Privilege

Page 1: Introduction

• Title: What's Privilege Got To Do With It? Examining Our Social Position in Kinesiology 2024-2025 KINE 1000

Page 2: Agenda

• Challenges of Focusing on Privilege: Understanding the discomfort it may cause.

• Mixed Emotions: Addressing the emotional responses tied to privilege discussion.

• Defining Privilege: Clarifying what privilege means in sociocultural contexts.

• Privilege’s Impact: How privilege operates to disadvantage others.

Page 3: Importance for Kinesiologists

• Critical Thinking: Need for kinesiologists to analyze privilege to fully grasp its relationship to health.

• Client Interactions: Awareness of personal privileges during client encounters.

• Agency and Responsibilities:

  • Each individual should assess their decisions amidst systemic barriers.

  • Reflection on personal and other individuals' concepts of choice and freedom.

Page 4: Pedagogy of Discomfort

• Examining Emotions: Importance of recognizing and analyzing uncomfortable emotions instead of avoiding them.

• Types of Discomfort:

  • Defensive anger, fear of changes, cultural identity fears, guilt linked to questioning beliefs.

• Emotion as Inquiry: Using emotional responses as a form of critical inquiry.

• Ambiguous Self: Striving to break away from ingrained beliefs and habits.

Page 5: Challenges in Discussing Privilege

• Difficulties of the Topic: Discussing privilege often results in anger or feelings of blame.

• Feelings of Guilt and Shame: Acknowledge that personal emotions should not overshadow systemic understanding.

• Recognizing Struggles: Importance of acknowledging blind spots regarding privilege.

Page 6: Defining Privilege

• Merriam-Webster Definition:

  • A right or benefit afforded to a select group, conferring advantages over others.

• Nature of Privilege:

  • Can be perceived as a special opportunity or immunity, often held by those in power or specific social positions.

Page 7: Invisibility of Privilege

• Perception among Dominant Groups: Many in dominant positions view their privileges as earned.

• Reality of Unprivileged Status: Recognition that privileges are typically unearned and distributed regardless of individual merits.

Page 8: Personal Privilege

• Discussion of the contrasts between personal privilege and lack of privilege in various segments of society.

Page 9: Gendered Language Descriptions

• NPR Study Findings:

  • Different descriptors based on gender; men often associated with intelligence whereas women face nurturing descriptors.

• Disparities in Perception: Highlights of how racialized and Indigenous faculty face systemic challenges in academia.

Page 10: Myth of Meritocracy

• Common Misconception: The belief that success is solely based on individual merit without acknowledging existing privileges or systemic disadvantages.

• Michael Sandel’s Theory: Questions meritocracy and highlights structural inequalities.

• Formula for Success: Success arises from the combination of opportunity, support, and effort.

Page 11: Impacts of Meritocracy on Sports

• Merit Manipulation: Affirmation that wealth dictates sports participation.

• Economic Inequality: Discussion on how economic changes affect access to sports and participation.

• Privatization of Sports: Growing trend of pay-to-play influences opportunities for lower-income families.

Page 12: Sports Participation Inequality

• Correlation of Medals to Participation: More medals correlate with fewer overall participation opportunities in organized sports for lower-income families.

• Funding Challenges: Dependence on charitable organizations for sports access for underprivileged children.

Page 13: Gender Pay Disparities in Sports

• Canadian Women's National Soccer Team Statement: Advocacy for equal pay and treatment highlighting systemic inequities.

Page 14: Social Construction of Privilege

• Privilege Patterns: Social constructions based on gender, race, etc., perpetuating privilege inequalities.

Page 15: Gender Pay Equity Gap

• Maclean’s 2018 Findings: Marketing practices politically reflect a significant pay gap between genders.

Page 16: Gender Pay Gap in Medicine

• Statistical Disparities: Evidence showing female physicians earn less than males across specialties, influenced by systemic biases.

Page 17: Unintended Consequences of Volunteer Work

• Harmful Narratives: Volunteering can unintentionally reinforce social inequalities under the guise of meritocracy.

Page 18: Systemic Racism in Medicine

• Awareness of Racism: Call for recognition of systemic anti-Black racism's effects on healthcare access and outcomes.

Page 19: COVID-19 Disparities

• Health Impact on Black Communities: Significant underrepresentation in healthcare scenarios exacerbating COVID-19 outcomes.

Page 20: Essential Worker Risks

• Frontline Vulnerabilities: Racialized and immigrant communities face higher risk due to their work conditions, with systemic failures to offer protection.

Page 21: Acknowledging Privilege

• Understanding Privilege: A statement on recognizing societal problems that do not affect oneself directly as privilege.

Page 22: Peggy McIntosh on Privilege

• Invisible Knapsack Analogy: McIntosh's perspective on privilege as unseen advantages that confer societal benefits.

Page 23: Intersectionality of Privilege

• Understanding Personal Contexts: Everyone possesses a unique mix of advantages and disadvantages shaped by factors like background and identity.

Page 24: Advantages of Whiteness

• Systemic Privilege: Benefits tied to racial identity and the invisibility of privilege related to white identity.

Page 25: Reflecting on Privilege

• Personal Comparisons: Encouragement to recognize moments of advantage and disadvantage in everyday experiences relative to race, class, or gender.

Page 26: Social Location Activity

• Engagement with Personal Experiences: Activity prompts self-reflection regarding social positioning.

Page 27: Understanding Whiteness

• Cultural Context: Whiteness has historically conferred unearned advantage, impacting social hierarchies and privileges.

Page 28: Marketing and Beauty Standards

• Dove Product Advertisement: Commentary on societal beauty standards and marketing practices targeting enhancing self-image.

Page 29: Power Dynamics in Whiteness

• Whiteness and Dominance: Analyzing the societal implications and power relations stemming from racial identity and privilege.

Page 30: Actions Against Systemic Advantage

• McIntosh’s Question for Reflection: Examining the choice faced by individuals with unearned advantages to impact systems of power positively.