Privilege is a concept that has been widely discussed in recent years, in both academic and popular discourse (Liaw, 2015). This article will discuss the concept of privilege and how it applies to various aspects of people’s lives.
Privilege is defined as having certain advantages or rights that are not available to everyone (Liaw, 2015). It is also used to describe the benefits that some individuals, groups, or classes of people are afforded over others, such as access to higher education, better job opportunities, or greater social and political influence (Liaw, 2015). Privilege can be seen as a form of power or dominance, and it is often invisible to those who are privileged (Liaw, 2015).
Privilege is often linked to issues of race, class, and gender, and has been discussed in terms of its implications for social justice (Smith, 2015). For example, people of color are often disadvantaged in terms of access to education, employment, and other resources, while white people often have an easier time accessing these resources (Smith, 2015). Similarly, women are often disadvantaged in terms of economic and political power, while men often have more access to these resources (Smith, 2015).
Privilege can also be seen in terms of access to social capital, or the ability to leverage one’s social connections to gain access to resources (Chang, 2018). For example, individuals with access to a strong social network may be able to obtain access to jobs or other resources that would otherwise be inaccessible to them (Chang, 2018).
Finally, privilege can also be seen in terms of access to cultural capital, or the ability to use one’s knowledge of a particular culture to gain access to resources (Kim, 2017). For example, individuals who are knowledgeable about certain aspects of their culture may be able to access resources that would otherwise be unavailable to them (Kim, 2017).
In conclusion, privilege is a concept that has been widely discussed in recent years, and has implications for social justice. It is often linked to issues of race, class, and gender, and can also be seen in terms of access to social capital and cultural capital.
References
Chang, H. (2018). Social capital and privilege: Exploring the intersection of social capital and structural privilege. Social Problems, 65(3), 334-349.
Kim, S. (2017). Cultural capital and privilege: The intersection of cultural capital and structural privilege. Sociological Forum, 32(1), 116-134.
Liaw, K. (2015). Privilege. In Encyclopedia of Social Theory (pp. 659-661). Sage Publications.
Smith, W. (2015). Race, class, and gender: An intersectional analysis of privilege. Gender & Society, 29(6), 892-914.