As a noun, it is a special right, advantage, or benefit that only some people or groups have. As a verb, it means to treat something as more important or give it special advantage.
From Latin *privilegium* meaning 'law for or against a private person', from *privus* 'private' and *lex* 'law'. It originally referred to a special legal rule for one person.
Privilege began as a 'private law'—rules that applied to some people but not others. Modern privilege works the same way, just more invisibly: some groups move through life with fewer barriers they didn’t earn. If you’ve never had to think about a certain problem, that silence itself is often a privilege.
In contemporary discourse, 'privilege' often refers to unearned advantages linked to gender, race, class, and other identities. Feminist and intersectional scholars have highlighted how male privilege interacts with other forms of privilege and oppression.
Use 'privilege' to describe systems and patterns rather than to label individuals as wholly good or bad; acknowledge intersecting forms of privilege and disadvantage.
["unearned advantage","systemic advantage"]
Women of color and other marginalized women have been central in developing nuanced analyses of privilege, emphasizing intersectionality and lived experience.
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