Check Your Privilege!

[KissingSunlight]

Also, since it's been lost, I'd like to repost my feelings on the test.

The concept of privilege is meant as a tool, a magnifying glass or a comb for examining how a person's social standing relates to their interpretations and actions. Why should people check their own privilege or the privilege of others? Because it helps us understand the narratives and filters through which we perceive things. Other than that, it's not a very useful tool.

The test is idiotic and a poor means for judging and determining privilege. Also, the whole race to the bottom way of dealing with privilege is, as someone said on a reddit thread about the test, "essentializing tripe" that makes you internalize your oppressed position rather than work for change.

I think the test is bullshit. Most of the people here are scoring 50/100 or lower, but I sincerely doubt most people in this website are underprivileged by any standard.

I think what this test has done is to disprove the nasty stereotype that EVERY white, heterosexual males are privileged people who are responsible for all the oppression in the world now and throughout history. Just because someone has those genetic combination doesn't make them privileged. They are in the same boat trying to get by like everyone else. To feel smug calling someone "privilege" and dismiss their opinions on social issues, because of their race, sexuality, and gender makes you the bigot. By the way, I scored 29 out 100. It confirmed what I already knew. Even though, I'm a white, heterosexual male. I am as privilege as an indentured servant.

 

[maninahat]

I'd like to point out that you automatically have 25 points just for being a straight white male who isn't ashamed of being a straight white male (many of these questions logically default to "yes" with that being true). So this quiz is pretty damn bias. So using this quiz, a $50,000/year wage white guy might score the same privilege as Ellen Degeneres..... think about that for a second.

For the record, I am not denying that I am privileged (I am, but it's not for those reasons alone), I just feel that 25% is a lot of weight to be just for being straight white and male. : \

"just for being straight white and male".

That's the entire thing though - the whole point of this quiz is to alert you to the fact that being straight, white or male can present you with significant advantages over those who aren't. The fact that you think being straight, white or male shouldn't influence the score so much, suggests that you aren't aware of these advantages.

 

[The Material Sheep]

Why is the whole thing about discrimination? There are other kinds of hardships in life. Or, maybe I gave up after ticking off like 15 boxes... but I didn't read them all, but they seemed to follow the same pattern.

I wouldn't care what people thought of me if I was the most 'unpopular' type of human being in the world. I have my hardships, you have yours. Attaching some kind of score to my life? Seems kind of, foolish.

Because that's largely what the concept of 'privilege' is about. While it is in principle just used to describe where a certain group of people have an advantage over another group, what it is usually about when someone brings up the subject, is that someone with a certain privilege may not even be aware of just what advantages this actually gives them over someone without that same advantage. This may lead them to dismiss the consequences of that advantage, and assume they are on a level playing field when they are in fact not.
However, a more direct reason for why discrimination is a big factor is that frequently it is discrimination itself that maintains and reinforces privilege. (The reason being black, or say, a muslim is a disadvantage for instance is not anything innate to being that way, but mostly because of other groups of people who have more power and influence than you do, holding your identity against you. Thus, in these kinds of situations, the discrimination involved is precisely why one group has privilege and the other does not. Frequently, to have privilege, means to be the one doing the discrimination or abuse, while to not have it, means being at risk of such abuse or discrimination. For another example, the negative consequences of being poorly educated, while having some other elements to them, also largely revolve around how others treat you as a result. Discrimination is technically still going on even if there is a perfectly valid, rational reason for, say, not wanting someone who doesn't have a driver's license to be driving a car. - There's a very obvious, very rational reason for that, but technically, it is still discrimination...)

Is that really a demonstrable privilege, or more along the lines of advantages and disadvantages.

You do realise what you've said just describes the same thing with different words, right?
Privilege = advantage, by and large.

So really, you're restating the same thing, but making it sound like it's something different.

Advantages and Disadvantages with a quality such as being a man or woman. That a quality of someone that is largely irrelevant comes with both advantages and disadvantages. Like being a man means your less likely to experience sexual violence in your life, but much more likely to experience physical violence, then a woman. The modern concept of privilege in how it's used by activists these days as I've seen seems to preclude any notion of the statistical disadvantages of various groups they like to harp on. So as to not muddy the language with absolute literal use of the words, I use advantage and disadvantages to describe various things instead of using a very literal definition of privilage. So instead of saying the very fact you are male, makes you more privileged then if your female, I'd say the very fact you are male means you have advantages and disadvantages in relation to those who are female.

