ONE of things about privilege is that those who have it, often don't realise they have it.

I've been thinking a lot about privilege after being on BBC Radio Scotland talking about cultural appropriation. A teenager in America wore a Chinese dress - a cheongsam in Cantonese or a qipao in Mandarin - to her high school prom.

She wore it because she thought it looked beautiful but she was widely criticised online for her choice and accused of cultural appropriation and ignorance. When I think of all the things I was ignorant of at 18...

Reading through a lot of the articles and online comments written about the incident, one of the things that struck me among those who had taken offence was that people from the Chinese diaspora had been bullied about their culture and led to feel ashamed of celebrating it.

Yet this young white woman could wear a cheongsam to her prom without any fear of being embarrassed or ashamed. That's the privilege she has without knowing she has it.

There was then the evidence given to the Scottish Parliament's education committee by Dalmarnock Primary head teacher Nancy Clunie. She told politicians how some of her pupils have never seen the sea.

"One wee boy in primary seven said to me last year 'Miss Clunie, what is the sea?' We booked a bus and we took the kids to Lunderston Bay.

"That's the river, but for that child it was the sea, and for that child it might be the only chance he's got."

Those are words that would just about break your heart. For those of us who jump in the car or on a train on a rare hot day and head down to Largs or Troon, how often do we think about how lucky we are to be doing it.

Can you imagine having never seen the sea?

Miki Dale, a British Rowing coach, has been working in Glasgow secondary schools giving pupils the chance to learn how to row. They start off in classrooms then move up to the Firhill Basin before finally taking to the Clyde.

Miki wants rowing to be seen as less of an elitist sport and make it more open to all, rather than those who are from privileged backgrounds.

When I was at primary school I walked myself to school, I took buses by myself and my friends and I went out after school and roamed about playing until our dinners were ready.

I think back to how far away we managed to get - I probably wouldn't even walk that distance these days but drive it - and it's pretty astounding. I don't know that any of my friends would leave their children out on their own, never mind without a mobile phone to hand.

Again, I feel my childhood was privileged in that way, and I'm sad for young children now who don't have that freedom.

We're so aware now about the many benefits of outdoor play and how good it is for children to be outdoors, learning about risk, staying healthy and being creative.

It's such an important thing and yet children are spending more and more time indoors. What should be ordinary has become a privilege. Glasgow City Council is encouraging residents to have their street closed for a weekend in June so that youngsters can go outside to play.

It's a great idea but is often taken up by people in more affluent postcodes. Hopefully the publicity push from the council will spread it city-wide this year.

Privilege comes in all sorts of ways and means all sorts of things. But those of us who are privileged have a duty to recognise that and use it to help others who don't.