privilege

On the way home the other day I saw a deer standing by the side of the road at 2 pm, in broad daylight(this is unusual.) When my car passed by, it didn't run, but only moved three feet off the pavement. I slowed to look more closely and realized that the deer was unable to put any weight on its front leg and could only hop a step at a time. I knew it was likely that the deer would survive only a few days or weeks, before starving or being killed by predators. (My husband said it would be fine, and it probably hadn't adjusted to three-legged running yet, but I think he was just trying to make me feel better.)
This experience made me consider my own status in the world. How would I feel to be a sick or dying animal, in the winter woods? Did the deer understand its chances of survival? Was it scared? And then I thought: How lucky I am to have good health, a warm place to sleep, and plenty of food to eat! Many humans don't even have access to these essentials. I admit that I don't stop often enough to consider the privileges in my life, but the gratitude I feel has a great deal to do with the choices I've made, and why social justice is so important to me. I recognized early on that I was blessed to have been born into a stable, loving, educated, cultured, and somewhat affluent family. We didn't have lots of money to throw around, but my parents worked extra hard to offer me every opportunity available to us. Whether I deserved these gifts or not, they were given to me -- I was not forced to earn them. Of course I feel that I've earned my own accomplishments, but not without the boost of my upbringing, social privileges, and education.
I would say that it's not uncommon for many of us to give thanks for good helath, happy families, steady income, or other of life's blessings. But how often are the hidden privileges of being white acknowledged and appreciated? Or the privileges of being male? Or of being straight? (I question whether appreciate is even the best word to use, but I can't think of another one at the moment. Should we APPRECIATE a systematic oppression which puts others at a disadvantage?) Even after some of the readings we've done, I wonder how many of us white folks are going to go in the drugstore and give a quiet little thanks for the opportunity to buy bandages that match our skin color or hair products that suit our hair texture. But until things really change, maybe we should. What if men frequently felt the threat to personal safety while walking alone at night, or the negative consequences of wearing a "too-short" skirt? What if all straight people felt the necessity of glancing around the room before kissing their loved ones in public? How would that change your daily life? And what might you try to do about it?
I can agree that acts of outright racism and sexism and homophobia are probably on the decline. What I'm afraid will happen, though, is that we will slip into a state of complacency, where we feel we've won the battle because the "flames" have all been put out. We can pretend to ignore embedded oppression, but the fire still smolders underneath. There is no one person or group to blame, no one to point the finger at, and this makes for a much more difficult opponent. Our collective awareness must be heightened -- we need to pay attention to the small and large injustices alike -- in order to continue the quest to win the war. We've made progress, yes, but it's not over yet. Pay attention to your blessings, and fight for the right of others to share them with you.

how many -isms do you face every day?

In reading some of the other blogs, it seems that marginalization depends not so much on the act of exclusion, but in the personal significance that is associated with it. We are all touched differently by what might or might not be painful or uncomfortable situations. I try to be mindful of the privileges I was born with, and also those I have had to work to achieve. We become members of some groups that we don't choose for ourselves; other groups we must work our way into or out of. The labels we can't control clearly have an effect on those we try to. None of us are fortunate enough to start out with a truly blank slate.

In terms of current power structures, I've felt disadvantaged primarily as a woman. Females may be be equal or greater in population, but it seems that men retain most positions of authority. I've been referred to as a "cute little girl" more than a few times, often while waiting tables, which probably fits with the "ditzy waitress" cultural steroetype, but it doesn't suit me very well. Call me cute, but don't imply that I'm stupid! I once had an older male customer, after a discussion of my educational accomplishments and goals, tell me repeatedly that I needed to do whatever I planned to do in my life "before you lose your looks." As if that's a woman's only chance for success in life.

I could name off a few other experiences where I've felt excluded or uncomfortable, or even where I realized only in hindsight that I had been marginalized. But compared with what many others face, these minor instances seem too insignificant to bring up. What's significant to me is how my experiences, often by none of my own determination, can be so different from another person's. And yet we often judge people by what they've been able to "make of themselves" without considering the obstacles (racism, sexism, classism, etc.) they've overcome in the process.

Commodification

The word commodification brings to mind a number of connotations related to buying and selling of goods, products, and services. It seems that an entrepreneur with the right angle could create a commodity out of almost anything. Even human potential has become a product to be bought and sold. Along the way, the commodities sometimes lose value, and I would argue, often lose meaning.

Under normal circumstances, I would not immediately associate commodification with the educational system. Though, in light of our recent class discussions and readings, I’m beginning to see a larger picture develop. Not only are the commercial allegiances (even the taste buds!) of our children being surreptitiously bought and sold in schools, the business world is carefully integrating itself even into the administrative systems of education. On the surface, this may not seem like a dangerous shift, but its effect on the underlying educational values could be a concern.

Capitalism and Globalization

Landscapes

From a professional standpoint, the "flatness" of my experience varies, depending on the situation. In both counseling and mediation, the process is best conducted in person, though recent advancements have allowed for mediation and counseling by internet, telephone, and viedoconference. But if I can get the relevant parties to sit in the same room with each other, I'm going to do it.
In terms of education and training, both professionally and academically, the amount of information and instruction available to me are nearly limitless. As a research assistant, I've been able to search for resources from my home computer, order books for pickup at the library, print relevant articles and email them to myself and my cooperating faculty. If I need library assistance, I can have a live chat with a librarian online. With the prospect of the new technology, such as the Qwaq forum, that we're beginning to experiment with in (and out of) the classroom, the restrictions of time and space are dissolving.
I do have some concerns about losing the quality of contact that an in-person encounter creates, particularly through non-verbal communications such as body language, facial expressions, and voice inflection. Videoconferencing technology is probably the most inclusive of all the options. Still, it's amazing what can be accomplished today across states, countries and the world. I look forward to exploring new opportunities for human connection, even if I do have to masquerade as a cartoonish-looking avatar!

Feminism

If you asked me last week if I'm a feminist, I would have said yes. And if you ask me today I will say yes as well, although it seems I may not adhere to the extreme conditions that some feminists demand. I do agree that women are an oppressed group, and as a female I can identify with these circumstances. But maybe I am too inclusive for feminism, because I don't believe it's the ONLY perspective I identify with and could work from. And I dislike the argument that males should be excluded from feminist research. (Unless we're afraid they'll get contaminate our clubhouse with cooties.)
One thing I've always struggled with in understanding the feminist perspective is the idea that "The personal is the political." Feminist counseling theory states this as well. My understanding of this statement is that women's struggles are political struggles, and they must be politicized in order to create change. Is this incorrect? Because I'm not so sure I feel that movements for change must go through public or political processes in order to evolve.

Multiple Annies

Questions for Dr. Jackson:

What experiences or values brought you to feminist poststructural theory? Do you work from any other perspectives, or have you ever?

What are the goals of this type of approach? Is it intended to create change in the oppressive power structure, or open the discussion? I'm also wondering if Sheila was ever made aware of her negative impact on Annie? (Did or would reading this article inspire her to change her supervision style?)

Did Annie perceive any value from Sheila's teaching style, or any negatives from Candace's? Was there any re-evaluation after a period of time?

Did you ever have any interview contact with the two supervising teachers, or was all data collected from observation and Annie's interviews? Did you do this intentionally, or did you feel you ended up with a limited perspective?