This Week: Exploring What It Means To Have Privilege

This Week You Are Exploring What It Means To Have Privilege In All Asp

This week you are exploring what it means to have privilege in all aspects of life, whether it be that you are able to enroll in school and take this course, or that you are able to walk, type, see, taste, or purchase/have access to groceries. Having privilege also means that you have power of some sort. Discrimination can accompany power and privilege as those who have power and privilege may not be consciously aware of how they benefit from it.

Instructions: First, Chapter 4 of The Ecology of Diversity (Kahn, 2015) has a “Reflections on Diversity” section near the end entitled, “Membership in Dominant and Subordinate Groups.” Follow the instructions provided in the chapter and complete the chart considering who you are and what relationships you have with each type of group.

Second, write at least three paragraphs (300 words) addressing the following questions: 1) How has privilege, in any/all forms, shaped your life? Consider race, socioeconomic status, education, and other associations identified in Week 1. 2) Have you been aware of the privileges in your life as you were growing up? Why or why not? 3) As you learn more about privilege, and as you examine your life, what do you find most interesting or surprising? 4) How has privilege shaped your life opportunities, life chances, experiences, etc.?

Paper For Above instruction

Privilege profoundly influences individuals' lives, shaping opportunities, perceptions, and experiences from a young age. Reflecting on my own journey, I realize that various forms of privilege, including race, socioeconomic status, and education, have played pivotal roles in my life trajectory. Growing up in a middle-class family with stable housing and access to education provided me with advantages that many others do not encounter. These privileges granted me opportunities in schooling, social interactions, and access to resources that contributed positively to my development. For instance, attending quality schools and having supportive family structures allowed me to cultivate skills and confidence that facilitated my personal and academic growth. These advantages, while invaluable, often stem from structural societal privileges that I did not initially recognize, such as racial and economic advantages that subtly shape life chances and social mobility.

My awareness of privilege has evolved over time. During childhood and adolescence, I was largely unaware of the societal structures that conferred advantages upon me. It wasn’t until I participated in exercises such as privilege walks in college that I began to understand the disparities that exist within society and how my position within certain privileged categories contributed to my opportunities. This realization was eye-opening, highlighting how privilege operates often unconsciously and benefits certain groups over others. As I have studied social dynamics more deeply, I have found it intriguing that privilege extends beyond race and socioeconomic status to include education, health, and even physical abilities. Recognizing these facets has deepened my understanding of societal inequalities and reinforced a sense of responsibility to advocate for greater equity.

Learning about privilege has been enlightening and sometimes surprising. I was struck by how privilege influences life chances, shaping whether individuals can access quality education, healthcare, or fair employment opportunities. For example, my own access to quality education far exceeded that of many peers from marginalized backgrounds solely due to socioeconomic factors. This awareness motivates me to use my privileges to support initiatives aimed at reducing inequality, such as community outreach and policy advocacy. Ultimately, understanding privilege underscores the importance of acknowledging societal advantages and working toward a more equitable distribution of opportunities. It demonstrates that societal structures significantly impact individual life chances, and as individuals, we have a moral obligation to recognize and address these disparities.

References

• Kahn, A. (2015). The ecology of diversity: Examining individuals, societies, and cultures. Bridgepoint Education.
• Morton, B. (2022). Against the Privilege Walk. Dissent, 69(3), 102–109.
• McIntosh, P. (1989). White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Peace and Freedom, 49(4), 10-12.
• DiAngelo, R. (2018). White fragility: Why it's so hard for white people to talk about racism. Beacon Press.
• Harrell, S. P. (2000). A theoretical framework for describing and measuring racism and other forms of ethnophaulisms. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30(10), 2020-2040.
• Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241-1299.
• Bonilla-Silva, E. (2014). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality. Rowman & Littlefield.
• Darity, W. A., & Mason, M. (2018). The racial wealth gap: Why policy matters. The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 4(6), 1-28.
• Gee, G. C., & Ford, C. L. (2011). Structural racism and health inequities: Old honors and new questions. Du Bois Review, 8(1), 115-132.
• Williams, D. R., & Mohammed, S. A. (2009). Discrimination and racial disparities in health: Evidence and needed research. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 32(1), 20-47.