Facing privilege

Taking a break from the quilting posts to do an excercise, inspired by this post by Tami, read more about how (and why) in this article.

Take a (virtual) step:
If your father went to college before you started
If your father finished college before you started
If your mother went to college before you started
If your mother finished college before you started
If you have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
If your family was the same or higher class than your high school teachers
If you had a computer at home when you were growing up
If you had your own computer at home when you were growing up
If you had more than 50 books at home when you were growing up
If you had more than 500 books at home when you were growing up (Well, my parents certainly did. And to be honest, I probably did, too, even if I’m just supposed to count MY books.)
If were read children’s books by a parent when you were growing up
If you ever had lessons of any kind as a child or a teen
If you had more than two kinds of lessons as a child or a teen
If the people in the media who dress and talk like you were portrayed positively
If you had a credit card with your name on it before college
If you had or will have less than $5000 in student loans when you graduate
If you had or will have no student loans when you graduate
If you went to a private high school
If you went to summer camp
If you had a private tutor
(US students only) If you have been to Europe more than once as a child or teen
(International question) If you have been to the US more than once as a child or teen
If your family vacations involved staying at hotels rather than KOA or at relatives homes
If all of your clothing has been new
If your parents gave you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
If there was original art in your house as a child or teen
If you had a phone in your room (But then, kids didn’t in Norway when I was young)
If your parent owned their own house or apartment when you were a child or teen
If you had your own room as a child or teen
If you participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
If you had your own cell phone in High School (I hadn’t even heard of anyone having a personal cell phone before I went to university)
If you had your own TV as a child or teen (But not for lack of funds, more because my parents wouldn’t have thought that was a good idea)
If you opened a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
If you have ever flown anywhere on a commercial airline
If you ever went on a cruise with your family
If your parents took you to museums and art galleries as a child or teen
If you were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

Yeah. Privileged.

But then, I’m white, cis-gendered, heterophile, able-bodied, educated with educated parents. The only thing I’ve got against me is being female, and I happen to live in one of the best countries in the world in terms of gender equality (though it’s still not perfect by any means). So I guess I knew that.

4 thoughts to “Facing privilege”

  1. Ooops, seems I was a bit quick on the publish button, leaving out both links… The article link seems to be dead, though, I’ll see if I can dig out one that works.

    It bugs me too. I can understand it sometimes, if your life has been tough, acknowledging that someone else is worse off, well I can imagine it might be difficult. But quite often it seems to be more a case of “well, I’m female so obviously I’m just as discriminated against as you, since you’re just disabled, black and poor – I know JUST what you’re going through”, which is blatantly BS.

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