Blog# 5 - Intersectionality
The first thing that came to my mind, when talking about intersectionality and after thinking about where I would fall; is something that we have been talking about a lot lately in our class and not necessarily from the same perspective. I’m referring to the stereotype of a “Heterosexual white man” and the “privileges” that come with it.
I would argue that despite all the privileges that a heterosexual white male is supposed to have, at the end of the day, each person is a whole unique world, as any of us.
We are all human, are all faulty at something, all lack of something, are disadvantaged in an area, struggled in an area of life, have different shades of personality, have different levels of intellectual skills, raised in different environments or cultures, come from different socio-economic classes, surrounded and impacted by different people, had or lacked different opportunities, and so on. In essence, I want to argue that those 3 factors of gender, race, and sexual orientation are just the surface of what could provide some privilege, but there are so many other factors and layers of a person that determines the actual privilege of power or ultimately their life’s fate.
Considering that this intersectionality wheel ”is the acknowledgement that everyone has their own unique experiences of discrimination and privilege” (Crenshaw, Kimberlé), and therefore their own share of marginalization or power; I closely connect this to my general perspective of people, maybe naive, maybe compassionate, but it is my personal perspective that regardless of the different demographics that you may fall into, at the end of the day everyone has their own share of struggle or disadvantage on some areas of their life. One should also consider the emotional aspect, as a result of not only situational experiences but the intricate realm of human life struggles.
In conclusion, I believe that every person enjoys some type of privilege and experience some type of struggle, making us all equally complicated and unbalanced, and with the necessity to work hard in an area of our lives. I believe that power is not necessarily a measure of success. Success, depending on each person’s own standards, can come from professional achievement, or from financial power, reputation within a social circle, having and enjoying a family, having close and meaningful relationships, living simple and peaceful, feeling rich in culture, feeling loved, achieving a personal goal, or from the satisfaction of dedicating your life to serve others; success can come in many forms that are not necessarily related to privilege. On the other hand, a person could struggle with financial hardship, lack of skills or education, identity insecurity, nationality or language disadvantages, spiritual direction, health or physical issues, emotional traumas, relationships problems, loneliness, self-worth and with many other struggles that no one is immune to regardless of the superficial privileges that one may have. As a result, our perception of privilege is up to us and could change if we see through a human lens, rather than from a stereotype lens.
It was so interesting to take a look at all of the different dimensions of identity collected in one system with The Intersectionality Wheel. This was another opportunity to check my privilege as a heterosexual white man, and consider how my fellow humans might be disadvantaged where I may not face particular challenges. As ever, I hope to use this perspective to enhance my abilities as a teacher, and reach students who face struggles that I do not have first hand experience with. As you say, at the end of the day, I have my own struggles and successes, but I realize that intersectionality compounds the losses and victories for people who belong to erased or marginalized subgroups. Thank you for your insight!
ReplyDeleteWell said! The wheel of privilege is a tool that often divides people into either privileged or oppressed groups, which can lead to stereotypes and biases. While I am sure it was develop with good intentions to address social inequalities, it can also promote it. It is important to recognize that putting individuals into a marginalized section solely based on characteristics like being black or divorced oversimplifies their experiences and fails to look at their identities. Individuals may have certain privileges in some areas of their lives and oppression in others.
ReplyDeleteMost definitely Alejandra! Even though we are all different in some way we all want to be treated with respect and without bias or assumed privilege. It is how we connect to the world and others that define us and hopefully leave a lasting positive impression.
ReplyDeleteIt so interesting to see all the different levels on the wheel! You are right! Regardless of what we have, there are also things use lack, but we are all unique and beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised seeing the visual at first and taking in how many areas of ones life could attribute or deprive them of privilege. What you said really rings true. We are all very complex beings with benefits and accompanying struggles. We may have it easy some ways and harder in other areas. People have grown very accustom to seeing people critically as a statistic in the modern day. We must try to move past that and really attempt to understand what being human really means.
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