Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the most odious misogynist bullshit I have seen thus far on the topic of the Slutwalks: a post on The Third Edge of the Sword, a blog that seems to go out of its way to be offensive and “edgy,” that takes victim blaming to a whole new level. Here’s the basic, er, argument of the post, which the author has put in giant pink letters so we won’t miss it:
Every woman marching in the Edmonton Slut Walk is publicly declaring herself a slut. This means every woman there desires sex with any and all partners. Any sexual activity you initiate with them comes with implied consent. They cannot say no, and if they do understand all their ‘no’s mean yes. They are all asking for it. They want it bad. Now. From you. Go get ’em!
Some other highlights:
[I]f you … dress slutty, men are going to stare at you. We’re going to catcall. We are going to tell you all sorts of sexual things we want to do to your body. And if you dress slutty and wave your ass in our face, we will do them. The organizers of this event are not oblivious to this point: what they want is a fake sexual revolution. They want to be able to impersonate sluts without actually being sluts, and that’s unacceptable. If you don’t want to be treated as a piece of meat, don’t marinate and grill yourself and sit perched on a piece of garlic toast. You dress slutty, you show off the goods, you try to get a reaction, you will get one. Hint: it’s not always going to be the one you want. …
The “reaction” he has in mind is rape. By calling rape a “reaction” instead of what it is — a criminal assault on someone, an act of sexual violence, a violation — he of course is attempting to switch the blame to the victim. He spells out his “logic” in more detail:
[W]hen you impersonate a slut we don’t fine you, and we don’t throw you in jail. There’s really only one punishment for dressing like a streetwalker when you aren’t one: you do have to endure the occasional rape. You should really suffer it in silence. Accept the character flaw within you that caused this, and move on. Police and court resources are already busy enough with real criminals: like actual rapists who do nasty things to their niece or the homeless native chick passed out under the bridge, or a conservatively dressed urban professional walking to her car, or a girl out jogging in a track suit. To equate the act of actually violating and raping one of these people with having sex with a girl who’s every square millimetre of public persona screams anybody who wants to can screw me right now is ridiculous.
Once again, this brand of misogyny leads to some conclusions that are pretty misandrist – namely, the notion that men are at heart rapists who can’t control their violent urges:
If you go out on the street in an outfit that would make Britney Spears feel uncomfortable, you do so knowing that your ultimate aim is to make men want you. Well, they want you now. Congrats. Oh, wait, you mean you didn’t understand what that implied? That in the great Bell curve of sexual congress you’ve just pushed everybody on the right-hand side of the -2 std devs line past that imaginary barrier that says “there is no power in the universe powerful enough to stop me from sliding my finger inside your panties”? I call bullshit. You do know. But you want to be a virginal slut, to dress in ways that makes men helpless to their urges but still leaves you fully in restrictive control.
The blogger concludes by arguing that the Slutwalkers are all “lying bitches” because they dress like they wasn’t to be raped, but do not actually want to be raped. Then he makes this lovely suggestion:
If your wife is one of them, I’m very very sorry. Maybe a good rape might make her a little more manageable around the house.
Now this post is an atmittedly extreme example of a misogynistic response to the Slutwalks. But the basic “logic” of this blogger’s would-be argument is essentially identical to that of many MRA and other “manosphere” pieces I’ve seen on the subject, the main difference between them being that this guy embraces the logical conclusion of his argument — that Slutwalkers deserve to be raped — while the MRAs who make essentially the same argument (and fling the same sorts of insults at the Slutwalkers) make a show of saying that they don’t really think the Slutwalkers “deserve” it. And maybe they’ve convinced themselves that this caveat means something . But in that case the extreme reaction that manosphere misogynists have had to the Slutwalks – the insults thrown at the Slutwalkers, the “jokey” references to rape, the prurient sneering – makes little sense. If you argue that women are “asking for it” when they dress like “sluts,” you’re essentially saying they deserve it. You’re making the same argument this guy is making, but pretending you aren’t.
NOTE: The graphic above is taken from the official web site for the Edmonton SlutWalk 2011, which took place a week ago. Here are some pictures of the march.
“I dont need to address any of the MRA because it is so blantly obvious who the real hateful nutjobs are, just getting them going more serves no purpose(in my mind). It is also pretty obvious who the relatively unstable ones are also so I dont see the need to mock or tease them.”
