Module One Vocabulary

Walking with Whiteness Module One Vocabulary: Identity, Power, and Privilege Diversity: Social differences connected to cultural upbringing, ancestral lineage, familial background, life paths, experiences, and worldviews. Diversity honors a multiplicity of ways of being instead of glossing over social differences in an effort to less discomfort with difference and make everyone the same, or fit into the same “one size fits all” container.

Equity: An awareness of, and accounting for, power differentials in regards to different identities, histories, and experiences in order to create an equitable, fair, and impartial experience for everyone involved.

Equity differs from equality in that equality means treating everyone the same. Equity recognizes that we are not all the same, and because of different histories, experiences and identities, some of us have been granted more or less social power. This can be connected to the bodies that we have been born into, the particular life experiences that we have had, and the cultural norms that we have been groomed within. Equity is focused on providing everyone with what they require to feel safe, seen, and have their needs met, by honoring social differences and points of privilege.

Inclusion: The creation of a conscious container that allows people with different experiences and ways of being to feel equally welcome and safe in a space, regardless of social differences and power differentials within a group. An inclusive space allows people to show up with all of their pieces and parts and does not require that people shed aspects of themselves in order to gain entry into a space.

Spaces that are truly inclusive are aware of the power differentials and histories of those entering the container, especially recognizing the particular needs of marginalized social groups and de- centering dominant identities and ways of being in an effort to create more equity within a space. Inclusive spaces recognize that people have different needs and strive to meet the needs of those who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized through intentional practices, resources, and opportunities for all people to feel safe and seen when participating.

Social Identity: Our social identities collectively comprise our social locations. Our social identities are aspects of ourselves that correspond with social categories and structures. These include categories such as race, class, gender, sexuality, age, ability, religion, political affiliation, ethnicity, citizenship, and geographical location.

While we are able to choose some aspects of our social identities, especially as we become adults, many of our social identities and categories are assigned to us at birth, and impact our life

trajectories, opportunities, safety, and how other people interact with us. Our social identities can place us in positions of power and privilege, or we might find ourselves with limited access to material resources that we require to have our needs met. Often many of us will find ourselves with both dominant and marginalized social identities. Social identities are not all that we are, but they do heavily impact our experiences in the world.

Dominant Groups/Marginalized Groups: In society there are dominant groups who hold more social power and who are afforded more cultural space and other social groups who are denied social power and are not granted much cultural space. This can be reflected in language, cultural norms, visual representation, political representation, and cultural influence.

Privilege: At a basic level, privilege refers to unearned social power and the ability to stay safe in our bodies and have our material needs met without struggling to access resources. Privilege is not “bad”—it just is! Privilege does not mean that our lives will be easy or without pain and suffering.

Privilege does mean that we are engaging with the world with more social power simply because we occupy certain bodies and social identities. Often the more social privilege we have, the more entrapped we become in those identities. To question them or look outside of them can feel scary and unsafe, and we are often penalized for doing so, often resulting in loss of social power.

For example, “white privilege” is a term to refer to the unearned social power of white-bodied people within a social system that grants more social power and cultural room to white-bodied people. While white-bodied people might also have more marginalized identities that limit access to social power and resources (through class, citizenship status, gender, sexuality, religious affiliation, etc.), under a system that culturally rewards people for having a white body, white- bodied people will not find themselves being denied opportunities for healthcare, education, employment, housing, etc. simply because of race.

Intersectionality: A term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw and written about by Barbara Smith and the Combahee River Collective for how our multiple social identities inform and overlap with each other, particularly as experienced by Black women. These identities include race, gender, sexuality, class, citizenship, ability, religious affiliation, political affiliation, and education level. We can never be “just” our race, or “just” our gender. They are grafted on to each other and interconnected. We can find ourselves experiencing simultaneous privilege and marginalization due to different aspects of our identities in different spaces and relationships.

Structural and Institutional Inequities: Discriminatory policies and institutions that deny equal access to those with marginalized social identities. For example, institutional racism includes unfair housing policies, unequal education, unequal job opportunities, unequal pay, low quality healthcare, the school to prison pipeline, and unfair treatment by law enforcement. It is not solely about attitudinal racism or the use of racial epithets by individuals.

Structural and Institutional Inequities profoundly impact the lives of people with marginalized identities in ways that make it difficult to have their basic needs met.

Microaggressions: These are comments, assumptions, and gestures in social situations that are rooted in stereotypes of a social group. These are often enacted due to unconscious bias and

downplayed or explained away due to their seemingly “micro” nature without considering their cumulative effects or harmful logics and impacts.

Implicit Bias: This relates to ways in which a person is unconscious and unaware of how their belief systems and worldview inform their thoughts and actions in society.