Privilege

Privilege seems to be something one has but often does not know they have until it is acknowledged. Privilege comes in many forms; race, class, gender and more. Not having privilege is also not known until you experience not having it. I discovered I did not have class privilege when I didn’t get the secretarial scholarship in high school because I lived on an Air Force base and the school did not want to give it to a “transient.” I discovered I did not have gender privilege when my dad said girls don’t need college to raise babies.

I thought that because I was not privileged in some areas of my life growing up and had to work harder, that left me immune to thinking that I would have any privilege regarding race. It’s only been by writing, or sharing stories and listening to others’ response to my stories and how they reveal my privilege as a white woman that my awareness has increased. Where I ever got the idea that I did not have race privilege, I have no idea, and that may be the most serious privilege of all.