I used the Dimensions of Diversity as outlined on page 4 of “An Overview of Diversity Awareness” to form the basis for my identity map. I felt that it broke down many of the most obvious aspects of my identity that an outsider may use to form an initial view of me. I am not surprised by my map. I work closely with a diverse community as part of my job, and try to educate myself on how I relate to others. I know that I am more privileged than many – I am white, was sent to a private school for my early childhood, grew up in a house with two parents, and don’t have any major physical challenges. We spoke English in and outside the home. I also had access to health and dental care on a regular basis. All of these factors gave me a privilege that benefited me in the past, and many continue to benefit me now. These factors are things I had little to no control over, and gave me less hurdles than others.
Other things that are my choice, I was able to make because of my privilege, such as being an art educator and graduate student. I am able to choose my job because I was able to go to school with the support of my earlier education, my parents, and my community. I am able to pursue my education further because I don’t have to work more than one job to pay my bills. Though I need to prioritize my education, I have the luxury of time to take the courses needed to complete my degree.
I see a few places where I experience oppression, such as my gender and sexuality, but I know that many of my other privileges tend to outweigh many of these oppressions for me. As a white female, I don’t face as much oppression as women of any other race. I work with predominately white women in my job. As a white, female, femme presenting woman, my bisexuality has little effect over my day-to-day life, especially in the workplace, where I spend the majority of my time. However, I think because people assume most people to be straight, I have encountered moments where people feel comfortable discussing their own homophobic or biphobic views in front of me, never thinking that I might fall into that category.
It is surprising however, because even though this is an identity map, it feels lacking. It doesn’t include interests or personality traits, and even with those, feel lacking to fully capture an individual. I see myself as hard working, passionate, caring, and creative. I love teaching and making art, but also hiking and backpacking, spending time with my niece, and listening to comedy and true crime podcasts. In Global Feminism and Transformative Identity Politics I was drawn to Charles Taylor’s categories of ethical-political, historical, and relational aspects of identity (Weir, pg. 10). Our values and connections are deeper parts of identity. My position as daughter, sister, aunt, and friend affect my life all the time. My liberal political leanings, education, and agnostic spirituality (ethical-political) affect how I relate to my world. Theses expand on the historical roles of woman, white, and lower-middle class, which I already explored above.
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, An Overview of Diversity Awareness, http://www.wiu.edu/advising/docs/Diversity_Awareness.pdf
Weir, Allison. Global Feminism and Transformative Identity Politics, https://elearning.psu.edu/courses/aed812/sites/edu.courses.aed812/files/content/weir_global_feminism.pdf
Hi Andrea,
I am sorry that you feel oppressed because of your sexuality! I totally can see that happening though. It is 2018 and you think people would be more open or understanding, yet as a teacher many think we are all cut from the same cloth. Perhaps that is another form of oppression in our field? Teachers are “supposed” to be straight-laced, typical, ordinary and conservative. White-picket fence, hetero-sexual, married, children, etc. It seems the mold we are “intended” to fit is one more consistent with the ideals of the 1950s. I didn’t notice that my map lacked interests until you point that out. It is true that we are so much more than just the few words within our map, maybe that was one of the reasons for the assignment?
Great job this week!
– Arielle
Andrea,
I was also raised Catholic, was atheist, and now consider myself agnostic. Hypothetically(because I wouldn’t quite know how to answer this myself), I wonder how your family history/upbringing has changed through your self-choice and why.
Also, if others are seeing you as and expressing their prejudgement of you being straight, how do you correct their judgement? What is their reaction?
-Ellie
Hi Andrea. In your Identity Map, Female and Bisexual are your two oppressed identifiers. They certainly stand out visually with the red lettering. I noticed that you categorize bisexual as “developed or changed over time”. I am curious about how you feel that happened. Sexuality is something that is being openly discussed more than ever and so new ideas regarding the development of one’s own sexuality are just now gaining traction. What I found most fascinating was your discussion of “passing” for straight and how that can create discomfort in everyday situations:
“However, I think because people assume most people to be straight, I have encountered moments where people feel comfortable discussing their own homophobic or biphobic views in front of me, never thinking that I might fall into that category.”
In my post, I considered my ability to “pass” as a furtherance of my privilege. Obviously you are having a different experience. I was reminded of quote by hooks (1989) in Weedon (2002), “Moving from silence into speech is for the oppressed, the colonized, the exploited, and those who stand and struggle side by side a gesture of defiance that heals, that makes new life and new growth possible. It’s that act of speech, of ‘talking back’, that is no mere gesture of empty words, that is the expression of our movement from object to subject-the liberated voice”. Given this, do you ever “talk back” in those situations? Or, especially in your work environment, would that jeopardize your privilege? I look forward to the rest of the semester.
Hi Andrea, I’m really interested as well about your reactions to people who assume that you are straight and make homophobic\biphobic comments. I hope we will learn to navigate this more throughout this class. I too work with mostly white women but serve a diverse population in a hospital environment: religion, race, age, disabled, gender, sexuality, political, economic, etc.. I try very hard to banish unconscious bias in my work, but sometimes I feel like everyone can learn and grow more to relate to the many different people I encounter and to make connections through art. Really looking forward to hearing more from you!
Hi Andrea,
I was raised very similarly to you with the benefit of healthcare due to my parents careers. I think that it is great that you take advantage of learning to understand others differences through your career. I work in a predominantly white school with very little cultural diversity. I find myself trying to introduce new ideas to my students, which can be challenging but incredibly rewarding when students begin to recognize that differences are a good thing.
Andrea,
I sympathize with your experience about listening to people disregard your sexual orientation because of their assumption that you fit into one category over the other. I think that this happens in part because of our appearance and who we surround ourselves with. Generalizations and stereotypes don’t often consider the diverse personalities/identities of white women. As a bisexual who came out later in life, I have been put into this situation many times. I have even faced the issue of bi-erasure from close gay friends who disregard my sexual orientation because they don’t believe that I was born this way. Or even better yet, they disregard bisexual women/men because we experience less oppression due to the fact that on 50% of the orientation goes against the societal norm.
Thank you for sharing!