Tang 1

Jessica Tang
Ms. Gardner
English 10 Period 4
29 Oct 2014
On Privilege
Dear cissexual straight white boys, you are the most privileged group in America and you
dont even know it.
Dont get me wrong. Im not saying you dont have problems of your own. But lets put
this in simpler terms: In the video game of life, you are playing the easiest mode.
See, the thing is, you don't have to worry about racism, microagression, sexism,
heteronormativity or homophobia. And, even better you are likely to be defended by media
pretty much no matter what you do; society has you trapped in an endless cycle of enablement.
One of you posts a video, complaining about how no one gives him anything he deserves, and
only days later goes on a shooting spree: he was just a misunderstood, mentally ill young man.
One of you rapes a girl, and the media coddles you and your future, excusing you for your youth,
your carelessness; meanwhile, the girl has higher chances of PTSD than a war veteran
(Statistics & Benefits). One of you applies for a job as a former convict; you are still more
likely to be chosen than a black man with the same qualifications (Pager).
You dont have to worry that a policeman will shoot you in the back, that the law will
simply write you off as another statistic; that your work will be ignored in favor of someone
elses, even though your work is superior; that regulations will prevent you from having control
over your own body; that people wont back off if you say no; that something will happen to you

Tang 2
because you are walking down the street alone; that your parents would find you so repulsive
they would leave you on the streets; that you are going to hell for who you are.
You dont live in a society where you are constantly told that you are inferior.
The fact is, in media, cissexual straight white boys are the default. They are everywhere.
You have an abundance of models to learn from, to emulate, to see there is nothing wrong with
you. Its so easy for you to take it for granted, that any token character in any given piece of
media will be like you.
Now let me tell you a story.
When I was in second grade, my sister brought home a blonde wig from a play she was
part of; I wore it all afternoon and evening. I must have looked ridiculous, but I was ecstatic
because I thought if my hair was blonde instead of ugly black, I could be beautiful.
And another: I have been reading for as long as I can remember. I have breathed in
countless pages, read innumerable books, and devoured entire libraries; and yet, I can still
remember vividly the first, and only, time I found a Chinese-American protagonist.
And another: a psychologist named Clark showed two dolls, one black and one white, to
black children aged six to nine. He asked questions such as which doll was the pretty one, the
ugly one, the good one, the bad one. Without fail, every single child said the black doll was the
bad one (Stienissen).
Why is that doll the bad doll? a psychologist asked one of the children.
She replied, Because its black.
And another: I have always been perplexed by my inability to be interested in romance. It
seemed to be all anyone could talk about, but it was completely alien to me. There was no
fanfare or trumpets playing when I discovered the term asexuality, only an overwhelming

Tang 3
sense of relief that maybe I wasnt broken. Yet I still feel bereft whenever my mother says,
Youll grow out of it, or Youll be interested once you mature, as if being old enough to
choose a career to pursue isnt old enough to know what Im interested in.
Do you know what its like, thinking youre not good enough because of your race, your
gender, your sexuality?
It is your friends, foes and family who have been perpetuating these harmful views with
their ignorance. And while these problems are not your fault, this is the world you live in; as part
of it, they are your responsibility. Then be responsible. A society can change an individual, but so
can an individual change a society. You have had privilege working for you your entire life for
no reason other than your very existence; now is the time to put it to good use. So learn. Educate
yourselves. Change. And know this: if you want to wait, or you decide to ignore the problem, or
you do not find it worth the effort to try, do as you will, but it is your loss. For if the world
cannot change beside you, it will change despite you and we will no longer wait.

Tang 4
Works Cited
Pager, Devah. "Study: Black Man and White Felon Same Chances for Hire." Anderson Cooper
360 RSS. CNN, 9 Aug. 2008. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
Statistics & Benefits of TL1. TraumaLine1. TraumaLine1, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.
Stienissen, Geert. Clark Doll Experiments. YouTube. Youtube, 15 Apr. 2012. Web. 30 Oct.
2014.