Two women seeking equality in a state where some couples are more equal than others.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Acknowledging Privilege: We Don't Pull the Ladder Up

Lately, there's been a lot in the news about White privilege, which has sparked discussions about other types of privilege and intersectionality (the idea that most of us have areas of privilege and non-privilege in our lives that come together to shape our opportunities and perceptions).

Regular readers of my blog are aware of the ways that my lack of straight privilege have produced challenges. I hope that you also realize from reading that I have many areas of privilege and am thankful for those advantages.

For instance, I went to a school system where our buildings were always clean and safe. I didn't fear physical violence or illness as a result of attending school. Some of my students cannot say that. In addition, I had certified teachers and was able to get classes I needed not only to graduate, but to get into a major research university with a great scholarship. I'm not saying I didn't work hard. I did. I was incredibly studious, read all the time, and joined many extracurricular activities. I worked part-time to save money.

But I didn't work part-time to pay for necessities. I didn't have to babysit younger siblings. I had parents to take me to the library, grandparents to buy magazine subscriptions, enough money to have instruments, uniforms, calculators, etc. I could have gone to a fancier, more prestigious district, perhaps. I have friends who did, and some have had better opportunities. Overall, though, I would argue that I was reasonably privileged economically and academically.

Someone once told me, "We don't pull the ladder up." I've thought about that often. He meant that when we reach our goals, have some advantages, get closer to the top, we continue to extend that opportunity to those behind us. I would expand that to mean that we try to work the ladder into a staircase when possible. Or a ramp. Or whatever the people behind us need to get equal opportunities.

Rebecca will say basically the same thing about med school. She had many of the same privileges I did, but compared to her med school peers, she was relatively underprivileged. Many more of them came from upper middle or upper class backgrounds, few were rural, few were LGBT. She's immensely grateful to the people who helped her get shadowing experiences, given that she has no family members that are medical professionals to book her to stand in for surgeries or consultations or the like. She's incredibly grateful to faculty members from her undergrad who not only gave her academic opportunities, but mentored and encouraged her to be a strong woman who prioritized loving people while using her gifts.

We have a friend now who is just amazing. She's a beautiful soul. I wish you could all meet her. She's applying to med school now, and comes from a relatively less advantaged background. We're working with her to get her applications in, to get her through the MCAT, to write her essays. We're not the most privileged, but we know people, and we know things now. I wouldn't do this if I didn't think she's qualified. But I don't want to pull the ladder up. I want to level the playing field.

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