Privilege
Privilege is the systemic effect observed at the individual and social level where differential treatment and/or access to resources is due to socially-constructed positionality. - The HUB
Examples of Privilege
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White privilege |
explains how "white people are, through racialization [prioritization of skin color arising from racism], advantaged by their skin colour even in the event of economic disadvantage." - Race Forward [1] |
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Loosened restrictions too early |
When governments loosened COVID restrictions in response to business demands, political pressure, and public impatience, rather than scientific evidence, high risk populations (the chronically ill, disabled and elderly) were subsequently told they are disposable yet again. |
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Working through illness |
Regulations around how many sick days should be required when someone falls ill with COVID also demonstrated ableism. In relation to these regulations, and in favour of profit above health, many politicians including US President Joe Biden, praised themselves for working through COVID, instead of encouraging people to rest and recover if they'd fallen ill. |
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Individualism |
Individuals have been encouraged to make 'personal' choices on vaccines (without legitimate health restrictions), masks and gatherings. "There is no individual safety without collective safety and collective safety requires that no one is safe unless everyone is safe." - Mia Mingus [2] |
- Able-bodied privilege is "living under the assumption that everybody else on earth can speak, hear, see, and get around, more-or-less the same way we do, with a similar amount of ease." - Kate Harveston [3]
- Heterosexual privilege is "unearned, often unconscious or taken for granted benefits afforded to heterosexuals in a heterosexist society based on their sexual orientation." -University of California [4] For example, queer people have to declare their sexuality, otherwise they are often assumed to be heterosexual.
For more on how privilege and oppression intersects, see intersectionality.
If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.
