{"id":32874,"date":"2021-04-18T12:49:56","date_gmt":"2021-04-18T16:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=32874"},"modified":"2021-04-23T21:53:32","modified_gmt":"2021-04-24T01:53:32","slug":"privilege-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/privilege-check\/","title":{"rendered":"Privilege Check: An Important Self-Reflection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does it mean to check your privilege? And how exactly do you go about doing that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may have been told to \u201ccheck your privilege\u201d or have heard someone else being told to do this, perhaps as part of an argument. If you\u2019re told to \u201ccheck your privilege,\u201d you\u2019re being asked to examine how your belonging to certain social categories (e.g. race, gender, ability) has contributed to your advantageous or privileged position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some things to consider as you check your privilege.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Does It Mean to Check Your Privilege<\/strong>?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re told to \u201ccheck your privilege,\u201d you\u2019re being asked to think honestly about how your privilege has gotten you to this point. What advantages have you had that other people haven\u2019t? What struggles might you be unaware of in other people\u2019s lives? How is this affecting your perspective? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how to check your privilege:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Start by yourself. <\/strong>Create a calm, neutral environment where you won\u2019t be interrupted. Be clear about your goal: You\u2019re doing this because you want to\u2014because you want to understand things better and have better conversations (not because you\u2019re in the middle of an argument and someone is forcing you to).<\/li>
  2. Write down some of the areas of your life in which the deck has been stacked in your favor. <\/strong>Consider the following: physical health, mental health, disability, immigration status, class, race, home environment, family background, housing, education, gender, sexuality, conventional physical attractiveness, and anything else you can think of. If you feel tempted to list disadvantages, resist the urge. If you like, you can do this later in a separate exercise.<\/li>
  3. For each area in which you\u2019ve identified privilege, think about how these advantages have affected (1) your current position and (2) your understanding of this area<\/strong>. For example, if you\u2019re cisgender: (1) What social, financial, and other advantages do you enjoy in relation to the transgender population? And (2) How much do you understand about the experiences of transgender people? If you\u2019re in generally good physical health: (1) What advantages do you enjoy in comparison with people who have congenital or chronic physical conditions? (2) How much do you know about the lives of people with chronic illness?<\/li>
  4. Search for information to fill your knowledge gaps.<\/strong> Read work by writers in this area, seek out talks, listen to people in your life who haven\u2019t experienced the same privilege. If you\u2019re in a position of privilege, you might not have it totally wrong, but you\u2019re almost certainly missing some key parts.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Once you understand your privilege, use it to start breaking down barriers.<\/strong> Wherever you have privilege, use it for the benefit of those who don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • If your privilege has led you to hold a position of authority, use that authority to implement programs to smooth the path for others lacking that privilege.<\/li>
    • If you\u2019re the target demographic for politicians, ask them what they\u2019re doing for people of color and other underprivileged groups.<\/li>
    • If you received a private education, use some of the extra money you make to support public schools.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      No matter how much reflecting you do, you\u2019ll always have some unexamined privilege. <\/strong>Stay open to being shown your blind spots and check your privilege as often as you can. Practice working with the feelings of defensiveness that arise when you come face to face with another area in which your privilege is getting in the way of empathy or sensitivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you\u2019re trying to bring someone\u2019s privilege to their attention and they\u2019re just not getting it, remember that these blind spots are by definition hidden from normal consciousness. Remember that you too have unexamined privilege, and you\u2019ll be grateful for compassion the next time someone calls you ou on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Training yourself to see privilege is training yourself to see the system. It\u2019s much easier to dismantle a system you can see than one you can\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      What does it mean to check your privilege? And how exactly do you go about doing that? You may have been told to \u201ccheck your privilege\u201d or have heard someone else being told to do this, perhaps as part of an argument. If you\u2019re told to \u201ccheck your privilege,\u201d you\u2019re being asked to examine how your belonging to certain social categories (e.g. race, gender, ability) has contributed to your advantageous or privileged position. Here are some things to consider as you check your privilege.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":32890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,43,24],"tags":[266],"class_list":["post-32874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethics","category-self-improvement","category-society","tag-so-you-want-to-talk-about-race","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nPrivilege Check: An Important Self-Reflection - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cCheck your privilege\u201d has become a mainstay of discussions about social inequality. 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