hummingwolf (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hummingwolf) wrote2008-01-03 05:23 pm
hummingwolf) wrote2008-01-03 05:23 pm
Entry tags:
And then there's the "Privilege Meme"
"Take a Step Forward," from Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka, is the original version of that privilege meme going around. I'll link to the web page and then go on to treat version 2.0 as a blog survey, with comments.
Explanations and Notes:
All of the ‘step taking’ is about things not requiring effort on the students’ part, that were things done by others. While some of these are important to some people, others will be important to others. The list includes experiences, objects, and other things which reflect social class.
Take a step:
If your father went to college before you started
Yes, he studied physics.
If your father finished college before you started
Yes, though it took him over a decade. His parents were both college graduates.
If your mother went to college before you started
Yes.
If your mother finished college before you started
Yes again. She was one of a handful of white folks who integrated a local black college.
If you have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
Not that I can think of. My family is pretty much a bunch of scientists, schoolteachers, and computer geeks.
If your family was the same or higher class than your high school teachers
Yes
If you had a computer at home when you were growing up
Oh yes.
If you had your own computer at home when you were growing up
No, but Dad had to fight me for use of the one we had. My high school teachers rather wished I didn't have access to a computer sometimes, since one of my usual excuses for not turning in work was "the computer crashed and refused to print anything." Please note, this was well before Windows.
If you had more than 50 books at home when you were growing up
Yes! Heck, I have more than 50 books here in this tiny little room I'm renting!
If you had more than 500 books at home when you were growing up
Yes. Books are a human right.
If were read children's books by a parent when you were growing up
Not that I can recall. Dad never saw the point in reading to me when I was perfectly capable of reading for myself.
If you ever had lessons of any kind as a child or a teen
A few years of piano lessons.
If you had more than two kinds of lessons as a child or a teen
Not that I recall, unless you count church Bible school or something. Or all those Amway conventions I attended with my parents.
If the people in the media who dress and talk like you were portrayed positively
People who talk like me: Yes. People who dress like me? At my age? Probably not.
If you had a credit card with your name on it before college
Heck no. My parents saw what happened when my brother got credit cards before he knew what to do with them. However, I did get to borrow my parents' card often enough to go buy my own clothes in high school.
If you had or will have less than $5000 in student loans when you graduate
Never had any student loans. Merit scholarships are lovely.
If you had or will have no student loans when you graduate
See above.
If you went to a private high school
No. Did go to private elementary school through third grade, though.
If you went to summer camp
Girl Scout day camp for a few years running. Also went to the Circle A Ranch of Skip and Susan Ross one summer, though my parents said I wouldn't be going back unless I sold enough Amway products to pay my own way next time. I didn't go back.
If you had a private tutor
No.
(US students only) If you have been to Europe more than once as a child or teen
No.
(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
Mostly our family vacations involved camping, but we did go to a few nice hotels, usually as part of trips based around Amway conventions. (Anyone sensing a theme here?)
If all of your clothing has been new
HAHAHAHAHA no. My mother loved to sew. My parents were friends with a family with 12 children. Enough said.
If your parents gave you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
Even if I had gotten a driver's license, this never, ever would have happened.
If there was original art in your house as a child or teen
Mom loved painting and other crafts, and her mother did some painting as well. There were also one or two other old paintings we inherited from my grandparents. Nothing expensive.
If you had a phone in your room
Heheheh. Though I tend to have short phone conversations now, I was one of those teenage girls who could talk for hours upon hours.
If your parent owned their own house or apartment when you were a child or teen
Yes.
If you had your own room as a child or teen
Yes. My brothers shared a room, but as the only girl I got to have one of my own. Actually, my brothers' room had a wall installed in the middle of it because they couldn't share peaceably anyway.
If you participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
No, though it sometimes seemed as if the regular high school classes were designed to be nothing more than preparation for the SAT or AP.
If you had your own cell phone in High School
Nobody had a cell phone when I was in high school.
If you had your own TV as a child or teen
Not technically. However, once my brothers moved out, I pretty much had their old room (the wall was removed and it was converted into a library) to myself, along with the old television set that was in there.
If you opened a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
No. Certificates of Deposit were useful in college, though.
If you have ever flown anywhere on a commercial airline
Family trip in 1977.
If you ever went on a cruise with your family
Not unless you count one of those riverboat cruises that lasts for a few hours.
If your parents took you to museums and art galleries as a child or teen
We lived near the fricking Smithsonian. What do you think?
If you were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family
I never made a point of remembering what the bills were, but I know my parents talked about it, particularly during the 1970s oil crunch. If you combine the oil crisis with the fact that both of my parents remembered the Depression, you'll understand why even to this day I hate having a thermostat set any higher than 65 degrees in the wintertime.
