Privilege meme
I got this meme from
marag, who got it from
minisinoo She got it 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, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.
1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor Does a community college teacher count? Financially, they sure as hell don't, but I'm not sure if we're doing education privilege or financial privilege here.
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers. Again, financial class or educational class? Educational, yes; financial, no.
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.
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
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. If we mean white folk, yes. If we mean people who actually dress like me...they don't exist in the media, except perhaps as lesbians, who may or may not be portrayed positively. (Unless I'm meant to count male characters, too.)
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. Student loans, how I loathe thee. (Particularly since I didn't finish college.)
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private high school
17. Went to summer camp
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 Ironically, now my clothing mainly comes from thrift stores. I am clearly not upwardly moble. :P
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them. No, my car was the old family car.
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child. Somehow, I doubt my art or my mother's counts.
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house Yes, after the age of 6.
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home Yes, but only because of an inheritance. Make of that what you will.
25. You had your own room as a child Though, I was an only child, so that's not as meaningful as it might be.
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18 Taking this at face value as phone, not phone line. There's a giant difference between the two.
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course
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. Does this count if the dying grandparent paid for it?
31. Went on a cruise with your family.
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.
This was interesting, but I always feel that privilege is far more complicated than people make it out to be. I would count having loving parents as a kind of privilage, and I would count my experience with nearly-fatal health problems and having to declare bankruptcy as decidedly not privilage (and relevant to privilege, since many people who haven't actually dealt with what it's like to be uninsured and ill really don't get how third world the dear old USA can be). I also found parts of the meme kind of big-city-centric, like the differentiation between living in a single-family house and not. Depending on where in the country you live, this can signify precisely nothing. Owning your house/apartment, sure, but living in a house vs. an apartment, not so much. And, again, parts of the meme are vague as to what kind of privilege they're addressing. Even the questions about books are unclear, says the former bookstore employee, as many, many poor people spend money on books despite their financial difficulties.
And, of course, people on the net have pointed out that it should have questions addressing privilege from abject poverty, such as "your family had a roof over their heads".
marag, who got it from
minisinoo She got it 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, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.
1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor Does a community college teacher count? Financially, they sure as hell don't, but I'm not sure if we're doing education privilege or financial privilege here.
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers. Again, financial class or educational class? Educational, yes; financial, no.
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.
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
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. If we mean white folk, yes. If we mean people who actually dress like me...they don't exist in the media, except perhaps as lesbians, who may or may not be portrayed positively. (Unless I'm meant to count male characters, too.)
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. Student loans, how I loathe thee. (Particularly since I didn't finish college.)
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private high school
17. Went to summer camp
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 Ironically, now my clothing mainly comes from thrift stores. I am clearly not upwardly moble. :P
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them. No, my car was the old family car.
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child. Somehow, I doubt my art or my mother's counts.
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house Yes, after the age of 6.
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home Yes, but only because of an inheritance. Make of that what you will.
25. You had your own room as a child Though, I was an only child, so that's not as meaningful as it might be.
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18 Taking this at face value as phone, not phone line. There's a giant difference between the two.
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course
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. Does this count if the dying grandparent paid for it?
31. Went on a cruise with your family.
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.
This was interesting, but I always feel that privilege is far more complicated than people make it out to be. I would count having loving parents as a kind of privilage, and I would count my experience with nearly-fatal health problems and having to declare bankruptcy as decidedly not privilage (and relevant to privilege, since many people who haven't actually dealt with what it's like to be uninsured and ill really don't get how third world the dear old USA can be). I also found parts of the meme kind of big-city-centric, like the differentiation between living in a single-family house and not. Depending on where in the country you live, this can signify precisely nothing. Owning your house/apartment, sure, but living in a house vs. an apartment, not so much. And, again, parts of the meme are vague as to what kind of privilege they're addressing. Even the questions about books are unclear, says the former bookstore employee, as many, many poor people spend money on books despite their financial difficulties.
And, of course, people on the net have pointed out that it should have questions addressing privilege from abject poverty, such as "your family had a roof over their heads".