Privilege and marginalisation in everyday life. Walk with me.

Feature photo credit: @fransaraco //

Have you ever considered how privilege and marginalisation show up in your everyday life? Have you ever thought about walking in someone else’s shoes? How about reflecting upon the fit of your own shoes?

Everyone has multiple identities

Identities are the categories, boxes, we all get sorted into. Some are the boxes we choose, most are just the boxes we tick and then there are even the boxes we get put into for no reason other than assumption. Age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are all identities.

VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE identities

Some of our identities are things people can see easily — visible identities are things like race or assumed gender. Some of our identities are not easy to see — invisible identities are things like sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or level of education.

The majority and the minority

Majority status — having identities that are deemed socially acceptable. Majority status includes identities such as male, white, english-speaking. Privilege comes from being part of the majority. People with majority status are given power; they belong to dominant social groups that afford them to knowingly or unknowingly reap unfair advantage over those with minority status.

Minority status — having identities that are deemed socially less acceptable or unacceptable. Minority status includes identities such as transgender, black, disabled. Marginalisation comes from being part of the minority. People with minority status are targets; they belong to discriminated against social groups and face prejudice, bigotry, injustice, disenfranchising, exploitation, oppression etc.

What groups do you see represented in your community?
Who is not represented? Are all perspectives valued equally?
Who is in a position of power? Who is marginalised?
Whose voices are given a platform? Whose voices are silenced?

privilege and intersectionality

As humans we all hold many identities, some afford us privilege whilst others make us targets. It can be easy to forget about the effects and rights our privilege affords us. Your intersectionality. the overlapping of your identities, minority and majority, is what creates your unique experience.


Take a look at the wheel of power/privilege and the illustration of intersectionality. The closer you are to the centre, the more privilege you have:

Come Walk WITH ME

Have you ever considered how privilege and marginalisation show up in your everyday life? Have you ever thought about walking in someone else’s shoes? How about reflecting upon the fit of your own shoes? Whether you answered yes or no, a privilege walk can be a really helpful tool to unpack and revisit.

At some point in your life you will experience being a target and you will also experience being the person doing the targeting. It might have already happened.

This is an adaptation of the privilege walk exercise; it’s intended that you complete it alone and thus engage in authentic self-reflection. The “walk” analogy, for us, is interpreted as bringing awareness to both barriers and freedoms of access. The purpose of a privilege walk has been described “to raise awareness of various forms of privilege; understand the intersectionality of race, socioeconomic class, gender and other demographic variables that shape individuals; appreciate the diversity of individual backgrounds; and team-building”. There are many versions of the privilege walk available and all share the common thread that is to explore privilege.

Directions

This exercise is an opporunity to “walk” mindfully amongst the privilege and maginalisation of everyday life. I invite you to complete it without judgement. And after you’ve walked, consider how you feel, really reflect. What is your walk in life like? and what might other people’s walks be like?

Read each statement. If a statement applies to you take the step as indicated, write down the steps of your journey. If it’s one step forward write +1 or one step backwards write -1. If you feel a statement doesn’t apply to you, or you feel uncomfortable answering, stay where you are — for standing still write 0. At the end add up your score.

Ready to take a Walk ?!

