Embedded Files
As we learned in Week 1, identity is complex. It becomes even more complex when you begin to consider other identities in addition to race and ethnicity that are marginalized. These identities—gender, sexual orientation, nation of origin, religion, socioeconomic status—can produce experiences of both privilege and oppression. For this week, we will focus on expanding beyond racial identity and exploring additional differences that impact BIPOC lives day to day.
Reflect—
Reflect—
In a journal or in conversation with another person doing this work, ask yourself:
How would the following people describe you?
Your family
Your friends
Your colleagues at work
Any groups or organizations that you’re a part of
Did all the descriptors from each group of people match or were they different?
If you found that there’s versatility in how people may describe you, that’s normal. You may not be perceived the same way by everybody. However, all of those versions of yourself exist inside you. The same is true for the identity groups to which we belong. These are our social identities.
Do—
Social Identity Wheel
Do—
Social Identity Wheel
Complete the wheel on the worksheet below by listing how you identify in the space provided for each category on the wheel. For guidance, you will find examples of social identity categories below.
Examples of Social Identity Categories and Groups
Examples of Social Identity Categories and Groups
*This list is NOT complete, it is just a few examples to support the identity wheel activity.
Race: African-American, Latina/o/x, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, Biracial, Multiracial, White
Ethnicity: Black, Chicano/a, Jewish, Lakota, Irish, Puerto Rican, Mixed European
National Origin: Barbados, Dominican Republic, Nigeria, Korea, Argentina, France, United States Socioeconomic Class: (working) poor, working class, middle class, upper class, owning class
Gender Assigned at Birth: girl, boy, intersex
Gender: two spirit, genderqueer, gender nonconforming, transgender woman/girl, cisgender woman/girl, transgender boy/man, cisgender boy/man
Biological Sex at Birth: female, intersex, two spirit, male
Sexual Orientation: bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, pansexual, asexual, same gender loving, questioning, heterosexual
Age: child, adolescent, young adult, middle age adult, senior/elder Physical/emotional/developmental ability: disabled, living with chronic illness/pain, temporarily disable, abled
Religion or Spiritual Affiliation: Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Ifa, agnostic, atheist, Christian, Catholic
List the identity category that is the most salient for you, and the identity category that is least salient for you at the bottom of the wheel.
For a printable version, click here.
This social identity wheel is designed to show you that you are not just one identity. Each identity that you see on this wheel can add to and subtract from your overall power in the world. This is called intersectionality.
Kimberlé Crenshaw who coined the term intersectionality says, “Intersectionality is a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects.” Every individual has privileged identities that add to their power and oppressed identities that subtract from their power. There are some privileges that you are born into and others you “earn” by obtaining symbols of power (money, positions, education, etc.)
Reflect—
Reflect—
In a journal or in conversation with another person doing this work, ask yourself:
In what situations have you felt privilege?
In what situations have you felt oppression?
Though your individual experience of privilege or oppression may not be the same as another person with shared identities, our society is built upon hierarchies of power. This means marginalized identity groups consistently have more experiences of oppression, while more privileged identity groups consistently have more experiences of power.
Reflect—
Reflect—
Take a look at the graphic below from Sylvia Duckworth:
In a journal or in conversation with another person doing this work, ask yourself:
What are three identity markers on this wheel that you don’t normally think about (e.g., body size)
What are three identities that are tied to power that you hadn’t considered before? (e.g., slim)
Give an example of a situation where each of those identities might provide privilege or oppression.
Do—
Social Identity Comparison
Do—
Social Identity Comparison
Compare your Social Identity Wheel to the Wheel of Privilege and Power above.
Circle the identities you possess that experience privilege.
Put a square around the identities you possess that experience oppression.
Approaching your anti-racism work through an intersectional lens is vital because our positionality (levels of power and privilege) in any given space is dependent upon our combined identities.
There may be spaces where our racial oppression needs to be at the forefront, but there are also times to support those in our community with intersecting oppressed identities that we do not possess.
Embedded in race conversations is the opportunity to be an ally to those with overlapping marginalized identities. When we uplift groups that experience oppression, we are validating, supporting, and understanding their experiences. Fighting oppression of any kind benefits all oppressed groups.
To keep this lens at the forefront of our activism, Ijeoma Oluo (So You Want to Talk about Race) provides a series of questions to ask yourself:
How might race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, or sex impact this subject?
Am I listening to people whose identities and experiences differ from mine?
To add on to this, an additional question to consider is:
When engaged in conversation, what intersecting identities may be salient to your needs in the conversation? What intersecting identities might be salient to others in the conversation? Let’s think about it in reference to the holiday party reflection activity you completed in Week 1.
Journey Work: Preparing for Cross-Cultural Dialogue
Journey Work: Preparing for Cross-Cultural Dialogue
The goal of this workbook is both personal development and preparation for conversations in cross-racial settings. We will end each week with exercises in applying your learnings in diversified spaces.
Imagine the following scenario:
Your job has recently invested in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training. A lot of the focus has been on race. One of your team members asked the general group, why are we always talking about white versus black? Women are also marginalized!
What impulses, emotions, images, or thoughts arise?
What would you do? What would you say? Would there be questions you’d want to pose to this person? The group?
How would you support the group in using an intersectional lens?
Feed Your Soul: Referenced and Additional Resources
Feed Your Soul: Referenced and Additional Resources
The following are good supplements to the work you did above, if you are looking to dig deeper into this topic.
Referenced
Referenced
Kimberlé Crenshaw on Intersectionality, More than Two Decades Later from Columbia Law
So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Wheel of Power and Privilege by Sylvia Duckworth
Additional
Additional
Urgency of Intersectionality by Kimberlé Crenshaw
Interested in Doing More of This Work?
Interested in Doing More of This Work?
The activities and materials on this page were created for the Anti-Racism Every Day BIPOC Activism Discussion Group. All are welcome to join us to continue this work and benefit from the power of collective reflection and discussion.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse