# It Was My Privilege "It Was My Privilege" is a sarcastic punchline used to close 4chan greentext stories in which routine male courtesies get reframed as textbook acts of patriarchal oppression[1]. The format surfaced in January 2013 before spreading within weeks to Tumblr, forums, and Reddit as a standing counter-joke against "check your privilege" arguments. ## Origin The earliest documented "It Was My Privilege" thread was posted on 4chan on January 9, 2013, and included a run of greentext stories that all closed on the same line[3]. Because 4chan does not keep older threads, screenshots of that original run were later archived on Imgur, which became the source for most reposts. A short YouTube retrospective covering the meme and the "Elevator Gate" atheism drama tied to it circulated later that year[1]. - **Platform:** 4chan / Tumblr (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2013 ## Overview The format leans on a familiar green text vignette. A man helps a woman carry heavy groceries, holds a door open, or gives up his seat on a bus, and the last line always drops the same deadpan closer, "It was my privilege." The joke works by inverting the reader's expectation, treating a basic gesture like it belongs in a case study on the patriarchy, and the comic beat hangs on how sharply the setup pivots into the payoff. Because the punchline riffs directly on the "check your privilege" reminder popular in social justice writing at the time, entries pile on hyperbolic detail such as a woman "swooning" or a bystander being "oppressed" to sharpen the sarcasm before the last arrow lands. Urban Dictionary later logged the phrase as a self-serving intro that flags a pointless story is coming[2]. ## How It Spread On the same day the 4chan thread went up, an "Abovt Male Privilege" Tumblr blog reposted one of the greentexts, giving the format a foothold outside the imageboard. A day later, a Bodybuilding.com forums member opened a thread collecting privilege copypastas, and on January 26 a FunnyJunk user reposted a screenshot of the 4chan original[3]. The joke jumped again in mid-February when an A Voice For Men forums thread asked users to submit new stories about "using the might of the patriarchy to oppress women." On March 13 a "Meinprivilege" Facebook group launched with a nod to the "Elevator Gate" incident involving atheist blogger Rebecca Watson, and a Redditor's screenshot on /r/4chan about a gym rescue collected more than 1,100 upvotes in its first three months[3]. The phrase later picked up a lighter second life on political forums as a sarcastic reply to authority overreach, sitting alongside lines like "Literally 1984"[2]. ## How to Use A typical "It Was My Privilege" post opens with greentext bullet points sketching an ordinary polite exchange between a man and a woman, then closes on the exact line "It was my privilege." Writers often exaggerate the woman's reaction or the bystanders' outrage to sharpen the payoff. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is It Was My Privilege? "It Was My Privilege" is a sarcastic 4chan greentext punchline that recasts an ordinary act of male politeness as a textbook example of patriarchal oppression[1]. ### Where did It Was My Privilege come from? The format was born on 4chan in January 2013 through a run of greentext stories that all landed on the same closing line, with a later YouTube retrospective tying it to the "Elevator Gate" atheism drama[1]. ### What does It Was My Privilege mean? It is a mock-serious sign-off that flips a mundane act of courtesy into a fake example of male oppression, and Urban Dictionary also logs it as a "self-serving introduction" tag for a pointless story[2]. ### How do you use It Was My Privilege? Post a greentext story about a small polite gesture between a man and a woman, exaggerate the reaction to make it sound oppressive, then close on the exact line "It was my privilege"[2]. ### Is It Was My Privilege still popular? The format's peak was 2013 during the wave of "check your privilege" greentexts, and it now sits as a classic 4chan reference tied to that era rather than a currently viral trend[1]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKHwduG1Frk]() 2. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=It%20Was%20My%20Privilege]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/it-was-my-privilege]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/it-was-my-privilege Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library