(NAME-MCE) A non-threatening approach to discussing the concept of Privilege...A Thought Paper by Dr. Steven Jones

[Jacqueline Leak]

This paper by Dr. Jones has been useful for me as a stimulus for the
discussion of privilege from a non-judgmental, non-threatening
paradigm...hopefully it will be useful to some of you also. Jacki leak


By Steven Jones, Ph.D.
Resisting Unearned Privilege
Many of us struggle to understand the concept of privilege, the idea that
some individuals receive unearned advantages in life solely based on being a
member of certain social identity groups. Some of us strongly resist the
idea we have unearned privilege. In the United States many people are taught
to work hard for the things you want and you will be able to get them. We
are taught individual effort and determination will take you very far in
life. These are wonderful values and often hold true for many people.
However, for some people, individual effort with a wind of unearned
privilege behind their sails gets them further along in their journey.
Others often experience unearned disadvantages which create a wind in the
opposite direction at worst or no wind at all at best. These winds of
disadvantage and the winds of unearned privilege are often invisible to some
people and very visible to others.
A few common reactions to having privilege are: 

"Privilege. As a man, I don't have any privilege. I'm just an individual who
works hard everyday to make ends meet. This is America. Everyone gets the
same opportunities. If women don't make gender an issue, there is none." 

"I am tired of hearing that White people have privilege. I am not going to
feel guilty or be blamed for what has happened in the past. The playing
field has been leveled. Race has nothing to do with it anymore."

"I don't go around flaunting being heterosexual. Why do they have to put
their sexuality in your face?"
  
Adjusting Our View of the World
In order to grasp the concept of unearned privilege we are required to
adjust from an individual view of seeing the world. We are challenged to
understand the world from the group or systemic level.

Tools for Understanding Privilege
Two additional articles written to help us adjust to viewing the world from
a group or systemic level have been written by Peggy MacIntosh and Dr.
Judith Katz. White Privilege: Unpacking the Knapsack of White Privilege, by
Peggy MacIntosh, identifies 42 ways in which systems in the U.S. provide
White people with unearned privileges. Judith Katz's article focuses on a
different social identity group, heterosexuals. In Heterosexual Privilege,
she outlines a list of unearned privileges which are afforded to people who
are heterosexual. These articles have helped many to understand how they
receive benefits in life partially as a result of being White or
Heterosexual. 
Although difficult, it is important to engage in exploring the concept of
unearned privilege.  Understanding unearned privilege is not about blaming
people for the past. It is about identifying ways in which systems that have
been created in the past and present provide advantage to certain groups
while simultaneously posing disadvantage to other groups.
Let us take an example which might not have as much historical baggage for
most people. I would like to pose the question: Do we live in a right-handed
or left-handed world? My answer is we live in a right-handed world. Look at
the systems which have been created to support the successful functioning of
the group called the right-handed people.
Right-handed Systems in Society
We shake with our right hands. We pledge with our right hand. We salute with
our right hand. We take legal and governmental oaths with our right hand.
School desks are set up for right-handed people. Most baseball mitts are
designed for right-handed people. When computers first came out, the mouse
was set up on the right-hand side. Cars are set up for right-handed people
to drive comfortably. Notebooks and three-ring binders are designed for
right-handed people to write comfortably. Guns are designed for
right-handers to shoot. Appliances open to the right, making it easy for
right-handers to open. Punch ladles are designed for right-handed people.
Most coffee mugs are designed for right-handed people to pick up and see the
picture or words. If a left-handed person picks up the same mug, there is
nothing there to see! 
I recently went into a store which caters entirely to left-handed people.
The store is called Southpaw Shoppe located at Seaport Village in San Diego,
Ca. I went with a friend of mine who is left-handed. She got very excited
because everything in the store was made for her. When was the last time you
walked into your local Wal-Mart, Target, or department store and thought
about the fact that everything was set up for you because you were a
right-handed person in a right-handed store?
"My People Rule..."
How many of you, who are right-handed, wake up in the morning thinking "my
people rule..." Do you realize you live in a world which affords you all
this privilege everyday? Privilege you may not think about, you didn't work
or ask for, and you did not earn. How many of you think you are advantaged
in life on a daily basis because you are right-handed? How aware are you of
being a part of a social identity group in power called the right-handed
people? 
Culture Becomes the Invisible Standard
One of the ways in which unearned privilege occurs is when one group's
culture, values and ways of interpreting the world get built into the fabric
of institutions within a society and are then made invisible. The group's
culture is made invisible by being called the standard. Instead of being
called the right-handed cultural standard, it is simply called the standard.
Because of this institutionalized support for the culture, members of that
group are able to think about themselves only as individuals. There is no
need to define or identify with other right-handers. Their groupness is the
standard. They are not different. They are normal. 
This culturally-based definition of normal is then extended to everyone and
everything. It proceeds that anything that is not normal is special,
different, or abnormal. For example, there are baseball mitts and desks
designed for left-handed people. They are called left-handed desks or
left-handed baseball mitts. Compare this to the right-handed desks and mitts
which are simply called desks and baseball mitts. 
The Experience of the Left
Even though being left-handed has some positive aspects, most left-handed
people have negative experiences associated with their dominant hand. We
have heard stories of people having their hands painfully tied behind their
back so they could learn to use their right hand. People have been hit on
their hand with a ruler when they were younger every time they used their
left hand. Many have been told that their child's life would be easier if
they just learned to use their right hand. Some have been teased about being
a south-paw or a lefty. 
Shut Up and Quit Being So Sensitive!
How many of us right-handed people would be upset if left-handed people
started to complain about being discriminated against? How many of us would
tell them to shut up and quit being so sensitive? How many of us would let
them know there is no real problem because we don't see one?
How many of us would tell them, 
"As a right-handed person, I don't have any privilege. I'm just an
individual who works hard everyday to make ends meet. This is America.
Everyone gets the same opportunities. If left-handed people don't make this
an issue, there is none." 
After some time went by and the left-handed people continued to bring up the
issue of right-handed unearned privilege, how many of us would say, 
 "I am tired of hearing that right-handed people have privilege. I am not
going to feel guilty or be blamed for what has happened in the past. The
playing field has been leveled. Being left-handed has nothing to do with it
anymore." 

"I don't go around flaunting being right-handed. Why do they have to put
being left-handed in your face?"
A Level Playing Field
We do not have to feel guilty or blamed. By becoming more aware of the ways
in which we receive unearned privilege, we can become a part of creating
teams, work environments, organizations, and a society which strive to
create a playing field that is truly level for all.  





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