Thoughts on....Privilege, Power, and Difference by Alan Johnson
Talking points:
"As popular and powerful as such arguments are, the only way to hold on to them is to ignore most of what history, psychology, anthropology, sociology, biology, and, if people look closely, their own experience reveal about human beings and how they live."
"The truth is, however, that once human being give something a name - whether if be skin color or whom you like to sleep with - that thing acquires a significance it other wise would not have. More important, the name quickly takes on a life of its own as we forget the social process that created it and start treating it as "real" in and of itself."
"It's like living in a rainy climate and somehow avoiding being rained on yourself."
Argument Statement:
In the book, Privilege, Power, and Difference, the author, Alan Johnson, argues that our society is stuck in it's ways when it comes to issues of like race, gender, sexual orientation, and social class. He feels that we have to start fresh from the things we've been taught or experienced in the past to change the way were think and act toward differences. We need to understand where this disconnect comes from as an individual and as a society.
Terms/Phrases to Review:
Class privilege
Race privilege
Privilege
Luxury of obliviousness
Unearned entitlements
Conferred dominance
Oppression
Relevant Resources:
The Diversity Wheel
The Original Two Ring Model Diversity Wheel was created in 1990 and in 2004 was updated to The Four Layer Model. The follow link is a YouTube video that describes the layers of The Four Layer Model.
I appreciate how these talking points highlight one of Alan Johnson’s central claims in Privilege, Power, and Difference: that systems of privilege persist not because they are natural, but because they are socially created, named, and then treated as inevitable. The quote about naming is especially powerful. Once categories like race, gender, or sexual orientation are named, they take on meaning far beyond biology or individual identity. Over time, we forget that these meanings were constructed, and instead we begin to treat them as fixed truths that justify unequal outcomes.
ReplyDeleteThe metaphor of living in a rainy climate and pretending not to get wet resonated with me as well. It captures how privilege often operates invisibly for those who benefit from it. The “luxury of obliviousness” allows people to believe they are untouched by systems of power, when in reality they are constantly shaped by them. This helps explain why privilege can be so hard to confront. Acknowledging it means admitting that advantages like unearned entitlements or conferred dominance are not solely the result of personal effort.
I also found the Diversity Wheel helpful in visualizing Johnson’s argument. It shows how identity is layered and how systems of power intersect across class privilege, race privilege, and other dimensions. Together, these layers reinforce oppression in ways that are structural, not just individual. Overall, Johnson pushes us to move beyond defensiveness and instead critically examine how we participate in these systems, whether knowingly or not, if we want meaningful social change.