Well, that’s a change from your usual position that MRA’s and feminists are exactly the same in their relative amounts of nutjobbery displayed on this site. Which of course begs the question why you only ever call feminists on what you perceive to be objectionable comments. That is, of course, apart from the question of why you pick on people’s word choice and so on without ever addressing the substance — but I believe I’ve already offered the answer to that one.
“Now as far as my attitude superiority goes, well, if you say so I guess that means its true.”
I’m sorry, but that’s just an idiotic statement — and, again, a passive-aggressive one at that. Gee, honest people only ever offer an observation as true if they actually believe that it IS true. What is it you are insinuating, exactly? That the nature of your attitude is subject to legal standards of proof, or whatever? I made an observation about how your attitude comes across. I guess if other posters rush to claim that they see your attitude differently, that will prove that my perception is idiosyncratic. Until then, your own opinion about your attitude is the least important here.
“I would love it if I was able to actually say something that drives some of you nuts without having to be labelled a troll, mysogynist, rape apologist, white male privileged…etc.”
It’s really simple, T4T: when you spout extreme bullshit for the sole purpose of getting a rise out of people, then mock them for reacting, you are being a troll. What you say things that dehumanize and libel women, you are being a misogynist. When you validate or justify rape, you are being a rape apologist. When you describe your group — middle-class white males from the industrialized world — as the most oppressed and put-upon group in the history of humanity, you are speaking from a position of white male privilege. If you can say something that drives “some of us” nuts WITHOUT (1) deliberately and pointlessly irritating people; (2) being hateful and dismissive towards women; (3) justifying or excusing rape as something that women deserve; or (4) denying the painfully obvious fact being a member of both a “default” race and a “default” gender makes you privileged, I, for one, won’t call you any of those things. Based on your past performance, however, I won’t hold my breath.
“I know thats asking alot, afterall, I do have a tendency to poke sometimes(not as bad as Ion).”
Nah, that’s just garden-variety narcissism. Judging by your comments, I can tell you think yourself very “edgy” and “deep”. But, I hate to tell you, picking at people’s words and commas and condescendingly pouring over their supposed emotional reactions is only considered “deep” among profoundly ignorant, provincial vulgarians. Your “poking” has about as much intellectual content as a mosquito bite.
Ion: I aim to please.
Your “poking” has about as much intellectual content as a mosquito bite.(Amused)
Sure seems to have gotten you to scratch. :), deep, very deep.
Amused
Here is one reason why I poke at some feminists on here. Certain comments just irritate me, like this one.
(4) denying the painfully obvious fact being a member of both a “default” race and a “default” gender makes you privileged,(Amused)
The way I see this is that because I am a white male I have privilege. Now here is the thing, this label defines me based only on my gender and race. It cannot take into account any of my life experience. It’s sole purpose is to fit me into a box. When I am viewed from only this moniker my life experience does not come into play. Because of that you cannot know of MY oppression. Its impossible for you to know of my systematic abuse for 12 to 15 years. Nor can you know of my constant ridicule and alienation I suffered through my highschool years. You wouldnt know that I grew up in a single parent home and that my father died at 37. Addiction, suicide, isolation was all part of the picture. As a single father and having women look at you like you are a pedophile because you showered with your 3.5 daughter is also something you would not be able to understand. The reason is because I AM a privileged white male. Funny thing is, I dont feel so privileged.
Yes, T4T, rich and powerful people get cancer too — that means they have it JUST as bad as the poor and oppressed people who get cancer. Also, as Anatole France once pointed out, all people, regardless of wealth or social rank, are exactly equal in that none are allowed to sleep under a bridge. That’s essentially is what you are saying here.
The “label” of male privilege and white privilege does not “define” you — rather, it is applied when it is relevant. I find it hard to believe that you define privilege in such an infantile way and I have to point out the obvious to you. Being privileged — obviously — doesn’t mean you are immune to personal tragedy or people being nasty to you. What it means is that because you are white and male, you enjoy certain added benefits that you have not earned and may not objectively deserve, simply because you are white and male. And — against, obviously — because you take these privileges as inalienable rights, OF COURSE you don’t feel privileged. And — obviously — being privileged doesn’t mean you get to take advantage EVERY SINGLE TIME; just more often than not.
Because you are a white male, you are likely to be thought of as competent even if you are not. If you are black and/or female, you have to work ten times as hard to be thought of half as good. If you are a professional, such as a stock broker or a doctor, no one jumps to the conclusion that you are actually just a clueless idiot who got into it thanks to family money and connections (even though it happens all the time), but if you are black or female, people will automatically assume that you only made it because of affirmative action, no matter how conclusively you demonstrate your competence. As a man, you never have to hear “compliments” like “You are exceptionally smart for a woman.”
