Dominant privilege
Encyclopedia
Dominant privilege is a concept in critical theory
describing the unearned advantages enjoyed by members of the dominant culture. It includes three presumptions:
Examples of dominant privilege include White privilege, male privilege
, and heterosexual privilege
.
Critical theory
Critical theory is an examination and critique of society and culture, drawing from knowledge across the social sciences and humanities. The term has two different meanings with different origins and histories: one originating in sociology and the other in literary criticism...
describing the unearned advantages enjoyed by members of the dominant culture. It includes three presumptions:
- Innocence: I am not looked to as the cause of problems in society.
- Worthiness: I am presumed worthy of society's trust and wealth.
- Competence: I am expected to be skillful, successful, and autonomous.
Examples of dominant privilege include White privilege, male privilege
Male privilege
Male privilege is a sociological term that refers quite generally to the special rights or status granted to men in a society, on the basis of their sex or gender, but usually denied to women and/or transsexuals....
, and heterosexual privilege
Heteronormativity
Heteronormativity is a term invented in 1991 to describe any of a set of lifestyle norms that hold that people fall into distinct and complementary genders with natural roles in life. It also holds that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation, and states that sexual and marital relations...
.