Title: Class Privilege vs. White Privilege - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
Headings: Class Privilege vs. White Privilege
Class Privilege vs. White Privilege
Lesson Transcript
What Is Privilege?
Class Privilege
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Class Privilege vs. White Privilege
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Class Privilege vs. White Privilege
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Content: People who pass as white, or who are not white but look that way sometimes experience white privilege. If an African American person makes enough money to rent that $800 a month apartment, they may be treated coldly by housing staff, or neighbors may be wary of them because they have internalized stereotypes about African American people. These small gestures based in prejudice, called microaggressions in social science, are things that white people do not have to deal with because they are considered the dominant group. In short, while this person has some degree of class privilege, they do not have white privilege. Likewise, the low-income person in the previous example does not benefit from class privilege, but if they are white, they will have an easier time getting their needs met. And this is not their fault, of course! White people do not choose their whiteness. However, whiteness confers benefits on people that others do not have, and being aware of these can help others overcome oppression. Lesson Summary
Class privilege, or privilege based on a person's social class, means that middle- and upper-class folks don't have to worry about certain things in life, like having good housing, reliable transportation, or healthy food to eat. People may experience class discrimination, or judgment based on how much money you have, when they have to go the extra mile to prove their financial reliability to people.