White Privilege: How My Identities Impact On My Life

When I first became knowledgeable about intersectionality, I thought of the phrase “white privilege”. I thought about how, in modern time, most individuals truly do not think about how their race, religion, gender, language, and other aspects of their identities impact their daily lives. While I have experienced brief moments in my life where my identities came to light, I never considered how these “labels” benefit me or even make me vulnerable. All of my identities inform my worldview, and just looking through one may not identify my true privilege or vulnerability. Through my identities, I am influenced in the way I see the world. There are so many aspects to my life that impact how I interact with the world. I am a white female from a middle-class family at the most basic level. This aspect of my identity definitely puts me at an advantage in life. As a white individual, I am not considered a “minority” in America. As a white individual, I do not have to worry much about finding employment. I do not find myself stressed about laws considering discrimination about employment. I cannot say that in my lifetime I
As a Roman Catholic, my perspectives on social issues have been impacted. I have privilege in the sense that I have a community behind me that cares for me and provides support in more ways than one. My stance on issues have been impacted both positively and negatively through attending Roman Catholic church my whole life. As a Catholic, I have had the Church’s stance on social issues spoken to me until I was old enough to take in other opinions. While I may not always be in agreement with the Church, I have always considered how they have impacted my opinion on all issues. It makes for a conflicting place to be in considering when others perceive me as a Catholic, even if my personal stance on issues may be