Types of Privilege You Might Have
We may often hear the term privilege assigned to a person or particular group. To find out, privilege is described as a special right or advantage that a particular person or group of people has. Talking about privilege is not easy. Even though it is considered to be a special right, still some people will might feel uncomfortable. They sometimes even hide or refuse to admit it.
Since everyone has their own life, we may say that all of us also have different privilege. It can be in various forms, but at least there are some that are often being reported because of the big impact for those who own it.
1. Gender privilege
Gender privilege cannot be separated from patriarchal society, a system in which men hold most power and considered superior than women. This can happen in various aspects such as opportunity to reach higher education level, career advancement in the workplace, or even treatment from the family or parents. In these cases, men are considered to have more fortunes than women.
2. Socio-Economic Privilege
A research conducted by The SMERU Research Institute found that the successes of a few people cannot be generalised across all groups. It is very rare for children born to poor families to be successful as adults. On the other hand, many people who born to a wealthy family are most likely to be successful. These people are those who are considered to have this kind of privilege.
3. Religious Privilege
Religious privilege can be owned by the majority of people who believe in a particular religion. This can be proven by the number of worship place so it can be easily found, the availability of holidays for religious celebrations, and even some of the virtues associated with the beliefs that are held.
4. White Privilege
In some regions, especially in the Western countries, white privilege is still becoming a big issue among society. Although several efforts have been done and some organisations have been made to achieve racial equality, but all of them has not been able to provide the goal that want to be achieved.
If in gender privilege, men will always be given priority in various ways, in white privilege case, those who are considered to have white skin (mostly the Caucasians) will get this priority. In more serious case, people who are not white will be able to get discrimination.
5. Sexuality Privilege (Heterosexual Privilege)
People with heterosexuality have a lot of advantages when compared to people who are not included in it. The couples no need to be worry to coming out. They can just going on a date, holding hands, and having romantic dinner with the partner. They also get support from family and people around them, and are even represented in several things such as film, novel, music, and many others.
We may not have all the privilege mentioned above, but as stated in the beginning that everyone actually has their own privilege. What we need to concern is how we are grateful and make the best use of it. We should be aware, listen, and speak up for kindness and helping each other with all we have.
-Northern Ingo-
