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In today’s social and political climate, the word privilege is polarizing. Especially when paired with white or male.
Some hear it as a call to awareness.
Others hear it as an accusation.
But what if it’s neither?
What if privilege is just this: the absence of extra barriers?
Not the presence of luxury.
Let’s talk about what white male privilege looks like—especially in the U.S.—and how it plays out globally in different ways across Europe, Africa, and South Asia. Let’s look at the facts, not the fear.
🇺🇸 In the United States: The Legacy and the Ladder
The U.S. was built, legally and economically, to benefit white men, enshrining their control over land, voting rights, business, and leadership roles for generations.
While laws have changed, outcomes haven’t caught up. Today:
- White men comprise about 30% of the population but hold over 60% of top corporate and political leadership positions.
(Source: Center for American Progress, 2020) - Black and Latinx women earn only 64 and 57 cents, respectively, to the white man’s dollar.
(Source: National Women’s Law Center) - Job callback studies show that identical resumes with “white-sounding” names receive significantly more interview offers than those with African American names.
(Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004)
White men aren’t inherently “more privileged” in character, but in structure, they face fewer speed bumps. They’re more likely to be presumed competent, credible, and safe.
That’s privilege.
🇸🇪 In Sweden: Equal on Paper, Not in Practice
Sweden prides itself on being progressive, and legally, it is. Discrimination is banned, and gender equality is a core value.
But:
So yes, the Swedish system says “equal.” But the reality? Still skewed.
🇬🇧 The U.K.: A Polished Inequity
The U.K. shares many of the U.S.’s traits: class divisions, post-colonial racial hierarchy, and institutional inequality.
Privilege here isn’t about wealth alone. It’s about being “default, ” unexamined, and accepted without proving anything.
🌍 Across Africa: Privilege Takes a Different Shape
In many African nations, white men are not the majority, but in some cases, they still hold disproportionate economic power, often as foreign investors, landowners, or descendants of colonial elites.
- In South Africa, despite post-apartheid reforms, white South Africans (≈7% of the population) still control the majority of private farmland and business capital.
(Source: AgriSA and government land audits) - In countries like Kenya or Nigeria, privilege is often based more on tribal affiliation, language, wealth, and gender than on race. However, foreign white men frequently receive elevated treatment in the business, tourism, and development sectors.
So, “white male privilege” exists there, but often in imported, elite, or externalized forms rather than domestic majority structures.
🇮🇳 In India: Caste, Colorism, and Colonial Shadows
India doesn’t have a large white population, but the concept of privilege manifests in other systems:
- Fair skin is strongly favored, both socially and in media, a legacy of colonialism and caste.
- Upper-caste Hindu men enjoy systemic advantages in education, employment, and politics.
- Women, Dalits (oppressed castes), and religious minorities (especially Muslims) face intersecting discrimination.
Here, privilege isn’t “white and male”—it’s upper-caste and male. But the logic is the same: who is assumed to belong, lead, and speak?
🌎 So What Is Privilege?
It’s not guilt.
It’s not wealth.
It’s not immunity from suffering.
It’s the difference between walking into a room and being questioned or welcomed.
Between getting a second chance or no chance.
Between safety and scrutiny.
✝️ A Word to Christians
Jesus never said privilege was a sin.
But He did say, “To whom much is given, much will be required.” (Luke 12:48)
He didn’t condemn those with power. He challenged them to use it in service, not silence.
💬 Final Thought
If you’re a white man, this isn’t about hating you.
It’s about asking you to notice the ground you’re standing on, especially if others are walking uphill.
And if you’ve never had that kind of ease, then you already know:
Privilege isn’t about who works hardest.
It’s about who gets heard, helped, and believed.
Let’s start there.
Written by Dating Coach Rickard Österholm
Chirhodating.com – Exploring identity, truth, and love across borders