Privilege Meme
Jan. 1st, 2008 09:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eve_primeThe first day of the year seems like a good time to reflect on privilege. Courtesy of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
archaeomom8:
From What Privileges Do You Have?, based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, and Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. (If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.)
Bold the true statements.
1. Father went to college.
2. Father finished college. (Business administration, Univ. of Oregon.)
3. Mother went to college.
4. Mother finished college. (English and Spanish, Univ. of Oregon. Her mother finished college too: Education, Oregon College of Education, which is now Western Oregon Univ.)
5. Have any relative who is (was) an attorney, physician, or professor.
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children's books by a parent. (But I don't really remember it; I was reading proficiently pretty early.)
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18. (Piano.)
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18.
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively.
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs. (My dad and grandma paid for most of the first two years.)
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs.
16. Went to a private high school. (There was only one local private high school (Catholic), and it wasn't any higher quality than the public schools.)
17. Went to summer camp. (Once to Girl Scout camp, which was not a fun experience.)
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18.
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels. (Never had any family vacations, though sometimes I'd stay with my grandparents or my aunt.)
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18. (If the gist of the question was that we didn't buy used clothes nor did I get hand-me-downs, that's correct, but my mother did sew some of my clothes too.)
21*. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them. (My dad bought me a bright yellow Plymouth Duster with mortifyingly large black racing stripes.)
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child.
23. You and your family lived in a single family house. (A succession of them.)
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home.
25. You had your own room as a child.
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18.
27. Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course. (I don't even know if they had such things back then.)
28. Had your own TV in your room in High School.
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College.
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16. (My dad owned some planes too.)
31. Went on a cruise with your family. (Does a day trip on the Princess Marguerite between Seattle and Victoria count?)
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family.
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up.
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family.
*archaeomom8 didn't have this question; I added it from violet_memory and owl_of_minerva.
Overall, I'd say this sounds pretty privileged, in a small-town, middle-class way. On my dad's side, my grandparents were small business owners (a rural grocery store, gas station, fishing bait, and vacation cabins), and my dad was a realtor. My maternal grandpa was a lineman for Pacific Power & Light, and my grandma was a first- and second-grade teacher. My mom taught high school English and Spanish before I was born and was glad to have an excuse to quit and become a well-educated housewife.
archaeomom8:From What Privileges Do You Have?, based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, and Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. (If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.)
Bold the true statements.
1. Father went to college.
2. Father finished college. (Business administration, Univ. of Oregon.)
3. Mother went to college.
4. Mother finished college. (English and Spanish, Univ. of Oregon. Her mother finished college too: Education, Oregon College of Education, which is now Western Oregon Univ.)
5. Have any relative who is (was) an attorney, physician, or professor.
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children's books by a parent. (But I don't really remember it; I was reading proficiently pretty early.)
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18. (Piano.)
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18.
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively.
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs. (My dad and grandma paid for most of the first two years.)
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs.
16. Went to a private high school. (There was only one local private high school (Catholic), and it wasn't any higher quality than the public schools.)
17. Went to summer camp. (Once to Girl Scout camp, which was not a fun experience.)
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18.
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels. (Never had any family vacations, though sometimes I'd stay with my grandparents or my aunt.)
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18. (If the gist of the question was that we didn't buy used clothes nor did I get hand-me-downs, that's correct, but my mother did sew some of my clothes too.)
21*. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them. (My dad bought me a bright yellow Plymouth Duster with mortifyingly large black racing stripes.)
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child.
23. You and your family lived in a single family house. (A succession of them.)
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home.
25. You had your own room as a child.
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18.
27. Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course. (I don't even know if they had such things back then.)
28. Had your own TV in your room in High School.
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College.
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16. (My dad owned some planes too.)
31. Went on a cruise with your family. (Does a day trip on the Princess Marguerite between Seattle and Victoria count?)
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family.
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up.
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family.
*
archaeomom8 didn't have this question; I added it from violet_memory and owl_of_minerva.Overall, I'd say this sounds pretty privileged, in a small-town, middle-class way. On my dad's side, my grandparents were small business owners (a rural grocery store, gas station, fishing bait, and vacation cabins), and my dad was a realtor. My maternal grandpa was a lineman for Pacific Power & Light, and my grandma was a first- and second-grade teacher. My mom taught high school English and Spanish before I was born and was glad to have an excuse to quit and become a well-educated housewife.