More on privilege
- emmatsoi
- Jul 15, 2017
- 4 min read
Since publishing the last post I've still been thinking about privilege, and more recently, how it affects the way the beholder views privilege.
I'm a yellow-skinned cis-gendered straight female, so my point of view is going to be limited to my identity and my experiences as a yellow-skinned cis-gendered straight female. Admitting this is not the greatest challenge there is for me, but I have come to realize, after a series of heated discussions unfurled on Monday with a loved one, that for some people, it might be harder than I had imagined. The reason perhaps being that they are in positions deemed as "more privileged", hence having their privileges checked or admitted would somehow seem to weaken their privilege or "deny their lack thereof" in certain aspects in society. I use quotations because can men lack privilege? Similarly, can white people lack privilege? Can able-bodied people lack privilege?
If so, I certainly am in dire need of enlightenment. Male privilege is precisely why feminism - the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes (Source: Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English) - came about and also why our world desperately needs it more than ever. (On the same note, white privilege is precisely why Black Lives Matter is so important.) Rights that women like myself can now take for granted, like the right to education or the right to vote, were not present from the beginning of the history of schooling or enfranchisement. Strong, vigilant, and courageous women who have come before me stood up for equality and fought the great fights, so that I, a 21st century woman, could enjoy those rights without having to question their origins or why I am not treated like the others.
This one is for those who have a little trouble understanding. This is what privilege looks like in a metaphor. It is when the distances need to travel by two individuals are the same, but one finishes earlier and easier than the other and thus "wins", because of conditions they were born unto, like being aided by a booster start or having less obstacles along the way.
One of my speculations for why those who are offended by the mentioning of privilege feel so, is that privilege is not easily visible by those holding it. It's like having vegetables stuck in your teeth for a while and not noticing if nobody points it out to you. Privilege can be hard to check because it can be about living a "normal" life, and not really understanding why privilege matters because "life has always been like that for me". But that is exactly the point of privilege. One's life might seem very mediocre to oneself - I, for one, have my daily struggles and battles - but that does not automatically cancel out one's privilege. That applies to all of us. We may be complaining about our obstacles, without even realizing that our "normal" is already easier than someone else's "normal".
The times have changed but male privilege still exists, from my humble point of view and in my little world. It is important to bear in mind, however, that intersectionality applies to male privilege too (and not only to feminism), so the picture may be different for different men. Everydayfeminism.com did an amazing article backed up with links upon links to studies and evidence. Here it is if you're wondering what male privilege looks like day in and day out, it might help out anyone who has perhaps gotten used to the "normal" life and become oblivious to instances of privilege and entitlement: http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/02/160-examples-of-male-privilege/.
In Hong Kong, where I live, an interesting and tangible example of male privilege occurring could be observed in the Small House Policy for indigenous inhabitants in the New Territories in Hong Kong. The application of the construction of a Ting Uk (which directly translates to small house) from the government is restricted to male members of a village. For more details, you could pay a visit to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_House_Policy. (I was also appalled upon reading that it had been stated by law since 1910 that the inheritance of property was limited to indigenous males. Thanks to Dr. Christine Loh OBE, JP, female indigenous descendants were granted those same rights in March of 1994.)
For those of you who remain unconvinced, I have one last card for you. "In a free society each and every man lives under a rule of law, as opposed to a whim-ridden rule of men. Such a rule of law has only one purpose: to protect the rights of the smallest minority that has ever existed — the individual." As privilege is not limited to gender, our predecessors have established laws to protect vulnerabilities beyond those stemming from gender. These laws ensure those who have less privilege, and therefore in more vulnerable positions, do not suffer from discrimination. In Hong Kong, we have the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO), the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (DDO), the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (FSDO) and the Race Discrimination Ordinance (RDO). Unfortunately, we are still lacking discrimination law to prevent discrimination as a result of age, sexual orientation and religious beliefs. It is of utmost importance that these ordinances exist for protection of the vulnerable, because it is undeniable that ignorance and bias is omnipresent in the world in which we live.
Happy Sunday!
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