Privilige

I have experienced privilege in several ways. I grew up with two middle class parents both with a master’s degree leveled education. The jobs they achieved because of these degrees provided a stable living for me as a child (health care, finances, safe living area). I grew up in a predominantly middle class suburb area with little crime. As a young child I had the opportunity to go to an excellent elementary, middle, and high school. Because of my achievement in these schools, I was able to go to a liberal arts college (which was also helped by my parent’s financial ability to help pay for it). As an educated woman I was able to acquire a full time job in jewelry (which was mostly female dominated) which paid me a solid $9 an hour (which isn’t bad for a poor college student). As a female, I experience work privilege differently from other middle class college boys. My boss at the jewelry store was very particular about the people she chose to work for her. She trusted women much more than men. She would not hire anyone without a high school education. She also tended to give raises to women before she gave them to men. We had one guy who worked in the store with us for about four months. He had been working there as long as I had and worked as hard as I had but I got the raise. My boss always used to say that it took an extra something from men to be able to sell jewelry. She was incredibly sexist and I have no idea how she never got in trouble for it.