one another to reproduce the oppression over and over. We set out a working definition of oppression, that it is all about keeping power of various sorts (financial, social, political, etc) with those groups of people who already have it AND* about denying access to that power to groups of people who don't already have it.
*I think that that division right there between the two is going to be helpful in understanding how oppression and privilege correlate and work together. Often people tend to recognize their privilege but fail to realize or deliberately ignore how their privilege plays into the oppression of marginalized folk. People often do this because it's easier to recognize that other people have it harder, but it's more difficult (and less enchanting to some) to recognize that they themselves play a role in oppression. It's an uncomfortable thought to think that you oppress people, but it's an absolute necessity to recognize it. If you're at all interested in fighting oppression, you must, above all, be willing to examine your own participation in oppression and change your own self to better improve the world.
So bear that in mind when you're reading through this article. If you start to feel uncomfortable or angry, stop and think about it-- ask yourself why you feel angry about being told you have privilege, ask yourself where that privilege comes from and what its linked oppression does to other people, ask yourself if you really think that being told you have privilege over someone else who is marginalized and oppressed is really worse than actually being oppressed.
Now that we've discussed what oppression is, let's talk about privilege. Privilege, just as with oppression, is a multi-faceted stone. It is entirely possible to experience privilege in one area and experience marginalization in another. Your privilege is generally relevant to your environment (social position, class, race, ability, etc), but some privileges are stagnant and permanent (for example, if you are white and live in a racist society and do not leave it, that is a permanent privilege, or if you are a cisgender male, you have universal privilege) and others are fluid, changing with different situations (for example, you may grow up poor but move up a class or several and have the privilege of money). But it is always important to recognize that your privilege comes from oppression. You cannot have privilege without oppression, just as you cannot have one side of a coin without the other.
The reason this is so is that privilege is really the absence of oppression. Someone once said (forgive me, I can't recall the original author) that being unable to recognize your own privilege is exemplary of your privilege in and of itself. Meaning, you are so detached from the reality of daily oppression that marginalized groups endure that you don't even have to be aware of the fact that oppression exists and that you play a part in it. Oppression can't touch you, and thus you are privileged. Does that make sense? This is why it is critical that we discuss oppression AND privilege. This is certainly a failing on so many people that I've seen-- particularly in academics. There is often great discussion of the oppression of certain groups, but there is rarely discussion about the need to take responsibility, to accept that we must change ourselves for this oppression to cease.
[Image Description: A two panel comic with one panel atop the other. In the top panel, labeled "Sunday, 10:00 AM" on a white banner, there are two people walking away from a building arm-in-arm; the building is gray and labeled "Hobby Lobby". There are several crude shapes of humans holding picket signs with a red ban symbol on each (a red circle with a line drawn through it). In the foreground, the person on the right is a black woman with shoulder length hair, wearing a pink blouse and purple-ish pants with her right arm tucked into the man's next to her. She has a worried expression on as she looks back toward the building. The man on the left is white with a balding head with black hair; he is wearing a white collared top with a black tie and gray pants. There is a speech bubble emitting from him that reads "Oh, look at all those poor oppressed women campaigning against Hobby Lobby for their reproductive rights. It's so awful that Hobby Lobby won the right to discriminate against women and the right to essentially control their deeply personal decisions about their own bodies and lives." In the bottom panel, The same white man in the same outfit is turned in profile on the right hand side as he speaks to his daughter. His biracial daughter has slightly lighter skin than her mother and is wearing a gray long sleeved shirt with her arms crossed in anger. She has short, choppy black hair witha red streak on the right front side, and she is looking sideways at her father with an angry look on her face. In between them is a white speech bubble coming from the father that reads "No, you may NOT get on birth control, young lady! You are only fifteen years old, and you are NOT ready to be having sex. You're too young to know what you want, but I can tell you it's not that! I'm your father, honey, and I know better than you, and I just want to protect you, so I say you can't have birth control. Or sex." This is all against a light brown background.]
So if we operate under the assumption that privilege is the absence of oppression, we can take a look at some examples. If you are white, you are privileged because you are not oppressed as a person of color. If you are white and not Jewish, you are privileged because you are not oppressed as a white Jewish person. If you are Christian in the United States, you are privileged because you are not oppressed as a person of another faith or an atheist. If you are a cisgender male, you are privileged because you are not oppressed as a woman or as a trans person. If you are able-bodied, you are privileged because you are not oppressed as a disabled person. If you are a cisgender woman, you are privileged because you are not oppressed as a transwoman. If you are educated in a socially-acceptable way (high school, college, etc.), you are privileged because you are not oppressed as a person who did not receive the same level of education as you. If you are heterosexual, you are privileged because you are not oppressed as a queer person. If you are in the middle or upper class, you are privileged because you are not oppressed as a poor or working class person. If you are considered to be from the West or considered Westernized internationally, you are privileged because you are not oppressed as a person from a country not considered Westernized. And so on.
In short, you, as a privileged person, will generally have better, if not exclusive, access to opportunities that marginalized people will not. You are also safer from violence, discrimination, abuse, and laws that are deliberately formed to keep marginalized people oppressed and away from power. This brings us back to oppression: in social and institutionalized areas, you will be treated better, with more respect, and as more human than someone who is not privileged the way you are.
LET’S GET SOMETHING CLEAR HERE, THOUGH.
[Image Description: A white background with black text that reads "Being oppressed in one way does not negate your privilege in another area." in all caps.]
