Privilege loss
Thomas Owen, senior lecturer, writer, film maker and researcher in AUT's School of Communication Studies is researching privilege loss.
In his TEDx Talk he asks why is privilege so awkward to talk about, hard to acknowledge, difficult to contemplate losing? Why is the idea of losing our privilege so scary, when losing it might be the best thing we could do for ourselves, our relationships and our planet.
Dr Owen says if a social justice campaigns are successful, then one group will relatively gain privilege, while another will relatively lose it.
He has been researching what privilege is, the various types of privilege we may have, and what happens to people when they lose some of that privilege.
"We all share one specific privilege. We all have the privilege to consume more than our fair share of the Earth's resources. That's a privilege we need to lose.
"Let's lose that privilege and gain the connection."