Had a revelation today. Was making a mental list of "privileges" to illustrate the absurdity of the concept. Admittedly, it wasn't a serious list, but I thought the concept had merit. Here's what I came up with:
Black privilege: You are assumed to be good at team sports. You are constantly commended for your culture's contribution to music history.
Asian privilege: No one is surprised if you are good at math. You can safely ignore "Low Ceiling - Watch Your Head" signs.
Gay privilege: Whatever you choose to wear is automatically considered fashionable.
Female privilege: When people spot liquid on the toilet seat, they don't accuse you of being an inconsiderate slob.
It was then I realized... the concept of "privilege" is nothing new. In fact, I've known about it forever, under it's former name... STEREOTYPES. Yeah, remember those? It's when you assume traits about people based on unrelated facts about them? People who legitimately respect others don't engage in stereotypes (even when they contain a nugget of truth) because it denies that people are individuals, and that what's true for one person isn't true for another. All privilege is is just stereotyping on a larger scale.