Because you are a man, people consider your home to be your home, the money your wife earns to be your money, and the property you jointly own to be your property. If you were a woman, people would consider your home to be his home, your money to be his money, your joint property to be his property. If you left your husband, people would routinely disparage you for taking “half his stuff”, even if they knew for a fact you paid for more than half.
Because you are a man, you don’t get labeled “selfish” for bringing home a paycheck.
Because you are a man, people don’t berate you for trying to “have it all”. You are not slammed as a bad father if your job means you can’t care for your children 24/7.
Because you are a man, you don’t get regularly admonished that your proper role in life is only to help, assist, cook, clean, wipe asses, act as a secretary, support, and otherwise live vicariously through another. You are not told that doing something productive with your life that goes beyond the assisting role — whether it is getting a degree or starting your own business — means that you are self-centered, loveless, man-hating bitch.
Because you are a man, people don’t obsessively analyze what you wear, eat, drink or who you’ve slept with in the past for purposes of determining whether or not you deserve to be violently assaulted.
If you divorce and start living like a playboy, partying hard and sleeping with lots of women, people will high-five you and pat you on the back. If you were a woman, a lifestyle like that would earn you the label of a slut and a consensus that you deserve to get raped.
Because you are a man, your worth as an individual isn’t determined by your looks, age or the sexiness of your clothes. You can have a comfortable wardrobe where everything matches everything else and not have people snicker about how “frumpy” you are.
Because you are a man, you are allowed to get angry, depressed or tearful without being dismissed as “emotional”. You are allowed to be irrational without being thought of as such. If you were a woman, people would label you “emotional” merely for having an opinion, ANY opinion, and irrational even if your logic is completely solid. As a man, you are allowed to make decisions based solely on impulse and emotion without being thought of as flippant.
Because you are a man, your aspirations, your intelligence, and any other endeavor that isn’t tied to relationships isn’t routinely thought of as a consequence of some physical or personality flaw that makes you unfuckable.
Because you are a man, you possess inherent validity as a human being. Your moral and social worth do not depend on you being validated by another through marriage. As a result, you are under less pressure than a woman to enter into and remain in a bad relationship.
Because you are a man, changing a diaper once in three months makes you a hero. If you were a woman, neglecting to change a diaper once in three months would make you an unfit mother.
I could go on for pages here, but I am too lazy. I hope you get the picture. Privilege doesn’t mean nothing bad ever happens to you. It means you have it better than a similarly situated woman or a non-white person.
We hear what we want I guess. This is why I poke at you. And obviously this is why you poke at me. Infantile? Obviously youre not passive aggressive.
I don’t know if this will be helpful for anyone else, but what really opened my eyes to the idea of privilege was listening to my grandma complain about how ludicrous it was for TSA to pull her aside for a search on a cross-country flight. As a white person, she doesn’t look dangerous or suspicious. She doesn’t expect to be searched, and in fact, in most situations, she’s not. She’s never been pulled over and questioned while driving a nice car. She’s never been stopped while walking down the sidewalk, and asked for her ID. (And I haven’t either. Because I also have white privilege.)
For other people, though, that’s a constant reality.
White privilege doesn’t mean that everyone who’s white can afford a BMW. It means that, if you are driving one (and if you are not a teenager), you won’t be stopped and questioned by the police, as if you must have stolen the car. It doesn’t mean that you’ll never be questioned or searched by TSA, but it means that you’ll probably feel indignant if you are, and, probably, you’ll have a lot fewer onlookers going, Oh my god, I wonder what SHE did, than if your skin were some other color. It doesn’t mean that you’ll have the strength or the legs to walk down the street, even, but if you do walk down the street, you won’t see women clutching their purse closer and moving to the other side of the street as you walk by.
Having a privilege, or being privileged in this sense, doesn’t mean that your life is great in every single way. It just means that there are some areas in your life that you don’t have to worry about in ways that other people who don’t have that privilege have to worry about all the time.
It just means that there are some areas in your life that you don’t have to worry about in ways that other people who don’t have that privilege have to worry about all the time(Bee)
Its all perspective. Much depends on where you are, like, if I was walking down the street in Harlem late at night I think my white male privilege would be totally useless. But I do think the black male would enjoy his privilege at that moment. Words are important, maybe its time for some others, like, lets say, Kyriarchy.
