Privilege as Privileging: Making the Dynamic and Complex Nature of Privilege and Marginalization Accessible

ABSTRACT

Privilege is one of the central constructs social work educators reference to increase self-awareness and concern about inequality, but it is often oversimplified. This article argues how the concept of privilege can be made more credible to learners by anchoring it to everyday business-as-usual decision making, stereotyping, and various ideologies. Using a modified definition of privilege as privileging, and elaborating the definition of opportunity, the article describes the connections between opportunity distribution decisions, content of stereotypes, and belief systems, showing how educators can help students connect privileging at the individual and interpersonal levels to group-based inequality and sociocultural phenomena. The article also shows how using the privileging concept map can help students identify subtler contemporary examples of privileging and marginalization.

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Notes on contributors

Joseph D. Minarik

Joseph D. Minarik is a doctoral candidate and adjunct lecturer at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.