White and male privilege - or, why you're not necessarily a bad person for just being a white male

[NuclearDem]

So we're still having some issues apparently dealing with the concept of privilege. So let's work it out here.

If you're white, you have privilege. If you're a man, you have privilege. If you're straight, you have privilege.

Privilege is a term we associate with the out-of-touch or spoiled in society. They're disconnected from the problems of the underprivileged, and their words or actions reflect that.

But does being cis, white, or male (or any combination of those) automatically make you a bad person?

No, it doesn't. It's about acknowledging that privilege--the advantages you have from simply being who you are that others don't have--and viewing the world through that filter.

Let's try an example:

A white male Wall Street executive warning over $500K a year is faced with discussing the issues surrounding poor communities in the city. For all his life, he's lived in comfortable living conditions, had plenty to eat, never suffered through racially-biased police conduct, and had access to the best schools in the state.

So, his diagnosis of poverty in the city involves blaming the poor for their own conditions; they disrespect the police, aren't performing well in school, and unable to get a good job that keeps them comfortable.

That is his privilege at work.

Now, let's try having that guy look at poverty again, but this time through the filter of his own privilege; he acknowledges that the poor don't have access to the same schools he did growing up, often only have access to poor minimum wage jobs with poor safety and health conditions, and live under the fear of their own police department.

Much better, right?

Now let's try one that's a little harder for even progressives to grasp.

A white man hears women discussing harassment and cat-calling on the street and at work. They talk about how it makes them uncomfortable and even afraid for their safety.

Now, how does his privilege affect how he sees this? He gets compliments on his appearance from the opposite sex as well, and he likes it. Therefore, he doesn't understand why women would have a problem with the same situation. He decides they're complaining about nothing, or that they're just out to get men.

Now, if he acknowledged his male privilege, how would he see it? Well, he would acknowledge that the situation is far different for women than it is for men. He would know that women are taught to be available and attractive for men, and that men are taught to be aggressive and take what they want. With all this in mind, he better understands the women's discomfort with the situation.



So what did we learn? Privilege doesn't automatically make you a bad person. It's when you don't acknowledge that privilege and examine the world through that filter that you become a problem.

So how do you not be a bad person? Listen. Listen to what women have to say about women's issues, what minority groups have to say about minority issues, what LGBT individuals have to say about LGBT issues. When you learn about the problems they face, you can realize how your experiences with those issues differ, and you can take that into account. Address those problems through their eyes, not yours.

And that, DU, is privilege.