 

[The Material Sheep]

To Ice Car, there's a difference between offensive language and oppressive language. Calling someone a fuckwit is offensive, not oppressive. Calling someone a ****** on the other hand, is both. I think a generally safe way to determine whether or not a word use is acceptable is to ask yourself, "Can this word be used to oppress me?" If the answer is no, pick a different one, the words retard and ****** have perfectly acceptable substitutes that are offensive but not oppressive. Also, ableism and privilege are not tumblr's creations, they're legitimate ideas from sociology.

If anyone ever gets oppressed by a word than I think there are bigger issues than the words themselves... Never have words oppressed anyone. It were actions; removing rights, killing, torture, segregation, etc. Words don't do that. Someone calling a person a ****** won't suddenly make said person (or gays) somehow lose rights.

It contributes to a culture of oppression, is all I'm saying. I'm really tired of this topic.

Contributes to a culture of oppression. How exactly? Demonstrate how some idiot saying something mean, does anything other then give you a clear indication of the type of person he is, and how you probably don't have to value his opinion anymore. At the very worst, the prevalent use of derogatory words for a group in a non comedic and directly insulting way, is a symptom of an oppressive culture, not a cause. I say a symptom, because it shows what kind of behavior is deemed acceptable by the society but is not a direct cause of any form of oppression. It might hurt your feelings, but feelings are cheap, and 100% relative to everyone on the planet. At the end of the day some idiot calling me a dyke doesn't hurt my feelings or make me feel oppressed. It gives me a chuckle, like must rude and hateful people do. Ignoring idiots, is a great skill for dealing with other human beings that everyone needs to learn.

Another thing with this whole oppressive word bs, is that it completely denies context or the way language changes. The prevalence of the word fag on 4chan, is actually a bit inspired in it's own way. The site has completely reformed the word in it's own culture for it's own means that makes fun everyone and everything they do, but in a very affectionate way. There is such thing as taking power away from a word, and as much as people like to bash on 4chan in a way it certainly has taken that power away from the word fag, at least in it's own internal culture. As an avid /tg/ and a lesbian, I've rarely had a bad experience on that site.

 

[JazzJack2]

Using oppressive language against people who aren't being oppressed by it doesn't magically strip the word of its meaning or power. I'll cut the ableist bullshit when people stop being ableist, deal with it.
Want to call your friend a ******? Homophobic.
Want to call your friend a *****? Sexist.
Want to call your friend a ******? Racist.
Want to call your friend a retard? Ableist.

So when my ex partner and I used to call each other faggots in an ironic way we were actually oppressing each other and all other gay people? And when black people call each other niggas they also oppressing people? really what a load of nonsense

Oppressive words are oppressive not matter how you use them.

Words only have the meanings they are understood to have in the given context, this absolutist view of language I.E words can be offensive regardless of context shows a failure to understand the utmost basic functions of language.

 

[ozium]

Got 32. Dayum. Definitely don't feel like a 32 though. I tend to get whatever I want, It just takes longer for me. I'm also studying Engineering so I would hope my life would be better after finishing my degree

 

[geK0]

I'd like to point out that you automatically have 25 points just for being a straight white male who isn't ashamed of being a straight white male (many of these questions logically default to "yes" with that being true). So this quiz is pretty damn bias. So using this quiz, a $50,000/year wage white guy might score the same privilege as Ellen Degeneres..... think about that for a second.

For the record, I am not denying that I am privileged (I am, but it's not for those reasons alone), I just feel that 25% is a lot of weight to be just for being straight white and male. : \

"just for being straight white and male".

That's the entire thing though - the whole point of this quiz is to alert you to the fact that being straight, white or male can present you with significant advantages over those who aren't. The fact that you think being straight, white or male shouldn't influence the score so much, suggests that you aren't aware of these advantages.

I'm aware that some people seem to think that white people should feel sorry for non-whites because of some inherent disadvantage they have instead of just, you know, seeing them as equals (no that would be racist).Who really benefits from having people feel sorry for them anyway? Who really wants this?

I'm more than happy to check my privileges, but they aren't straight, white, and male those aren't privileges. My privileges are

Being born in a middle class family
Being a citizen of a first world country
Not having to pay for medical insurance (Canadian)
Being able to afford rent and own a car

I'd say, if I were a black dude in my exact same circumstances, I wouldn't feel any less privileged; actually, I'd be offended if anyone told me otherwise.

 

[Directionless]

Oh, that one? I knew someone would eventually unironically call me out on that one.

I use the word to describe people who are dumb. That's it. No underlying discriminator behavior or feelings towards people who are mentally ill. I've been friends with a lot of people are are mentally ill and they're just fine.

Please just cut the crap with this "ableist" bullshit. If I'm not calling someone who's mentally ill a "retard" then why does it matter? This is coming from someone with numerous mental disabilities by the way.

