Heterosexual Privilege Checklist
"30+ Examples of Heterosexual Privilege" is one of Sam Killerman's privilege lists that he created for people of privilege to empathize with other, non-privileged individuals. Social justice advocate, Killermann writes:
- Immediate access to your loved one in case of accident or emergency.
- Public recognition and support for an intimate relationship (e.g., congratulations for an engagement).
- Expressing affection in most social situations and not expecting hostile or violent reactions from others.
- Living with your partner and doing so openly.
- Expressing pain when a relationship ends from death or separation and receiving support from others.
- Receiving social acceptance by neighbors, colleagues, and good friends.
- Learning about romance and relationships from fiction movies and television.
- Having role models of your gender and sexual orientation.
- Having positive and accurate media images of people with whom you can identify.
- Expecting to be around others of your sexuality most of the time. Not worrying about being the only one of your sexuality in a class, on a job, or in a social situation.
- Talking openly about your relationship, vacations, and family planning you and your lover/partner are doing.
- Easily finding a neighborhood in which residents will accept how you have constituted your household.
- Raise, adopt, and teach children without people believing that you will molest them or force them into your sexuality.
- Working in traditionally male or female dominated job and not feeling as though you are a representative of your sexuality.
- Paid leave from employment when grieving the death of your spouse.
- Not being asked “how does sex work for you?” or other too-personal questions by strangers.
- Sharing health, auto and homeowners’ insurance policies at reduced rates.
- Not having to hide or lie about women/men-only social activities.
- Acting, dressing, or talking as you choose without it being a reflection on people of your sexuality.
- The ability to teach about lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals without being seen as having a bias because of your sexuality or forcing a “homosexual agenda” on students.
- Property laws, filing joint tax returns, inheriting from your spouse automatically under probate laws.
- Joint child custody.
- Going wherever you wish and know that you will not be harassed, beaten, or killed because of your sexuality.
- Not worrying about being mistreated by the police or victimized by the criminal justice system because of your sexuality.
- Legal marriage to the person you love.
- Knowing that your basic civil rights will not be denied or outlawed because some people disapprove of your sexuality.
- Expect that your children will be given texts in school that support your kind of family unit and they will not be taught that your sexuality is a “perversion.”
- Freedom of sexual expression without fear of being prosecuted for breaking the law.
- Belonging to the religious denomination of your choice and know that your sexuality will not be denounced by its religious leaders.
- Knowing that you will not be fired from a job or denied a promotion based on your sexuality.
- Not being asked by your child’s school to only send one parent to “back to school” night as to not upset the other parents by having two same-sex partners in the class together.
- The ability to play a professional sport and not worry that your athletic ability will be overshadowed by your sexuality and the fact that you share a locker room with the same gender.
- Not having to worry about being evicted if your landlord finds out about your sexuality.
- Not having to “come out” (explain to people that you’re straight, as you can just assume they will assume it)
- Knowing that people aren’t going to mutter about your sexuality if you come out to them.
- Knowing that being open with your sexuality isn’t going to change how people view you.
- Being able to have your partner from a different country be able to obtain citizenship in your country through marriage.
- Not having people think your sexuality is a mental health issue
- Not having to worry that people won’t let their children play with your children because of your sexuality.
- Not having to worry where you can move alone or with your spouse and have equal job opportunities abroad.
(Killerman).
Source: http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2012/01/29-examples-of-heterosexual-privilege/