Psychology Reflective Exercise 2: Privilege
There are many definitions as to what privilege means, these definitions are altered and adapted overtime by different people. Initially, I believed that privilege was the treatment someone received based on their identity. They were seen as superior or inferior in some form based on the birth rights that they had been given. The people who were viewed as superior had a sense of entitlement to their privilege. Although my definition of privilege can be seen as partially correct, I did change my view of what privilege is after I completed the practical and read journal articles’. I now believe that privilege is evident in many cultures and that a certain group of people benefit and excel due…show more content… This identification proves that there are intersecting identities that an individual express. As I am a white individual, that means I have white privilege. This privilege was given to me at birth based on my race. I am a female and so that means I am oppressed by the male privilege given to men in society. However, I am more privileged than a black female who is at a greater disadvantage than me because she is not only a female but also black, therefore discriminated against because of her gender and race. Heteronormative means that I have an attraction to the opposite sex and is the privileged category in society. As I am cisgender, this means that I identify with the sex that I was born with. I am a female and I identify with that classification and so it is easier for me to express myself and not be questioned by society for the gender I perform. Lastly, I am a middle-class individual and so I have some privilege over the individuals that are in the working class category but I am oppressed by the upper class individuals in society. One can therefore see that my financial circumstances do not place me in a privileged position.
The exercises done in the practical focused on different types of privilege that one experiences. I found that the questionnaires were describing stereotypical circumstances and so it simplified the categories of being privileged or not. It was a free space to discuss one’s privilege…show more content… The minority white racial group has influenced and dominated various set ups and ideologies of how the country should operate. Through colonialism and apartheid my racial group has forced certain ideologies on the people of South Africa and still benefit from the oppressive systems that are supposedly over. One can see this segregation of power as many people still live in areas that were previously divided based on the Group areas act. I live in an area that is still dominated by white people and so even though we are no longer ruled by the Apartheid government. We are still experiencing the after effects of their