Subordinate Group Disadvantages

The Peculiar Benefits essay talks about how “you have to surrender to kinds of privilege you hold. Nearly everyone, particularly in the developed world, has something someone else doesn’t, something someone else yearns for.” In Peculiar Benefits essay Roxane Gay gives the reader background information from her childhood going to Haiti during the summer and seeing the poverty that ran throughout the country. How she realized how much privilege she had back at home in the United States. Privilege is a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit. Not everyone has the same privilege therefore people will view life different. There are many privileges in the world we live: racial, gender, identity, heterosexual, economic, able bodied, educational, religious and etc…

My relation to power and privilege which according to my sexual orientation, ability level and race is obvious. My sexual orientation is heterosexuality. Due to the heterosexuality is dominant in the society, I may experience the heterosexual privilege to some extents. In addition, I am from China and my race is Asian. Yellow people is a minor group in the United Sates, which own less power and privilege than the dominant group. For my ability level, I am a healthy and abled person with average intelligence. Most people in the society have the similar situation to me, which caused me in the dominance; therefore, I may have the privilege that belongs to this group.

In today's society many religions and many people don't see eye to eye with the LGBTQ community. They see this community as something less significant than others, viewed as something unnatural, and even something different from this world we live in. This community suffers from being threatened for their lives, being scared of being their true self. In what power should people have to make these decision on what people should like; none, because people should be allowed to love whatever gender they please with. People in this community shouldn't have to a live in fear of being judged by others, tormented, or even humiliated because others don't agree with what gender they like. They are just like every human that loves, but many don't see that because of maybe the way they were raised was to only believe in same sex marriage or people just don't like the idea of a sex liking the same sex. People don't see that society is more open than it was back in the days. This community suffers from being othered and are being viewed as monstering walking on the street. There's stereotypes being made about people in this community, there's religions that disown family that are in this community, and people don't see these types of event could lead to self harm, addiction, and could mess a person mind, just because they don't agree with what gender they please with.

For my critical thinking assignment I was asked, what privileges do I have, that I don’t give much thought to. I have many privileges I don’t give much thought to, such as having a home with comfortable furnishings, having food to eat and never going hungry. I also have a car that gets me to and from places I need to be. I always have clean clothes that are weather appropriate. It’s a privilege of mine to walk, see, hear, and speak; also to have the freedom to be who I want to be. A privilege that is so meaningful, that I often take for granted is spending time with my family and friends. Another privilege I take for granted is being able to attend a diverse college and be able to have relationships with people of

Have you ever felt like a minority? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this status?

How do your privileges (or lack of privileges) affect your life, your ability to achieve your goals and success?

Privilege, according to Merriam Webster Dictionary, is defined as: “A right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor especially such a right or immunity attached specifically to a position or an office”. While this may be the definition according to a certain dictionary, privilege has a different meaning for myself. On a daily basis, there are certain aspects of my life that are made easier, but go unnoticed because I am accustomed to them. When I define being privileged, I believe that means that I am able to take care of myself, and have a life that is mostly stress free and enjoyable. Two aspects of my life that I find to be privileged is that I am able to attend college, and that because I am a white, middle-class female, I am not discriminated against because of my race.

As a Behavioral Neuroscience major I can tell you 9 out of 10 people will agree that privilege applies to them when they are in a group discussion. It’s a term called group mentality; you agree with the group, or the most politically correct idea, in fear of being the only one who dissents and as a result becoming ostracized by the group. However, if you took everyone individually and asked them if privilege was the force behind their success, people in today’s society will still adamantly tell you how they worked “their ass off” to get where they are

Another privilege I have started to notice recently is my age. Socially speaking I would be considered young and unexperienced in life. As I become older I often find myself believing these stereotypes. Overall I would say being young is a privilege to a certain

Roxane Gay concedes that “One of the hardest things [she has] ever had to do is accept and acknowledge [her] privilege” and that “It’s also really difficult for [her] to accept [her] privilege when [she] consider[s] the ways in which [she] lack[s] privilege or the ways in which [her] privilege hasn’t magically rescued [her] from a world of hurt.” We must reach this very epiphany that Gay has in her essay. It is that, as humans, we are all in some way advantaged and disadvantaged. We are all in some way powerful and

I am proud to admit that I am part of the 8 to 10 percent of the US Population that identifies as a gay male. When it comes to addressing the many needs of the GLBTQ community, there are so many important current issues that I could write about, and it's difficult to pick just one. My population has been discriminated against, denied equal rights, healthcare and jobs, we have been bullied, jailed, killed, and have faced the negative stigma that society has created for being who we are. When I hear people that say being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender is a choice I’m reminded of the discrimination that people go through and think why would anyone choose this lifestyle. I didn’t choose this lifestyle but was merely born this way as

(Robinson 2010). Sexual orientation is part of identity. But when someone’s sexual preference is not accepted by the majority, they are met with intolerance. Unfortunately, the homosexuality community has been faced with issues of abuse, violence, bullying and rejection. Over the years more and more homosexuals were seen in the media when the homosexual community started fighting for rights and wanted to be heard.

“It is, let us say, an entitlement that none of us should have to earn; ideally it is an unearned entitlement. At present, since only a few have it, it is an unearned advantage for them” (McIntosh, 15). Here are some instances where I have had unearned advantages. My culture can be obsessed with light skin. Colorism is a huge issue within desi culture media and personal life. I have a lighter skin tone and because of that I have gained unearned privileges such as being taken more seriously, being considered ‘pretty’ within the community, and so on. I also have the privilege of being an American citizen. Being a citizen has given me the unearned privilege of having access to more jobs, financial aid, access to health care at work, and more opportunities. I also have the privilege of being able bodied. I remember looking around at all the hills and stairs at UCLA and wondering how people in wheelchairs get around, this is something physically disabled people always have to consider. I also have the privilege of not worrying about taking medication, having enough money for medication, not getting a job because of my disability, having more access to opportunities, and much more. I also wanted to mention that although I am a minority, I am

Privilege always occurs at the expense of others. Allan Johnson states, “The trouble we’re in privileges some groups at the expense of others. It creates a yawning divide in levels of income, wealth, dignity, safety, health, and quality of life” (Johnson 7). Allan Johnson states this in Chapter 1 of his book Privilege, Power and Difference and it is one of the most powerful statements in the whole book. Privilege creates a great divide between people. This can have a negative lasting effect, if not under control. Society has divided people into two groups: superior and inferior. The superior groups are the ones that are privileged in society and the inferior ones are ones that are

Privilege breaks down into many subtitles, there is family privileges, social privileges, individual privilege etc. I considered myself being so privilege with my family, they had sacrificed so much for me to be where I am today. As the unique child of a single mom I can not regret anything about my childhood or my adolescence life inside my home. But there is a contrast there with the social privileges, as immigrant I can said that my social privileges in this country are not the same that I would have in my homeland. There I was judge by my work not by who I am. I considered not being myself not being privilege in this country. There is people who had been through worst experience than the ones that I had. But If I'm going to talk personally