--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Privilege is like oxygen. You don't…" description: "\"“Privilege is like oxygen. You don't realize it's there until it's gone.”\" — Rachel Sklar" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/rachel-sklar-53396_quote_privilege-is-like-oxygen-you-don-t-reali_2032702.jpg" --- # Privilege is like oxygen. You don't realize it's there… ![“Privilege is like oxygen. You don't realize it's there until it's gone.” quote by Rachel Sklar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/rachel-sklar-53396_quote_privilege-is-like-oxygen-you-don-t-reali_2032702.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/rachel-sklar-53396_quote_privilege-is-like-oxygen-you-don-t-reali_2032702.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20c/rachel-sklar-53396_quote_privilege-is-like-oxygen-you-don-t-reali_2032702.jpg) > ““Privilege is like oxygen. You don't realize it's there until it's gone.”” [Rachel Sklar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-sklar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights how privilege is unnoticed until its loss, urging awareness of unearned advantages. **In simple terms:** Privilege is invisible until missing. Key Takeaway Recognize and appreciate your advantages. Themes social awareness empathy inequality Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical social When to use this quote - workplace diversity training - policy discussions - personal reflection Key Concepts social justice intersectionality Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing privilege change your actions? - What can you do to support those lacking it? A Different Perspective Privilege can be abstract and hard to quantify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Like Oxygen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-oxygen-595452/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Privilege Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege-like-305674/) [Realize Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-gone-448913/) ## Related quotes > [I went to private school my whole life. Growing up in Los Angeles, you're surrounded by not just Connecticut privilege but, like, your-dad's-a-movie-star privilege.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paloma-elsesser/i-went-to-private-school-my-whole-life-growing-up-in-los-angeles-you/) [Paloma Elsesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paloma-elsesser/) > [Don't fade away like everyone else has. I dont want to wak up one morning and realize you are gone too](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/im-all-his/don-t-fade-away-like-everyone-else-has-i-dont-want-to-wak-up-one/) [Im\_all\_his](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/im-all-his/) > [I feel like it's a real privilege to like what I do and feel challenged by what I do and just want to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayo-edebiri/i-feel-like-it-s-a-real-privilege-to-like-what-i-do-and-feel/) [Ayo Edebiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayo-edebiri/) > [All of which raises the question – your task, burden, privilege, call it what you like – a question which men and women, great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/all-of-which-raises-the-question-your-task-burden-privilege-call-it/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [“what happens when you tell everyone that their worth, their ability, their right to speak on certain subjects and—shudder—their “privilege” is, like original sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milo-yiannopoulos/what-happens-when-you-tell-everyone-that-their-worth-their-ability/) [Milo Yiannopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milo-yiannopoulos/) > [I think what I do for a living is a privilege, so at the very least, I'd like to think it can be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dede-gardner/i-think-what-i-do-for-a-living-is-a-privilege-so-at-the-very-least-i/) [Dede Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dede-gardner/) > [White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/white-privilege-is-like-an-invisible-weightless-knapsack-of-special/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [Atheism is like the highest level of white privilege. It's like having a black belt in white privilege.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-kamau-bell/atheism-is-like-the-highest-level-of-white-privilege-it-s-like-having/) [W. Kamau Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-kamau-bell/) > [Everybody seems to realize what they have once its gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everybody-seems-to-realize-what-they-have-once-its-gone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Too often we don't realize what we have until it's gone. Too often we're too stubborn to say, 'Sorry, I was wrong.' Too often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/msparadeez/too-often-we-don-t-realize-what-we-have-until-it-s-gone-too-often-we/) [Msparadeez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/msparadeez/) > [“Some people don’t realize what they have until it’s gone, but that does not always mean they are supposed to get it back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-labossiere/some-people-don-t-realize-what-they-have-until-it-s-gone-but-that/) [Stephan Labossiere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-labossiere/) > [You don't realize what you had until it's gone , but there is a reason for every goodbye. God just chose a different path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-micah-rosales/you-don-t-realize-what-you-had-until-it-s-gone-but-there-is-a-reason/) [Maria Micah Rosales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-micah-rosales/) > [Often we don't realize what we have until it's gone. Too late we wait to say I'm sorry, I was wrong. Sometimes it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-chable/often-we-don-t-realize-what-we-have-until-it-s-gone-too-late-we-wait/) [Ana Chable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-chable/) > [You never realize what you have until its gone. Toilet paper is a good example.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/itsme867/you-never-realize-what-you-have-until-its-gone-toilet-paper-is-a-good/) [Itsme867](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/itsme867/) > [It's too bad you didn't realize what you had until it was gone. It must suck trying to find another me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-too-bad-you-didn-t-realize-what-you-had-until-it-was-gone-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Rachel Sklar > [If you DON'T have diversity around your boardroom table, then what is wrong with you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-sklar/if-you-don-t-have-diversity-around-your-boardroom-table-then-what-is/) [Rachel Sklar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-sklar/) > [There's a lot of money to be made by taking women seriously, and letting them know you're taking them seriously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-sklar/there-s-a-lot-of-money-to-be-made-by-taking-women-seriously-and/) [Rachel Sklar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-sklar/) > [Friendships that are first grounded in the shared professional ambitions - social stuff is built around that - and then you see people pulling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-sklar/friendships-that-are-first-grounded-in-the-shared-professional/) [Rachel Sklar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-sklar/) > [My co-founder and great friend Glynnis MacNicol is only a chat box away and gives me the support (and tough love!) needed to remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-sklar/my-co-founder-and-great-friend-glynnis-macnicol-is-only-a-chat-box/) [Rachel Sklar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-sklar/) > [Goliaths, choose your Davids wisely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-sklar/goliaths-choose-your-davids-wisely/) [Rachel Sklar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-sklar/) [Explore all 6 Rachel Sklar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-sklar/) ## More Gone quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. 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One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [The weird thing was that Soft Cell was supposed to have come and gone before I started the album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/the-weird-thing-was-that-soft-cell-was-supposed-to-have-come-and-gone/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) [Browse all 7,934 Gone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Privilege is like oxygen. 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