-While privilege does not determine whether or not someone is successful, access to it definitely puts them a step ahead.

The words social justice and privilege often have people turning up their nose.  Either it makes people feel threatened or they don’t understand it, but the whole point of social justice is to help people feel more accepted within communities and to create a more inclusive and fair society.  “Equality will always feel uncomfortable for those who once benefited from inequality,” Michael S. Kimmel, The Gendered Society.

Privilege exists in today’s culture and society.  Peggy McIntosh defines privilege as, “when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to, rather than because of anything they’ve done or failed to do.  Access to privilege doesn’t determine one’s outcomes, but it is definitely an asset that makes it more likely that whatever talent, ability, and aspirations a person with privilege has will result in something positive for them,” via Cracking the Codes: A Trip to the Grocery Store.

For example, white, cis males have privilege over cis males of color.  Cis-gendered people (those who are born with the same sex anatomy as the gender they identify as) in general have privilege over anyone who falls under the trans* or non-binary spectrum.

Ashley Mardell, a social justice advocate and LGBTQ+ youtuber, has had many specific experiences with privilege.  Mardell was having a conversation with an older man about gender and sexuality spectrums when she expressed her identity and he was taken aback with her word choice.

“I identify as queer.  This used to be a slur used to insult gay people and can be really harmful, but I almost forgot that it even had this history because this is how I identify.  Which, by the way, is privilege.  My age and the time I live in, with the freedom I have, is privilege,” Mardell said.

The man had questioned her use of the identity “queer” because in his experience, that term had a strongly negative connotation.  Because the word is now considered a reclaimed word of the LGBTQ+ community, Mardell feels comfortable identifying with it.

A misunderstanding of the idea of privilege can cause people to become defensive about their access to it.  Nobody wants to be told that the only reason they are successful in what they do is because of something they can’t control.  People with privilege can often dread it just as much as people who don’t have it.

“Since I had always attributed my own successes to my own efforts, I defensively understood ‘privilege’ to discount my own efforts entirely and attribute them solely to my race, gender, or other factors,” Tyler Oakley said.  Now that Oakley has an understanding of the principle of privilege, he works to use it for good.

People in a place of privilege have an opportunity that is inaccessible to those who don’t; they can use their platform to help unrepresented minorities.  Often, those with platforms include celebrities and other public figures, like Tyler Oakley himself.

“I can only offer my own perspective and use my privilege to showcase other perspectives that could help the world,” Oakley said.

Mr. Pinder, the sponsor of the Gay Straight Alliance at PHU, is aware of the existence of privilege and also actively works to use it for good.  “I do think you have a responsibility to use whatever you are given for the betterment of humanity.  If I spend time helping someone in need, I don’t just help them.  It is also expanding my ability to understand other people like that.”

This idea is the spread of perspective.  No one in the world is the same, but it is comforting to know that you are on the right track, and haven’t completely gone rogue.  When someone relates to a celebrity or public figure, they can feel comfort and confident that they are doing something right.  Representation helps people feel validated.

People in the LGBTQ+ spectrum, and especially those of color, struggle to find people in the public eye that they can look up to and with whom they can identify.  This stems not only from a lack of representation in the media, but also within the LGBTQ+ celebrities who are not out to the public.

The only times that a gay person is seen on television is when it is a white stereotype gay-BFF of sorts.  Rarely is there someone of color, representing middle-of-the-spectrum identities, with a non-binary gender.

People don’t even know that identities like asexuality, gender queer, pansexuality, agenderedness, and genderfluidity even exist, much less the even more obscure identities.

“I recognize that by being in the G part of LGBTQ, I’ll inherently have more of a spotlight than the rest of the LGBTQ spectrum- and I can use my voice to help others in the community share their own voice,” Tyler Oakley said.

Since there is a limited number of celebrities that have expressed their identity with the public openly, the debate of whether or not celebrities have a responsibility to come out in order to increase representation is often disputed.

“I don’t think anybody has an obligation.  But I do think if you are comfortable in yourself, it’s a missed opportunity to not want to help others,” Oakley said.

“I think the real obligation [to come out] is to yourself,” Ingrid Nilson, a beauty vlogger on youtube who came out last summer, said.  “And you have to work on taking care of yourself, first, before you can even worry about being this person that other people are going to be looking to.”

“I think that celebrities who are willing to come out and speak vocally should use the platform and at least show that they are of visible support,” Pinder said.  “But, obviously, it is a very personal thing to do, and nobody can force you to live your private life publicly.”

People who have a well represented identity in the media and who live in a community where their identity is accepted and welcomed, have a natural privilege over those who don’t.

People with these natural platforms have the opportunity to raise up the voices of people who are less fortunate in order to help eradicate systematic inequality.  These people have the opportunity to be a good ally.

Although privilege at this point in time is generally unavoidable, people are working hard to make living in this society more fair.

“The most important thing that you can do in life is choose to love people and give them the benefit of the doubt, especially right when you meet them.  Don’t judge people, and what you’ll find is you will make friends that you never thought you could make, you’ll make connections that you never thought you could make, and you’ll actually advance further in life just by taking care of other people than you would by just looking after yourself,” Pinder said.

And finally, keep in mind that, “even though these thoughts and things have been said many times before, the only reason you might be paying attention is because a person in a place of privilege wrote them down for you to read,” Oakley said.