1. If you are right-handed, take one step forward.
2. If English is your first language, take one step forward.
3. If one or both of your parents have a college degree, take one step forward.
4. If you can find Band-Aids at mainstream stores designed to blend in with or match your skin tone, take one step forward.
5. If you rely, or have relied, primarily on public transportation, take one step back.
6. If you have attended previous schools with people you felt were like yourself, take one step forward
7. If you constantly feel unsafe walking alone at night, take one step back.
8. If your household employs help as servants, gardeners, etc., take one step forward.
9. If you are able to move through the world without fear of sexual assault, take one step forward.
10. If you studied the culture of your ancestors in elementary school, take one step forward.
11. If you often feel that your parents are too busy to spend time with you, take one step back.
12. If you were ever made fun of or bullied for something you could not change or was beyond your control, take one step back.
13. If your family has ever left your homeland or entered another country not of your own free will, take one step back.
14. If you would never think twice about calling the police when trouble occurs, take one step forward.
15. If your family owns a computer, take one step forward.
16. If you have ever been able to play a significant role in a project or activity because of a talent you gained previously, take one step forward.
17. If you can show affection for your romantic partner in public without fear of ridicule or violence, take one step forward.
18. If you ever had to skip a meal or were hungry because there was not enough money to buy food, take one step back.
19. If you feel respected for your academic performance, take one step forward.
20. If you have a physically visible disability, take one step back.
21. If you have an invisible illness or disability, take one step back.
22. If you were ever discouraged from an activity because of race, class, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation, take one step back.
23. If you ever tried to change your appearance, mannerisms, or behavior to fit in more, take one step back.
24. If you have ever been profiled by someone else using stereotypes, take one step back.
25. If you feel good about how your identities are portrayed by the media, take one step forward.
26. If you were ever accepted for something you applied to because of your association with a friend or family member, take one step forward.
27. If you have ever been spoken over because you could not articulate your thoughts fast enough, take one step back.
28. If someone has ever spoken for you when you did not want them to do so, take one step back.
29. If there was ever substance abuse in your household, take one step back.
30. If you come from a single-parent household, take one step back.
31. If you live in an area with crime and drug activity, take one step back.
32. If someone in your household suffered or suffers from mental illness, take one step back.
33. If you have been a victim of sexual harassment, take one step back.
34. If you were ever uncomfortable about a joke related to your race, religion, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation but felt unsafe to confront the situation, take one step back.
35. If you are never asked to speak on behalf of a group of people who share an identity with you, take one step forward.
36. If you can make mistakes and not have people attribute your behavior to flaws in your racial or gender group, take one step forward.
37. If you have always assumed you’ll go to college, take one step forward.
38. If you have more than fifty books in your household, take one step forward.
39. If your parents have told you that you can be anything you want to be, take one step forward.

Take some time in ReflectION

How did it feel each time you took a step backwards ( -1) ?
How did it feel each time you took a step forwards (+1) ?
What did this exercise raise for you? Did it raise anything?

AND proceed with intention

Alt Text:
Wheel of Power and Privilege, above image, long description
Adapted from Sylvia Duckworth’s Wheel of Power/Privilege.

A colorful circle indicates social identities and positions, relationships of power and marginalization, and social processes of discrimination, oppression, privilege and power. Around the edge of the circle, there is a list of social processes. These include ageism, ableism, ethnocentrism, transphobia, xenophobia, classism, colonialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, and heterosexism. Within the circle, social identities and positions are arranged in three concentric rings. The outermost ring lists sixteen social identities and positions. These include age, culture, disability, education, ethnicity, geography, gender, immigration status, income, indigeneity, language, marital status, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation. Moving inwards, the second ring lists sixteen categories that fall under the social identities and positions described in the outermost ring. These categories are typically more marginalized in society. A text box along the edge of this second ring reads “Marginalized.” The innermost ring lists sixteen categories that again fall under the social identities and positions described in the outermost ring. This time, the categories listed are ones typically associated with power in society. At the center of the circle, a text box reads “Power.”

Thus, the sixteen portions of the circle can be broken down as follows:
Age: Older adults, youth (marginalized ring), middle-aged (power ring)
Culture: Non-Western (marginalized ring), Western (power ring)
Disability: Disabled (marginalized ring), able-bodied (power ring)
Education: No formal education (marginalized ring), post-secondary (power ring)
Geography: Rural (marginalized ring), urban (power ring)
Gender: Trans and nonbinary (marginalized ring), cis-woman (middle ring), cis-man (power ring)
Immigration status: Immigrant (marginalized ring), citizen (power ring)
Income: Low (marginalized ring), high (power ring)
Indigeneity: Indigenous Peoples (marginalized ring), settler (power ring)
Language: English and French (marginalized ring), Other languages (power ring)
Marital status: Widowed, divorced, single (marginalized ring), married (power ring)
Race: Racialized (marginalized ring), white (power ring)
Religion: Non-Christian (marginalized ring), Christian (power ring)
Sex: Intersex (marginalized ring), female (middle ring), male (power ring)
Sexual orientation: LGBTQ+ (marginalized ring), straight (power ring)

Below the circle, an arrow goes from the “Trans and nonbinary” text in the gender portion to a text box that reads: “Some gender identity terms include: agender, bigender, genderfluid, genderqueer, gender neutral, non-binary, transgender man, transgender woman.”