“Its all perspective. Much depends on where you are, like, if I was walking down the street in Harlem late at night I think my white male privilege would be totally useless. But I do think the black male would enjoy his privilege at that moment. Words are important, maybe its time for some others, like, lets say, Kyriarchy.”
Oh, so, now, living in a ghetto is a privilege? Who knew? I guess it DOES all depend on perspective, after all. For example, if one wanted to be incarcerated for a long time or get shot by police for holding a cell phone or maybe get lynched in a picturesque setting down South — it’s certainly easier to achieve those things if you are black, and that just goes to show you that there do exist certain awesome benefits that are lavished on blacks, but unfairly denied to whites. It’s not easy to take midnight strolls through some of the filthiest and most poverty-stricken areas in the country if you are white. What a tremendous social injustice it is that whites are only safe in clean, affluent neighborhoods! Blacks — they have it easy in places like Harlem and the South Bronx. Unless they don’t, of course — but that doesn’t really count, because the South Bronx is a place where people get killed, so there. Anyway, if you happen to be a white person with some kind of a jail fetish, or a dream of having some nice officers shoot you 41 times for no reason at all, or an urgent need to buy crack at 2 AM — I can definitely see how from THAT perspective, it’s black people who are privileged.
Wow, T4T, you are just a gift that keeps on giving.
Titfortat –
Of course you can come up with places and situations where a type of privilege doesn’t apply or a different group has a greater privilege that trumps your privilege. That doesn’t cancel out the OVER ALL privilege. How much time, as a percent of your life, do you spend in places like Harlem? How many places, as a percent of the total area of the country, are like Harlem in that way? Privilege is not a free-pass – it’s more like an extra little boost. The more types of privilege you have the more extra leg-ups you get but it doesn’t guarantee success or happiness or long life. Even as the world’s most privileged person you can still flame out spectacularly.
I actually get annoyed when people describe privilege with phrases like “If you are black and/or female, you have to work ten times as hard to be thought of half as good.” (yes, Amused, I gotta pick on this) because I think it gives people the wrong idea. Depending on who a black or female person is working for maybe they can get away with working only equally as hard as a white male and do OK. Maybe they have to work twice as hard. Maybe no matter how hard they work, even if it is ten times, they will simply never be able to convince their boss they’re working hard enough. And if you end up with that last boss you have to leave and look harder for one of the bosses who only makes you work as hard or twice as hard.
I am saying this as a female engineer who does not believe I have EVER worked 10 times as hard as my male peers and yet I seem to be regarded as competent by my bosses. In my current job I do think I work somewhat harder than some of my male peers but I think that insomuch as I do I am actually regarded as harder-working and more competent (my boss is actively encouraging me to go into management, something he does not do to those same male peers who I regard as less hard-working). I realize I am lucky and ended up with one of the “good bosses” who doesn’t think that because I am female I can’t be a good engineer or a good leader. Over time the number of “good bosses” of this type is increasing.
I do think my first boss at my first job out of college didn’t think I was very competent and while being female may have played a role in that I think a larger component was that as a brand-new engineer I didn’t yet have confidence in my OWN abilities and as such I didn’t project competence. Being male probably would have erased some, but not all, of that. But I think that “extra little boost” would be worth maybe 20-50%, not 2000%.
Tit for tat, I guess I’m not really understanding what your issue is with the portion of my comment that you posted.
“It just means that there are some areas in your life that you don’t have to worry about in ways that other people who don’t have that privilege have to worry about all the time” (Bee)
So, unless that white person in your hypo is walking around Harlem at night all the time, I guess I’m not seeing how your example fits in, exactly.
I think what you might be trying to get at is this: Some populations that aren’t considered “privileged” nonetheless (depending on the situation) sometimes have privilege over people who would otherwise be considered privileged. We’re gonna call that situational privilege. Example? Well sure. The daughter of immigrants from Bolivia may be put down by her classmates for her nationality and race, and for her parents’ language and customs; if she lives in Arizona, she may have to present her ID showing that she’s legally in the U.S. whenever she’s in public; she may be overlooked for certain jobs because of how she looks, or because of her name, or because the person doing the hiring is racist. But she may have the advantage over a white male in applying for a job helping migrant farmworkers — even if he speaks Spanish just as well as she does.
Or, to make a more concise point: A person with a prosthetic leg gets the closest parking space to the grocery store, which is TOTALLY UNFAIR BECAUSE I WANT THAT SPACE, but they still have a prosthetic leg, and all the extra troubles, worries, and pain that go with that, and I, with my able-bodied privilege and less-accessible parking spot, don’t.
