Privilege Isn't About Your Character

(see below for original script)

What do you think when you hear the word “privilege”? I’m not talking about privilege in the sense of being fortunate. I have in mind “social privilege.” 

Sometimes, when people hear that they or the group they belong to have privilege, it can create uneasiness, even defensiveness. “Are you saying I’m a bad person?” “Are you claiming that I’m a racist…that I’m a sexist?” Research in psychology shows that white people are prone to hear claims about white privilege as an attack on their character.

The problem with this reaction is that it gets privilege wrong. You see, privilege is primarily about belonging to a group that is routinely afforded social advantages and shielded from social harms on the basis of its race or gender. In this sense, privilege has less to do with your character and more to do with the group you belong to. It reveals less about your moral qualities and moral about your social advantages. 

The truth is that you can be a morally decent person—even a moral saint—and still have privilege. Of course, some privileged people are racists and sexists. But that is not crucial to the concept of privilege. That you have privilege merely implies that you are part of a group that routinely receives social advantages and routinely dodges social hurdles. Lot’s of morally good people receive these advantages. Lot’s of morally good people dodge these social hurdles.

So the next time you wonder whether you have privilege, don’t try to answer that question by thinking about your character (though I certainly recommend thinking about your character for other reasons). The next time someone suggests that you’re privileged, don’t take that as a criticism of your moral qualities.

Here’s to more fruitful conversations about privilege, justice and equality