This comes up SO. MANY. TIMES. online in discussions of social justice, and it drives me up the wall. Many people, in a desperate stretch to avoid critically thinking about their own privilege, will state that they can’t have privilege because X, Y, and Z, with XYZ usually being some other form of oppression or situation unrelated to their privilege in another area.
I think it’s best to illustrate this point in an example:
[Image Description: A blue and white background with some dialogue on it. On the blue portions are dialogue from a social justice activist, and on the white portions are dialogue from a white person. The text reads "Social Justice Activist: Well, see, you have privilege as a white person. You would be more likely, for example, to get a job than a person of color or get paid more than a person of color in the same position with the same credentials. White Person: But, but I’m poor! I have a really crappy job; I live in a shitty neighborhood; and I have no college education, so no one wants to hire me! How on Earth could I possibly have privilege over some person of color? Look at Jarred over there—he’s got a great job and is well-off and everything, and he’s Filipino. If I have so much privilege, why isn’t it me over there with his situation and him in mine? Social Justice Activist: *sigh* What you’re doing is conflating two separate issues—race and class. You have no college education, and Jarred has a Master’s degree. If you two both had no college degree or both had a Master’s degree in the same thing and if you both were applying for the same job with similar credentials, YOU would be more likely to land the position than Jarred simply on the basis of your whiteness. There’s also the fact that as a man of color, and regardless of you two’s jobs and education, Jarred is more likely to be assaulted by both the police and random people in public simply because of his race and people’s prejudice against his race. You are also less likely to be subjected to jokes about your race or be mocked and abused by people in media or in other institutions. White Person: But if what you’re saying is true, and I do have white privilege, then why am I still poor? Social Justice Activist: Because that’s a product of class oppression. Poor people, especially when they grow up living in poverty, have fewer resources to help them and have access to fewer opportunities such as education to help them improve their financial situation. So, for the most part based on his financial status, Jarred will be able to access better jobs, health insurance, steady income, job security, opportunities for promotions, etc, whereas with your part-time jobs, there is no access to health care, vacation or sick leave, there are extremely few opportunities for job growth, job security is low, and a steady income is not a guarantee. So in this case, Jarred has privilege over you as a person in the middle class, but you have privilege over him in your whiteness."]
So as you can see, there are lots of intersections of privilege and oppression, but it's important not to believe that just because you are oppressed in one way means that you are not privileged in other ways and thus completely capable of oppressing others.
So now that you know about this whole privilege thing, so what? What do you do with it? Well, I'm glad you asked. Here are just a few things you can do with your privilege.
[Image Description: A pink and white chevron pattern background with the arrows pointing up. At the top, in a white box, is black text that reads "5 Things to Do with Your Privilege." Underneath are five sections, each marked by a single, large bold sentence on top of a green rectangle that acts as a marker, and under each is smaller text giving an example of the original sentence. The text reads "Be aware of it. If you're in a position of power, a position of privilege, you need to know that and be aware of it when you interact with people who do not have that same privilege. Your awareness should reflect itself in how you treat others, listen to them, give them the platforms to speak on their own issues, and how you defer to their communities' voices instead of offering your own, among other ways. Use your awareness to notice oppression around you. For example, when Fox news is on (really, just turn it off; it's garbage that not even raccoons would eat) or any mainstream media outlet is out there, pay attention to how they phrase things, who they focus on as the victim, and how they focus on the victim. Be aware of the differences you see in how an innocent young black teenager getting murdered in Ferguson, MO, suddenly becomes demonized in the media as a "thug" terrorizing the streets of Ferguson. Pay attention to how they portray marginalized people: are they bringing large numbers of people from these marginalized groups to fairly represent the events? Or are they simply allowing white talking heads with power continue to interpret events through bigoted lenses? Use your privilege. If you see something going on between a person from a marginalized group and a non-marginalized group member (with whom you share that in common), speak up! Intervene! If you want to be an ally to oppressed communities, you have to act like an ally and use your privilege to help in whatever way you can. For example, if you're a cisgender male and you witness street harassment of women or transpeople or other queer people, help out! Confront the harasser if you're able and make it clear that that behavior is not acceptable. Give platforms. This can be literal or figurative, but if you're holding a community event or speaking about issues pertinent to certain marginalized groups, invite them to speak or present. Don't be the person who decides how to represent issues for marginalized people without their input. And respect that input! Even if you disagree, it's still not about you. It's about being an ally and doing what you can to help others reach what they need, not about you helping them reach what you think they need. Remember this rule: "Nothing About Us Without Us!" Don't abuse your privilege. If you're aware that in a conversation with someone from a marginalized group that you have privilege, don't be condescending to them by trying to 'splain how they can do better. Don't ask them why they haven't done X or done Y yet. You know damn well why if you're a true ally and aware of your privilege, so don't dismiss the reality of an oppressed person's life. Not cool."]
So there you have it. Just a wee introduction to this notion of privilege. I invite you all to look around the interwebz, though, and get more information! My brain is usually scattered on all these with my ADHD that I'm never certain if the post covers what I need it to or how I wanted to convey it. lol Plus it's ALWAYS good to get more information on these types of issues. :]
Got questions about this? Wanna know if you have privilege? Wanna know how to use it responsibly and not be an asshole about it? Send me a comment, and we can discuss! :]
Until next time, fair Readers!
Mischief Managed~
Jessi
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