Or read this. Or this.
Amused
What if the white person lives there too.
Plymouth
Overall privilege also depends on where you live, not just in America but all over the world. So my so called male white privilege may have much more power in some areas it will have none in some others. Also what happens to it when Im around all white people. What then gets used to create a power situation. Maybe its size, maybe sex, maybe its beauty……..etc. I am just trying to point out that many times past and present I never felt the presence of my white male privilege. In fact it did nothing to prevent my oppressors from oppressing me. Now I am not saying its all the time but the fact of the matter neither is it for many feminists.
If you run around half-naked you can’t label yourself a slut if you don’t want to have sex! You are just a cocktease. If you force those women to have sex with you, you’re actually helping them. Nobody wants the Slut Walk to become a Cocktease Walk.
I myself wanted to “help” some of the young woman there, sadly there were just so much cops…
Yeah apparently for good reason Marc.
Tit for tat: I started to write a long description of how that white person who lives in Cabrini Green of yore has white privilege in some situations and lacks it in others, but really — what’s the point? That you have to invent this singular, imaginary person to support your overwhelmingly true point that white privilege is a lie … maybe that says it all. Maybe white privilege isn’t a lie.
Point the second, in which you state that places dominated by white folk =/ the world: That’s a good point. In Japan, for example, I felt an odd version of white privilege, in which I certainly wasn’t looked down on, but at times was probably seen as less capable, just because of my origins/race. But the truth is, I’ve been afraid to travel certain places because of my American passport, or because of my sex; I’ve never been afraid to go anywhere because I’m white. Which kind of says something, I think. Privilege doesn’t mean power. Or, it can, but it can also be a mere advantage, immunity, or exemption. When you walk into that room of white people, are you nervous that they’re going to treat you differently because of your race? No? Then, hello white privilege. That’s all it is. It doesn’t mean that you’re going to be the super best hotshot in the room who everyone loves. There is, as you refer to, intersectionality of privilege. So, every white person in the room of white folk has white privilege. But only some will have other privileges. Class privilege. Able-bodied privilege. Cis privilege. Straight privilege. Thin privilege. And then there are just a bunch of intangibles that get thrown into every human interaction, such as: funny, interesting people with charisma are going to get more attention than boring people, despite any concept of privilege. So, once you start whining about how all the white people in the room don’t get treated like princesses, you’ve kind of changed the discussion topic to something other than privilege.
I am sure that a white, cis, straight, able-bodied man such as yourself occasionally feels the sting of, well, life for one thing. Privilege doesn’t mean that one is automatically shielded from life’s traumas. And a white, cis, straight, able-bodied man will also be not-privileged in some situations. Did you read those blog posts I linked you to? The area of childcare is a big place where women are privileged over men. So, if you and I both tell our mutual friend that we’d love to watch her infant sometime, guess who’s going to get asked over more often? (Me.) If you and I hang out at the playground and watch kids, guess who’s going to be scrutinized by the other moms as looking suspicious? (You.) Does that mean I have female privilege in those situations? Yes. Does that mean that being female is always a privilege? No.
it’s weird, because all the discussion of privilege is asking anyone to do is examine how groups of people are differently affected by the labels they wear, and to acknowledge when their own labels have offered a bit of respite from hardships that others live with constantly. No one’s saying that your white, male, cis, straight privilege has shielded you from every hardship known to man! It just means that, despite all your other constant worries and pains, getting beaten half to death for daring to hold your lover’s hand in public probably isn’t a constant worry for you.
Dying of AIDS probably isn’t a constant worry for you.
Being shot by the police while unarmed probably isn’t a constant worry for you.
You probably rarely worry about whether the place you need to go is wheelchair accessible.
You probably rarely worry about getting raped.
You probably rarely worry whether anyone’s going to question your right to use the men’s bathroom.
I dont disagree that there can/is be white male privilege. My challenge is when it is thrown out as an insinuation that it is the cause of the bulk of our inequality out here. Im not saying you do that, but I have heard that from many feminists. I think one of the points of Kyriarchy was to attempt to get rid of the ism’s and try to create an all encompassing label(I may be wrong on that one). Maybe we are searching for the same thing, Im just not in agreement that feminism is the way to go about it.
Okay, I understand the concept of malleable privilege, but my central problem with feminist philosophy is that overall, men do not have more privilege than women. If anything, it’s the other way around.