Using oppressive language against people who aren't being oppressed by it doesn't magically strip the word of its meaning or power. I'll cut the ableist bullshit when people stop being ableist, deal with it.
Want to call your friend a ******? Homophobic.
Want to call your friend a *****? Sexist.
Want to call your friend a ******? Racist.
Want to call your friend a retard? Ableist.

Oppressive words are oppressive not matter how you use them.

This is so godamn wrong. Language changes over time. That's just how it is. Try telling a black guy calling his friend ****** is racist.

 

[IceForce]

This whole topic isn't very interesting to me

I'm really tired of this topic.

You keep saying this, but you still keep replying to people.

I'll cut the ableist bullshit when people stop being ableist, deal with it.

Want to call your friend a retard? Ableist.

What??

 

[maninahat]

I'd like to point out that you automatically have 25 points just for being a straight white male who isn't ashamed of being a straight white male (many of these questions logically default to "yes" with that being true). So this quiz is pretty damn bias. So using this quiz, a $50,000/year wage white guy might score the same privilege as Ellen Degeneres..... think about that for a second.

For the record, I am not denying that I am privileged (I am, but it's not for those reasons alone), I just feel that 25% is a lot of weight to be just for being straight white and male. : \

"just for being straight white and male".

That's the entire thing though - the whole point of this quiz is to alert you to the fact that being straight, white or male can present you with significant advantages over those who aren't. The fact that you think being straight, white or male shouldn't influence the score so much, suggests that you aren't aware of these advantages.

I'm aware that some people seem to think that white people should feel sorry for non-whites because of some inherent disadvantage they have instead of just, you know, seeing them as equals (no that would be racist).Who really benefits from having people feel sorry for them anyway? Who really wants this?

I'm more than happy to check my privileges, but they aren't straight, white, and male those aren't privileges. My privileges are

Being born in a middle class family
Being a citizen of a first world country
Not having to pay for medical insurance (Canadian)
Being able to afford rent and own a car

I'd say, if I were a black dude in my exact same circumstances, I wouldn't feel any less privileged; actually, I'd be offended if anyone told me otherwise.

It's not about feeling sorry for other people. It's about being aware that some people don't automatically have it as easy as you in some areas, because society doesn't treat them as the default. That way, you can thn do something about it, or permit others to do something about it. Case in point, a black guy, regardless of how middle-class or first world he is, still has to contend with the various disadvantages of being black in a predominantly white society. To take one example, a black person, would most probably have to deal with a lot more racial epithets thrown their way.

 

[The Material Sheep]

I'd like to point out that you automatically have 25 points just for being a straight white male who isn't ashamed of being a straight white male (many of these questions logically default to "yes" with that being true). So this quiz is pretty damn bias. So using this quiz, a $50,000/year wage white guy might score the same privilege as Ellen Degeneres..... think about that for a second.

For the record, I am not denying that I am privileged (I am, but it's not for those reasons alone), I just feel that 25% is a lot of weight to be just for being straight white and male. : \

"just for being straight white and male".

That's the entire thing though - the whole point of this quiz is to alert you to the fact that being straight, white or male can present you with significant advantages over those who aren't. The fact that you think being straight, white or male shouldn't influence the score so much, suggests that you aren't aware of these advantages.

I'm aware that some people seem to think that white people should feel sorry for non-whites because of some inherent disadvantage they have instead of just, you know, seeing them as equals (no that would be racist).Who really benefits from having people feel sorry for them anyway? Who really wants this?

I'm more than happy to check my privileges, but they aren't straight, white, and male those aren't privileges. My privileges are

Being born in a middle class family
Being a citizen of a first world country
Not having to pay for medical insurance (Canadian)
Being able to afford rent and own a car

I'd say, if I were a black dude in my exact same circumstances, I wouldn't feel any less privileged; actually, I'd be offended if anyone told me otherwise.

It's not about feeling sorry for other people. It's about being aware that some people don't automatically have it as easy as you in some areas, because society doesn't treat them as the default. That way, you can thn do something about it, or permit others to do something about it. Case in point, a black guy, regardless of how middle-class or first world he is, still has to contend with the various disadvantages of being black in a predominantly white society. To take one example, a black person, would most probably have to deal with a lot more racial epithets thrown their way.

I don't know what age you live in, but it's not exactly socially acceptable for people to go around calling black people niggers. Outside of like backwoods southern states, it's just not acceptable in modern society to for a white person to call a black person that, especially in an insulting manner. Also I think if the worst disadvantage that black people had to deal with in being a minority in America was racial epithets I don't think most of them would consider themselves that disadvantaged.

