Growing up, I never had to worry about where my next meal was going to come from. I was always very physically and mentally strong. I had two parents who loved me with everything they had. I am white, heterosexual, and was always comfortable in my identities. To an extent, I think everyone can be blinded by the privileges they have in life. I never really understood what it meant to be privileged until I took the class HDF 110 Oppression: Roots & Impact. Through taking this class with some of my LAS cohort I learned more about prejudice, oppression, and how this affects our society.
It is much easier to distinguish oppression from privilege. People are more likely to notice the times they feel mistreated from the times they feel they are being treated fairly. Oppression is that unearned disadvantage some people feel because of the way society disenfranchises anyone who fits into one of the oppressed social groups. And vice versa, privilege is simply the opposite of oppression. Anyone who doesn’t fall into one of these disenfranchised groups experiences unearned advantages in society.
One way that we conceptualized this in class was through an activity. Our professor had each person in the class take a crumpled up piece of paper and stand in a line at the back of the room. She then asked us each questions about our lives, and if it applied to you, you got to take a step forward. A few examples are:
-If your parents worked nights and weekends to support your family, take a step back.
-If you can show affection to your partner in public without fear of ridicule or violence, take one step forward.
-If you have ever been diagnosed as having a physical/mental disability, take a step back.
Then, once everyone was scattered throughout the room, some closer to the front and some closer to the back, our professor pulled out a box and told us to get our paper balls into the box, and anyone who can will get extra credit. The ones in the front were able to make it in the box with ease, and those in the back had a much harder time making it in the box because they were so much father back, and there were other people blocking 
their view of the box. As you can see, those in the front had unearned advantages that helped them succeed, but they didn’t do anything to deserve this place. That is privilege. Oppression can be seen in a wide variety of social groups. Racism, ableism, heterosexism, sexism, cisgenderism are only a few ways people can experience oppression.
As a society we need to learn to become less oblivious to our privileges. Once you are made aware of what parts of your identity allow you advantages you did not earn, you can use that for good. Don’t be afraid of your privileges, but use them to help others.
Makenna Hogerheide 