How privilege lost its meaning, or The problem with Privilege Theory

For most of my life, a privilege was a special treatment for a tiny minority, usually contest winners or rich people. Which makes sense—"privilege" comes from the Latin for "private law", meaning the privileged get to play by different rules than you or me.

But "Checking Your Privilege 101" defines privilege as "an unearned advantage that a dominant group has over marginalized groups" and lists examples ranging from race and gender to "able-bodied privilege" (the "privilege" of not being disab...