Blog Post 2 (01/23/22)

Hello,

Reflecting upon my growth and understanding of privilege is a difficult topic. I say this because the learning of your privilege and racial identity starts at such a young age its hard to recall the first instance you notice a change. As far as this weeks readings, podcasts, and ted talks on the topic, I have experienced new perspectives and my view has grown. I now understand the definitions behind the words prejudice and discrimination. I started realizing prejudice along with the stereotypes start as you are young enough to walk and observe the world around you. I would say this is when the privilege begins. 

A great example is in the ted talk "How Can I Have A Positive Racial Identity?" by Ali Michael, she talks about her daughter getting complimented as a baby doll. Growing up more and more dolls are becoming diverse but as a child I know the options were limited. American Girls Dolls were all the rage as a kid and luckily they did come out with diverse dolls with many backgrounds and eventually a "look-a-like" opportunity. I can say I remember straightening my thick and curly hair often to look more like my doll. That thick and curly hair most likely comes from my Italian and Native American roots which was close enough to the dolls but I can only imagine having dolls that do not represent you at all. 

Another large example in my life of understanding whiteness or privilege was coming to college. Majority of people leaving an area and coming to college means increasing diversity but for me I believe it was the opposite. Nothing against Indiana or the midwest but compared to where I live in North Carolina, Indiana is a very white state. I am on the track and field team and I am the minority as a white but in my classes I am the majority. My freshman teammate/roommate and suite mates were all black. Particularly one suite mate came from the city of Atlanta. She and I struggled to understand each other for a while as she was scared of the state of indiana, the people in it, and white people in general. Assuming I did not understand my privilege and diversity in general, she was scared of me. Luckily over time I gained her trust and understand where she was coming from a drastic change of majority black city of Atlanta to the majority white state and school in Indiana. This was a dramatic story for me as she stated one day "Lindsay you are my first white friend." That was a big moment in our friendship. This was a turning point in my view of privilege and whiteness.

Reference List:

Atkins, N.D. (2021). HDFS 280: Defining Family & Diversity [Lecture notes]. Retrieved from                       http://mycourses.purdue.edu

Sensoy, & DiAngelo, R. J. (2017). Is everyone really equal? : an introduction to key concepts in social         justice education (Second edition.). Teachers College Press.

TEDxTalks. (2017, August 31). How can I have a positive racial identity? I'm white! | Ali Michael | tedxcheltenham. YouTube. Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxXMf5K1W6E&t=142s



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Post 14 (04/17/22)

 Hello,  This week we discussed MENA experiences through podcasts, videos, and articles.  After watching the first video by Unicef about a young Syrian refugee, it is understood she has been through a lot but has a positive outlook on life. She explains her story about fleeing, traveling, swimming, and watching others and even family pass away from or during this experience. Letting the audience know she is affected by this but somehow still smiling and looking into her future. She is able to attend schooling and receive an education. She wants to become an english teacher when she grows older and views herself as a strong individual. In this you see resilience and resistance for women and young girls. I am sure she was raised by a strong women to become a strong women.  After watching the second video by Times about a young Muslim girl in America, she also shows resilience and resistance. This is shown in everything she starts learning to do in America. It begins wi...
Read more

Blog Post 13 (04/10/22)

 Hello, This week we learned about Latinx and Native American populations. I will be reflecting on the following topic with the use of the podcasts and readings for the week. By watching the video called "The Mental Health Crisis Among Latina Teens", I am able to expand upon racism affecting mental health. The video was very interesting as they followed young girls stories in Wisconsin with their struggles in mental health with racism, documentation, anxiety, and depression being a large contributing factor. Racism is affecting mental health as students are getting bullied or trying to find their way in the world. This is already a struggle as a teen and then piling on cultural expectations and values weigh the young girls down. Another huge factor is the first generation status or the undocumented scare of their parents. With this weighing down the children you would expect anxiety to approach. SEED, a mental health program in Wisconsin is helping these young girls but not e...
Read more

Blog Post 12 (04/03/22)

Hello,  This week we discussed Black and Multiracial individuals and families. Not all multiracial people identify as multiracial especially in census check boxes. According to Johnson and Nadal in the Multiracial Microaggressions chapter, it is hard to find a box with your racial identity without checking multiple boxes. Best explained by the chapter "microagressions consisting of several categories including micro-assaults (namely, conscious or explicit verbal and behavioral interactions, micro-insults (unintentional demeaning actions or remarks about ones racial heritage), and micro-invalidations (actions that invalidate a person's racial reality)."  This is scene in our history and in everyday life. It deals with stereotypes and hidden values you may not even realize.  I also listened to the podcast by Codeswitch called The Black Womans' Superpower. This podcast was based around the embodiment of the angry black woman stereotype with examples to help better unders...
Read more