I use “unjust social power structures” to refer to social injustice where not all groups share the same basic rights and responsibilities. Its effects can be seen in the forms of “subjugation, discrimination, exploitation, and privilege” (Berlin, 1996 as cited in Reisch, 2002) present in the social, political, cultural, educational, economic areas of society, among other structures. When I use the word privilege (following McIntosh, 1998), I refer to the unearned benefits, advantages, rewards, opportunities, and access to resources awarded to individuals or groups whose identities match cultural expectations.
The Brazilian philosopher, activist, and educator Paulo Freire saw the relationship between privilege and discrimination rather simplistically. To him, individuals “exist within that society as oppressors or as oppressed” (Darder, 2014, p. 134). I believe it to be more complex than Freire suggested. I agree with Collins (1990), who argued that everyone experiences varying degrees of privilege and oppression depending on their social location or place in the matrix (see Figure below). In my personal experience navigating different social settings, I have found myself at times in positions of privilege and at times in positions of oppression. While on the one hand I have been discriminated against as a woman and immigrant English language learner, on the other, I have experienced positions of privilege as an educated woman, European-looking immigrant, and proficient user of the English language.
References:
Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Boston, MA: Unwin Hyman.
Cooper, Y. (2017, June 6). Intersectionality. Career Convergence Web Magazine.
Darder, A. (2014). Conscientização: Freire and the formation of critical awareness. REALIS, 4(2), 6-32.
McIntosh, P. (1998). White privilege, color, and crime: A personal account. In C. R. Mann & M. S. Zatz (Eds.), Images of color, images of crime: Readings (pp. 207-216). Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing Company.
Reisch, M. (2002). Defining social justice in a socially unjust world. Families in Society, 83(4), 343-354.
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