Bee, although I agree with most of what you are saying, I’m not sure I accept the proposition that women being preferred for babysitting jobs is a privilege. (I also don’t see fathers at playgrounds subjected to ostracism, but I suppose that could be a regional thing.) Babysitters and nannies make little money and have no hope of any meaningful career advancement. Even if you run a daycare, unless it’s a prep-school type operation (in which case, it doesn’t matter if it’s run by a man, and a man may, in fact, be preferred), the most you can hope for is a very modest income from a job that has long hours, is labor-intensive and incredibly stressful.
The notion of privilege is inseparable from that of rewards. Yes, women have traditionally held a monopoly on low-paid, repetitive service jobs, but is it privilege? Certainly, it’s not the counterpart to men’s traditional monopoly on well-compensated and professionally rewarding jobs.
I am a litigator, and I find that my profession is still largely dominated by men (and was much more so when I started 10 years ago). But on the rare occasions when I go to Family Court, I note an interesting phenomenon: lawyers for Childrens’ Services are almost all women. (Why? I would argue that it’s actually a disadvantage that young women who go into careers find themselves under considerable pressure to justify their choice by making those careers revolve around children.) Do female attorneys enjoy a privilege with Children’s Services? I don’t know — it’s one of the lowest-paid, most dead-end jobs you can get with a law degree, a slow career suicide. And I note that while Children’s Services and Legal Aid attorneys in Family Court are almost all women, the judges are almost all men — which leads to the inevitable conclusion that these men get elected to preside over a certain category of cases despite having no prior experience with this area of law. Now — THAT’s privilege.
As a single dad in my younger years I was constantly told how wonderful I was for taking my kids to the park. What woman gets told they are wonderful for simply parenting their children?
It’s important to note that “ease of getting laid” is not the only, or even a particularly important, dimension of privilege.
(And if it were, it would be important to note that shit ain’t so easy for the 90% of women who aren’t young, thin, conventionally feminine, good-looking, and outgoing.)
The notion of privilege is inseparable from that of rewards.(Amused)
Good point, the thing is though, not all reward is financial. There are emotional rewards, communal rewards and others. I can agree with Kave but I also remember the subtle reminders of how I wasnt as nurturing or understanding as a mother. I am reminded weekly at work(massage therapist) that I am a male and may not be the best one suited for what I do. It is rare a person would prefer a male therapist(though it does happen). It seems people will either take a homophobic approach to male touch or one that you are not gentle enough. Remember these things in my life arent a sometime thing, they were/are a regular occurance. In these instances my white male privilege doesnt seem applicable.
What man gets promoted for having a dick? Answer: none.
And I think that’s a pretty important dimension. of privilege. Not that it’s the only one, but the romantic aspect is prominent in people’s lives and shouldn’ be discounted as unimportant. I’d also argue it’s even quite easy for women who aren’t attractive. I’d say only the most unattractive 15% or so have real problems comparable to 80% of men.
I am the old boys network you idiot.
Promotions are more then often handed out when you are playing golf, or drinks after work. Become friends with your boss and you will get ahead. A great night out can do wonders for your career.
mral has no idea about how the real world works because he simply is not a part of it. He’s human waste unless he turns his life around, learns to socialize and it wouldn’t hurt to be able to swing a club.
Titfortat.
I guess women don’t go to massage therapists? I had to switch to a guy because I needed more muscle behind it. It’s quite easy in your job, ask your client if you are working them too hard… ASK.
Tit, do you play videogames? Anything with faction relations, like World of Warcraft or Fallout 3/New Vegas?
If not, this is all gonna be pointless gibberish, but on the chance you do:
Imagine life is a simplified videogame version of itself. You roll a character from a faction that makes them not only get bonuses with their own faction, but get a small bonus with most other factions as well. Most of the powerful and quest-giving NPCs are in your faction, so getting along in the world is a bit easier because you have more opportunities to earn XP and gear, and NPCs that are important to you are less likely to die or be removed from play somehow (see aforementioned powerfulness.)
This doesn’t mean every part of gameplay is easier for you. There are still dungeons and bosses that are hellishly difficult for everyone. There are some quests you can’t get (or can’t get without putting in a ludicrous amount of work to get in good with the faction the quest-giver belongs to) because you didn’t start out as part of that faction. But if you take everything in the game universe and average it out, you have an advantage.
That is privilege. It’s the concept of an overall systematic advantage.
[Note to self: life would make an awful MMORPG; hella balancing issues.]