The Socioeconomic Privilege Backpack, Because “Knapsack” Sounds Like a Rich Kid Thing

Thirty years ago, Peggy McIntosh wrote her now-famous essay, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Though the essay is three decades old and the conversation around privilege and oppression has advanced, it still rings true: she, like me, carries a sort of Bag of Holding every bit as imaginary yet helpful as one in a video game. I’m represented in art and media, security guards don’t follow me around retail stores, and I don’t have to worry about how my race will be perceived in a situation like giving a work presentation or job interview. More importantly: every single time I see a cop car, I feel grateful that I don’t have to be in actual mortal fear that they may pull me over. And, you know, shoot me. Like McIntosh, I also carry the weird intersection of being white but also a woman. I benefit from so many of the power structures and hierarchies on this planet, but I’m still constantly affected by patriarchal bullshit like my eroded reproductive rights and ever-present rape and diet cultures.

There’s another intersection to consider, however. Socioeconomic class is like the freeway that connects all of the other roads of privilege and oppression; it’s something that intersects with whoever you are, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or bodily health and function. I don’t…