that privilege meme

[firecat]

Swiped from everybody

Acknowledgment to http://quakerclass.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-privilege-do-you-have.html. The list is based on an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University.

You know, for me it will be more efficient just to include the items that didn't apply and/or have complicated answers.


* Had more than 500 books in your childhood home
Technically speaking, possibly not—mom was big on getting rid of stuff we weren't using. But I had access to all the books I wanted.

* The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
Insofar as I am white, yes. Insofar as I was/am fat and a geeky dresser, no. And I might argue that women and girls in general were not portrayed positively in the media in the 60s and 70s.

* Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
This trend must have come along after my time. None of my peers did, as far as I know.

* Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
I worked in the summers and that paid for a little bit.

* Had a private tutor before you turned 18
I wonder if these came along after my time, too. I mean, I know they existed before, but they seem more common now.

* Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
The clothing my mother bought me was bought new. I bought some of my own clothing at thrift stores, but that was my choice, not a necessity.

* Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
I got hand-me-down cars, but my dad worked at GM and was required to buy a GM car every year. So the hand-me-down cars I had were almost new.

* Had a phone in your room before you turned 18
Parents didn't approve of the idea, I guess. Actually, despite all the time I spent on the phone just like most teenagers, I think it never even occurred to me that I might want a phone in my room.

* Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
After my time?

* Had your own TV in your room in High School
See the bit about the phone in my room.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how many people I see responding with dismay that they score as "highly privileged" on this test, as if that meant there was something wrong with them. It doesn't mean there is something wrong with you. It just means you were given some of your opportunities and resources, and didn't start from zero. It's important to be aware of that.

Comments

[firecat]

The argument makes sense. But my experience is that, at least in some parts of what might be called bohemian subculture, there are plenty of people who did not come from UMC families.

For example, among the artistic / subculture people I know, I sometimes observe conflict that seems to be based on the fact that the people in question come from different economic backgrounds.

So I'd like to know whether you / Fussel are basing that part of the claim - that they're mostly from UMC families - on statistical evidence or personal observation.

[innerdoggie.livejournal.com]

It seemed to me that Fussell (who argued that the Bohemian class was a separate social class) had no data whatsoever, and I (who argue that it is a subset of Upper Middle) know I have no data.

So it would be a great question for a real sociologist. I'll bet there's some research out there. On to the Social Science Index!

Tell me more about your observations? I certainly had friends in high school who were working-class counter-culture types, but they pursued upper middle class educations (Reed, Oberlin, whathaveyou.)

In college, the counter-culture types I met were never lower class than middle-middle, although they'd sometimes claim to be. Ditto grad school. One working class friend in grad school wasn't especially counter-culture.

[firecat]

I'm not sure exactly how Bohemian is defined, but I remember discussing Fussell's Class X with my roommate back in the early 1980s. We both had college degrees and had the same job (editor at a universty press, which pays fairly poorly, but as it's in a college town it's possible to live cheaply) but I came from the UMC and he came from a working class family.

We decided that we were YUFFIES (young urban failures).

Since college, I know a fair number of people who live somewhat bohemian/counterculture lifestyles. Most of them went to college for a while but may not have gone to fancy colleges and may not have finished college. Many work in working class (blue collar or pink collar) jobs, or do temp work and odd jobs. Many devote most of their life energy to artistic and political pursuits. Some of them came from families with money but are estranged from their families, so can't count on them in emergencies. Some came from working class or poor families.

In a way these subcultures are kind of a melting pot of different kinds of freaks who for one reason or another didn't stay in their culture of origin.

"Smart" tends to be a common trait.

[innerdoggie.livejournal.com]

It would be interesting to find out about the class background of "bohemian" folks in a systematic way.