This makes me wish I put up my "For The Uninformed" post on privilege already.
But I can go over the concept in a slightly less detailed sense here. Privilege (white or otherwise) is actually a concept describing a sociological phenomenon wherein a dominant group is afforded power, advantages and protections that a marginalized non dominant group is denied.
It's based on the layman's definition of privilege (an advantage given that isn't given to others) and expanded on for the sociological version. White privilege is, quite simply, a set of benefits that are given to people that society recognizes or includes into the dominant group referred to as white.
Privilege isn't something you or I tried to get. It isn't even necessarily something you and I want. But it is something that society readily affords to us to use or not use as we see fit. And that choice is denied to marginalized groups (in this example, other people of color).
Unfortunately a very large number of activists forget (or feel it isn't their job) to explain what this concept means before they use it. Which means that a lot of widespread misconceptions (like that privilege justifies doing bad things to white people) are present.
In reality, what privilege means is that a given group or anyone placed into that group (there are some black people who appear "white" and therefore have white privilege until they say something. I have cis privilege until I mention I'm trans because of my physical structure is heavily feminized) are given certain things and another isn't, and that the people who have privilege need to be aware of what they are given and what the other group isn't, so they know what to address.
It's also important to know what one's privilege entails because it can lead to a lack of perspective. For instance, a white person would not have had the experiences that a member of the Rroma group might and ergo would not make the association between the g~ word and injury, harm, rape, loss of basic rights and mistreatment. A white person would not have the personal experience of the word being used to marginalize them, or of hearing the word and feeling pain from it. So that lack of perspective makes it hard to understand why a Rroma person would not want that word used.
That is white privilege. Nothing to feel guilty for, or to hate oneself for. Nothing you did wrong. And certainly not justification to hurt or throw aside your needs. It's just a sociological descriptor used to promote perspective in discourse.
no subject
But I can go over the concept in a slightly less detailed sense here. Privilege (white or otherwise) is actually a concept describing a sociological phenomenon wherein a dominant group is afforded power, advantages and protections that a marginalized non dominant group is denied.
It's based on the layman's definition of privilege (an advantage given that isn't given to others) and expanded on for the sociological version. White privilege is, quite simply, a set of benefits that are given to people that society recognizes or includes into the dominant group referred to as white.
Privilege isn't something you or I tried to get. It isn't even necessarily something you and I want. But it is something that society readily affords to us to use or not use as we see fit. And that choice is denied to marginalized groups (in this example, other people of color).
Unfortunately a very large number of activists forget (or feel it isn't their job) to explain what this concept means before they use it. Which means that a lot of widespread misconceptions (like that privilege justifies doing bad things to white people) are present.
In reality, what privilege means is that a given group or anyone placed into that group (there are some black people who appear "white" and therefore have white privilege until they say something. I have cis privilege until I mention I'm trans because of my physical structure is heavily feminized) are given certain things and another isn't, and that the people who have privilege need to be aware of what they are given and what the other group isn't, so they know what to address.
It's also important to know what one's privilege entails because it can lead to a lack of perspective. For instance, a white person would not have had the experiences that a member of the Rroma group might and ergo would not make the association between the g~ word and injury, harm, rape, loss of basic rights and mistreatment. A white person would not have the personal experience of the word being used to marginalize them, or of hearing the word and feeling pain from it. So that lack of perspective makes it hard to understand why a Rroma person would not want that word used.
That is white privilege. Nothing to feel guilty for, or to hate oneself for. Nothing you did wrong. And certainly not justification to hurt or throw aside your needs. It's just a sociological descriptor used to promote perspective in discourse.