 

[Batou667]

The words ******, retard, and ***** are oppressive in every public context, even if the intention to oppress isn't there.

Challenge accepted:

"Last Tuesday, Dave was walking down the road with his bulldog, Rosie. He was on his way to dinner at his friend Chris's house, and he walked briskly in anticipation of Chris's speciality - home made pork faggots with onion gravy. However, his swift progress was retarded when his ***** paused to sniff at a nearby lamp post"

Touché

 

[Captain Anon]

"You?re quite privileged. You?ve had a few struggles, but overall your life has been far easier than most. This is not a bad thing, nor is it something to be ashamed of. But you should be aware of your advantages and work to help others who don?t have them. Thank you for checking your privilege" hm better than I thought

 

[Undomesticated Equine]

half of the questions could be removed by replacing the with
Are you white male? and
Are you gay?

 

[Nowhere Man]

Wow this thread really exploded. Now instead of having to go to tumblr for some good chuckles, I can just come here and read through this thread instead.

Screw the thought police.

 

[maninahat]

I'd like to point out that you automatically have 25 points just for being a straight white male who isn't ashamed of being a straight white male (many of these questions logically default to "yes" with that being true). So this quiz is pretty damn bias. So using this quiz, a $50,000/year wage white guy might score the same privilege as Ellen Degeneres..... think about that for a second.

For the record, I am not denying that I am privileged (I am, but it's not for those reasons alone), I just feel that 25% is a lot of weight to be just for being straight white and male. : \

"just for being straight white and male".

That's the entire thing though - the whole point of this quiz is to alert you to the fact that being straight, white or male can present you with significant advantages over those who aren't. The fact that you think being straight, white or male shouldn't influence the score so much, suggests that you aren't aware of these advantages.

I'm aware that some people seem to think that white people should feel sorry for non-whites because of some inherent disadvantage they have instead of just, you know, seeing them as equals (no that would be racist).Who really benefits from having people feel sorry for them anyway? Who really wants this?

I'm more than happy to check my privileges, but they aren't straight, white, and male those aren't privileges. My privileges are

Being born in a middle class family
Being a citizen of a first world country
Not having to pay for medical insurance (Canadian)
Being able to afford rent and own a car

I'd say, if I were a black dude in my exact same circumstances, I wouldn't feel any less privileged; actually, I'd be offended if anyone told me otherwise.

It's not about feeling sorry for other people. It's about being aware that some people don't automatically have it as easy as you in some areas, because society doesn't treat them as the default. That way, you can thn do something about it, or permit others to do something about it. Case in point, a black guy, regardless of how middle-class or first world he is, still has to contend with the various disadvantages of being black in a predominantly white society. To take one example, a black person would most probably have to deal with a lot more racial epithets thrown their way.

I don't know what age you live in, but it's not exactly socially acceptable for people to go around calling black people niggers. Outside of like backwoods southern states, it's just not acceptable in modern society to for a white person to call a black person that, especially in an insulting manner. Also I think if the worst disadvantage that black people had to deal with in being a minority in America was racial epithets I don't think most of them would consider themselves that disadvantaged.

Firstly, whether it is acceptable or not, people outside of backwoods Southern States still call people niggers (or whatever). Secondly, I imagine it's easier for you to dismiss the racial insults when presumably, as a white person living in a predominantly white society, you don't tend have all that many directed at you. Thirdly, that's not the "worst disadvantage" at all, but I picked that one example because it was the most obvious and needed the least explanation.

CAPTCHA QUOTE: "Better call Saul". Awesome, a Nero Wolfe quote!

 

[Xangi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_slurs

I was going to try to write a huge paragraph with all of these in it, but posting the link is easier. You can't censor my thoughts, and in my country you cannot censor my speech, but you do have a right to retaliate with your own. Without even touching on how the ideas of "oppression" (relating to bullshit like "oppressive language" and "modern equity" are frankly insulting to those they aim to protect, I'll say that social liberalism has begun to degenerate from something about freedom into a twisted social anti-conservativism, where it aims to only allow and protect what was not allowed or protected before, and to suppress all that was once allowed. The day it stopped being about freedom and started being about thought control was the day I stopped supporting it.

 

[C14N]

I'm not giving Buzzfeed an extra page view but are they seriously calling you less privileged for being an atheist?

Yes. They are. Do you have a response to that or are you just trying to appeal to a general sense of outrage?

My response is just that it's silly, there's nothing underprivileged about atheism, at least not in the west. I'm not taking the stupid Fox News stance of "it's the Christians who are victimised every day" but atheists aren't either. Now Muslims or Sikh's on the other hand, I could see them being considered less privileged.