In the third reading, “The Social Construction of Difference” by Allan G. Johnson, from Readings For Diversity and Social Justice, we learn more about privilege and how it takes shape.

People, especially white people, often bristle when they are confronted with the idea that they hold privilege. We, as white people, tend to associate the notion of privilege with wealth.

Privilege, however, is about power. And even though many white people, especially those who struggle financially or in other ways, feel powerless, they still maintain a power, a privilege, that people of color do not possess and do not have access to in America.

The most amount of privilege is held by white, male, heterosexual, able-bodied men. Women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and those with disabilities all have reduced amounts of privilege, if any at all. And as those identities interact more and more with each other, any privilege one holds is reduced. For example, an Asian homosexual man with no disabilities has less privilege than the white, straight, able-bodied man – but more privilege than a Black, queer woman who uses a wheelchair.

All of these instances of privilege and oppression play out in a variety of ways across the lives of people who live at these intersections and within these social constructs.