I know many people have explained this, but I feel the need to do so anyways.
Privilege.
White Privilege, Straight Privilege, Male Privilege, Thin Privilege, etc.
When people say you have privilege, regardless of what it is, they are not saying that you don’t experience any difficulties because of what you are.
Yes, white people do get shit for being white, but we still have privilege.
To explain how white people get shit for being white;
-They are often assumed to be racist.
-They are automatically ‘uncool’.
-They are often held responsible for slavery
A few examples of white privilege are;
-If you have a nice car, people won’t assume you stole it.
-You will not be racially profiled by police.
-People will not assume you are an illegal immigrant.
Straight people get shit as well, but you still have privilege.
The only example I can think of for straight people getting shit about is people assuming you are a homophobe or against gay marriage. I can’t think of any more, but if you’ve experienced any other, let me know.
And some examples of straight privilege;
-You don’t have to worry about people giving you shit about your relationship
-You and your other half will always be allowed to adopt
-You don’t have people trying to prevent you from getting married.
Men obviously get a lot of shit, but we still clearly have privilege.
-Many women assume all men are sexist
-If the male is being abused by their wife/girlfriend, very little will be done about it
-Male rape victims are given very little sympathy in comparison to female rape victims
Male Privilege:
-Our chests aren’t sexualized.
-We aren’t usually expected to be in perfect shape.
-We aren’t expected to shave.
-And, of course, fucking Viagra is covered by health insurance, while birth control is not.
Examples of thin people’s problems:
-If you’re “too thin” people assume you’re anorexic.
-If a thin girl has naturally large breasts, people assume she has implants
(I can’t think of anymore right now. If you’ve experienced anything else, let me know.)
Thin Privilege:
-98% of society supports your body.
-Most people don’t assume you’re unhealthy.
-You’re considered to be more attractive.
-Most people don’t try to make your diet their business.
So, here are a few examples of privilege.
I’m sure there’s more, but these are the only ones I could think of.
To clarify, I’m white and I’m a guy. I know I have both male and white privilege.
That doesn’t mean my negative experiences with being these things go away, though. It just means that there are many things that I don’t have to deal with.
So, yeah. I’m a little tired, so if any of this doesn’t make sense, it’s because of that.
