Meshes of Paradox: Privileges and inequities.
Challenging normalized privilege and working through its paradoxes requires moving folks with privilege from voyeurs (watching) to voyagers (doing).
There is a flood of education (and media) in recent years focussed on important topics: 'truth & reconciliation', anti-racism, equity, and others.
These raise awareness.
There is a new law in British Columbia. The "Anti-Racism Act" intended to combat systemic racism and discrimination through data collection on racial identity, gender, occupation, and education.
The BC government says that having this specific statistical data "can help to show where there are systemic inequalities so we can address issues of discrimination, inequities and gaps in services."
Separating statistical data into distinct parts (disaggregating) may be important work- but, it still does not assist those in the midst of inequities; in the muck of it. On all sides.
This will raise awareness of the data, the gaps, but not the why.
It may also add to voyeurism by those not on the inequitable side of the data. "What can I possibly do?" they say.
From French, voyeur means "view or inspect". It comes from Latin videre: "to see".
We live in an information society flooded with data; daily, hourly.
More info on inequities, may actually have an opposite effect, creating more voyeurism and less co-voyaging for change. This impacts everyone.
Oppression is fluid. Privilege is also fluid, across many identities and fields. Identities are fluid, across place, sectors and time.
Everyone has more than one identity- and our various identities shift and change on the life voyage.
Privilege is paradoxically fluid- with contradictions and messiness (see image). For example, a white man in a wheelchair has both privilege and marginalization, depending on context.
Paradoxes of privilege:
Many that have it, don’t fully realize it.
Having privilege does not necessarily translate to a “good life”.
Having privilege does not equate to happiness.
Having privilege means having what others don’t (usually because of systems and structures).
Privilege comes with embedded ignorance, esp. because it is not a common topic in mainstream education.
Privilege also instills voyeurism: seeing the inequities but not doing anything about them.
Why?
Because to discuss and identify Privilege means:
It implicates those with it;
Acknowledging it is emotion-laden; and
It is far ‘easier’ to look at issues faced by oppressed groups than explore one’s role(s) or advantage-gained in relation to inequities (e.g. voyeurism).
Education and training on the hard 'truths' and highlighting data about those truths are important.
Absolutely.
But, so are complementary education initiatives addressing the structural, systemic (institutional), and personal components of privilege with tools to navigate.
Everyone has moments of privilege; some have entire lives of it- but what to do about it?
Tools required?