Thank you to everyone who read my first blog post!

For my second post, I want to talk about privilege. Specifically, my own. As I am about to embark on my third (and fourth) degree, it only seems fitting that I reflect on some of the reasons I have been able to get where I am today.

Privilege. This word elicits so many different responses from people. Frequently, the initial reaction from people who possess a lot of it is defensiveness or guilt. This makes sense, because naming privilege so often feels like someone is saying that you did not have to work hard to get where you are, or that you are somehow less deserving of what you have. It feels like your own struggles and experiences are being dismissed. All of these thoughts were ones I had when I was first introduced to my own privilege.

For clarity’s sake, let’s take a moment to define privilege. I thought about the different ways I could come up with my own definition, but I think the Oxford English Dictionary on Google did a pretty good job:

Privilege. “A special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available to only a particular person or group” (Oxford English Dictionary).

This definition is fairly accurate, but, as we know, privilege is straightforward in some ways, and more complex and nuanced in others. For example, in the United States, white men possess the most privilege in almost all cases. However, if you add family income into the equation, wealthy or middle class white men posses more privilege than white men from low income backgrounds. That is why it is important to consider intersectionality when having this discussion (and all the time, let’s be honest). Quick side note: the term “intersectionality” was developed by a black woman (Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw). Check her out, she’s pretty incredible.

The first time I did a privilege activity was the Summer before I started my gap/service year with City Year. While I had always known that I was lucky, I had never really formally deconstructed the ways in which I was lucky and how that connected to privilege. We did the Privilege Walk, which helped get me thinking and also visually see how the different statements put me farther ahead than some of my coworkers. There are a lot of different variations, but here is one example. I have also done one of the Privilege Bead activities during my first Summer Training with College Advising Corps — Boston University (CAC-BU). While I remember both being fine, for the purpose of this post, I decided to write out my different privileges into categories of sorts as a way to acknowledge and reflect on them. The ones I will be talking about today are privileges I immediately thought of, but there are definitely more, so be on the lookout for a follow up post. Without further ado, and in no particular order:

Citizenship. I am a naturalized US citizen, and this provides me with an immense amount of privilege because I can access all types of government assistance and immediately meet the citizenship requirement for all jobs. I also do not live in fear of being deported. And I never have to shy away from government agencies (at least on the basis of my citizenship status) or refrain from reporting something for fear my citizenship status will be revealed in the process.

Immigration. Related to citizenship, my path to the US was fairly clearly laid out for me. While I did not have the choice to leave China (this is another topic that I will talk about in the future), being adopted by upper middle class white parents meant that I did not have to do much in terms of worrying about immigrating here or what my life would be like once I got here.

Race. This is a little bit less straightforward than the first two, but I think for the most part, at the intersection of my identities, my race seems to be a rather neutral point. Neutral in the sense that, thanks to the Model Minority Myth, I am viewed as obedient, intelligent, and hard working until proven otherwise. While this certainly creates other problems (I will definitely talk about the Model Minority Myth in the future), for the most part, I do not have to be worried about being followed when I go into a store (in fact, there have been countless stories of Asian business owners doing this to black patrons). I do not fear being profiled, harassed, or killed by law enforcement because of my race. Fetishization is real, but again, this is more complex than citizenship and immigration for me.

Family Income. I come from an upper middle class family, which meant that I was able to have access to opportunities and experiences that people from lower income families might not. Additionally, this meant that I never had to worry about food insecurity or housing when I was growing up. I had all of my basic needs met and plenty more for extra curricular activities like dance and softball. I was able to develop mentally, emotionally, and physically in a safe and secure space.

Body Size. While I would not consider myself skinny or thin, especially by the standards set for Asian women, I never have to worry about not being able to sit in a chair or have someone treat me differently or discriminate against me for my body size. I can live my life free from that anxiety.

Ability. I am an able bodied human that can walk and see and speak and move with ease and without pain. I do not have to think about whether or not I will be able to access the spaces I want to enter. If I need to go to the store or want to write a blog post (I did both today), I can easily do that on my own.

Hair. I never have to worry about my hair being deemed unprofessional. I can go to pretty much any hair salon for a hair cut (dye is a different story). I have never been concerned that my hair or hairstyle would not be allowed at work or school (the high school I went to actually did not allow dreads). I also never have to worry that I will get suspended for my hair, or that someone will want to touch my hair because they are curious about what it feels like.

Language. My first language is English and I do not speak with an accent. While the US does not have an official language, I can usually pretty safely assume that I will be able to communicate with someone wherever I go in this country.

Sexual Orientation. I identify as straight, so I never had to worry that I might not be accepted by my family. I never have to worry that a job or neighborhood might not be safe for me because of my sexual orientation. I can get married pretty much anywhere. I can adopt children more easily. I never worry about publicly displays of affection with my boyfriend. There are so many (too many) examples of relationships that mirror mine (male/female) on TV and in pop culture.

Gender Identity. I identify with the gender I was assigned at birth, which means I never experienced (nor ever will) the stress, anxiety, trauma, or discrimination that often comes when one does not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. I never get misgendered and my pronouns are always respected.

Education. I attended well resourced private schools my entire life. I have a high school diploma (oftentimes people who have their GED or take the HiSET face stigma). I have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, which means I automatically meet the education requirements for most jobs in the US. Having my bachelor’s degree has also granted me access to pursuing my doctorate.

Whew. Thank you for reading all the way through and tolerating my excessive use of parentheses! While I have certainly still had to work hard, having the privileges listed above meant that my life was not made any harder because of things like my gender identity or citizenship status. Having privilege and going through hardship are not mutually exclusive. I have experienced racism but still posses immense privilege (see above).

Instead of feeling guilty or getting defensive, I try to use my privilege to uplift and advocate for those around me (without taking away their agency). What will you do with your privilege?

*I do not have a set number of posts in mind, but just know that more are coming! Privilege is a complex and important topic, so I want to make it clear that this is by no means an exhaustive or comprehensive list. Hopefully it goes without saying, but acknowledging my privilege is also something I try to practice all the time, not just when I’m writing a blog post about it.

If you have feedback on anything I said, or the way I said it, please let me know. I am still learning and growing and know that even if I had no intention of being hurtful or harmful in my writing, the impact might be different.