Explanations and Notes:
All of the ‘step taking’ is about things not requiring effort on the students’ part, that were things done by others. While some of these are important to some people, others will be important to others. The list includes experiences, objects, and other things which reflect social class.
Take a step:
If your father went to college before you started
Yes, he studied physics.
If your father finished college before you started
Yes, though it took him over a decade. His parents were both college graduates.
If your mother went to college before you started
Yes.
If your mother finished college before you started
Yes again. She was one of a handful of white folks who integrated a local black college.
If you have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
Not that I can think of. My family is pretty much a bunch of scientists, schoolteachers, and computer geeks.
If your family was the same or higher class than your high school teachers
Yes
If you had a computer at home when you were growing up
Oh yes.
If you had your own computer at home when you were growing up
No, but Dad had to fight me for use of the one we had. My high school teachers rather wished I didn't have access to a computer sometimes, since one of my usual excuses for not turning in work was "the computer crashed and refused to print anything." Please note, this was well before Windows.
If you had more than 50 books at home when you were growing up
Yes! Heck, I have more than 50 books here in this tiny little room I'm renting!
If you had more than 500 books at home when you were growing up
Yes. Books are a human right.
If were read children's books by a parent when you were growing up
Not that I can recall. Dad never saw the point in reading to me when I was perfectly capable of reading for myself.
If you ever had lessons of any kind as a child or a teen
A few years of piano lessons.
If you had more than two kinds of lessons as a child or a teen
Not that I recall, unless you count church Bible school or something. Or all those Amway conventions I attended with my parents.
If the people in the media who dress and talk like you were portrayed positively
People who talk like me: Yes. People who dress like me? At my age? Probably not.
If you had a credit card with your name on it before college
Heck no. My parents saw what happened when my brother got credit cards before he knew what to do with them. However, I did get to borrow my parents' card often enough to go buy my own clothes in high school.
If you had or will have less than $5000 in student loans when you graduate
Never had any student loans. Merit scholarships are lovely.
If you had or will have no student loans when you graduate
See above.
If you went to a private high school
No. Did go to private elementary school through third grade, though.
If you went to summer camp
Girl Scout day camp for a few years running. Also went to the Circle A Ranch of Skip and Susan Ross one summer, though my parents said I wouldn't be going back unless I sold enough Amway products to pay my own way next time. I didn't go back.
If you had a private tutor
No.
(US students only) If you have been to Europe more than once as a child or teen
No.
(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
Mostly our family vacations involved camping, but we did go to a few nice hotels, usually as part of trips based around Amway conventions. (Anyone sensing a theme here?)
If all of your clothing has been new
HAHAHAHAHA no. My mother loved to sew. My parents were friends with a family with 12 children. Enough said.
If your parents gave you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
Even if I had gotten a driver's license, this never, ever would have happened.
If there was original art in your house as a child or teen
Mom loved painting and other crafts, and her mother did some painting as well. There were also one or two other old paintings we inherited from my grandparents. Nothing expensive.
If you had a phone in your room
Heheheh. Though I tend to have short phone conversations now, I was one of those teenage girls who could talk for hours upon hours.
If your parent owned their own house or apartment when you were a child or teen
Yes.
If you had your own room as a child or teen
Yes. My brothers shared a room, but as the only girl I got to have one of my own. Actually, my brothers' room had a wall installed in the middle of it because they couldn't share peaceably anyway.
If you participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
No, though it sometimes seemed as if the regular high school classes were designed to be nothing more than preparation for the SAT or AP.
If you had your own cell phone in High School
Nobody had a cell phone when I was in high school.
If you had your own TV as a child or teen
Not technically. However, once my brothers moved out, I pretty much had their old room (the wall was removed and it was converted into a library) to myself, along with the old television set that was in there.
If you opened a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
No. Certificates of Deposit were useful in college, though.
If you have ever flown anywhere on a commercial airline
Family trip in 1977.
If you ever went on a cruise with your family
Not unless you count one of those riverboat cruises that lasts for a few hours.
If your parents took you to museums and art galleries as a child or teen
We lived near the fricking Smithsonian. What do you think?
If you were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family
I never made a point of remembering what the bills were, but I know my parents talked about it, particularly during the 1970s oil crunch. If you combine the oil crisis with the fact that both of my parents remembered the Depression, you'll understand why even to this day I hate having a thermostat set any higher than 65 degrees in the wintertime.
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And I have been on a plane, but I was well into my 20s the first time.
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Sorry, I don't have any response to your response about my responses. Just glad to know you have internet access again.
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