White Privilege Test!

Participants stand in a straight line in the middle of an empty room. Tell participants that some statements might be of a sensitive nature for some individuals, and that they do not have to respond to any statement that is uncomfortable. Read the statements below.

If your ancestors came to the United States by force, take one step back.

If there were more than 50 books in your house growing up, take one step forward.

If you ever felt unsafe because of your sexual orientation, take one step back.

If you believe that you were denied employment because of your race, gender, or ethnicity, take 1 step back.

If you believe that you were paid less because of your race, gender, or ethnicity, take one step back.

If you were ever stopped or questioned by the police because of your race, take one step back.

If you have ever felt uncomfortable about a joke directed at your gender, take one step back.

If you can show affection for your romantic partner in public without fear of ridicule or violence, please take one step forward.

If you were embarrassed about your clothes or house while growing up, take one step back.

If your parents or guardians attended college, take one step forward.

If you were raised in an area with crime and drug activity, take one step back.

If you have tried to change your speech or mannerisms to gain credibility, take one step back.

If you are able to move through the world without fear of sexual assault, take one step forward.

If you can legally marry the person you love, take one step forward.

If you were sexually active with several people and it would improve your social reputation in other people’s eyes, take 1 step forward.

If you are reasonably sure that you will not be denied access to jobs or political resources because of your gender, take one step forward.

If you are able to be drive carelessly without someone attributing it to your gender, take one step forward.

If you are relatively sure you can enter a store without being followed, take one step forward.

If you are reasonably sure you would be hired based on your ability and qualifications, take one step forward.

If your family automatically expected you to attend college, take one step forward.

If you have ever traveled outside the United States, take one step forward.

If your parents worked nights and weekends to support your family, take one step backward.

If you can buy new clothes or go out to dinner when you want to, take one step forward.

If you get time off for your religious holidays, take one step forward.

If you have a foreign accent, take one step backward.

Continued...

take one step backward.

If you can walk alone at any time of day or night in Saratoga without thinking about safety, take one step forward.

If you went to galleries, museums, and plays with your family, take one step forward.

If you attended private school or summer camp, take one step forward.

If you were raised in a single-parent household, take one step backward.

If you studied the culture of your ancestors in elementary school, take one step forward.

If members of your gender are portrayed on TV in degrading roles, take one step backward.

If you have been a victim of sexual harassment, take one step backward.

If you have been a victim of violence because of your race, gender, class, or sexual orientation, take one step back.

If you ever went on a family vacation, take one step forward.

If you have ever had a maid, gardener, or cleaning service, take one step forward.

If you can walk past a construction site without being looked up and down or catcalled at, take one step forward.

This exercise is about privilege. Every statement addresses some small privilege that is based on gender, race, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation. The small statements in this exercise have added up to divide people into different locations in this room. Similarly, small privileges in society place individuals in different places in society.

Interestingly, privilege tends to be invisible to those who are privileged. That is, when we receive privilege based on race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other factor, we tend to not recognize the boosts in position that accumulate over time from those privileges.

The point of this exercise is not to make any of us embarrassed about the privileges we have received, but to make all of us aware of how privilege based on gender, race, etc function. Whether we are highly privileged, moderately privileged or lack privilege, it is possible to behave in ways that level the playing field for everyone.

HAHAHAHAHA-------->IMPORTANT: This exercise can be very triggering, so do not do this activity unless you are sure you have plenty of time to debrief and reflect what individuals experienced during the privilege walk.<---------HAHAHAHAHHAHA

Originally posted by long pig
This exercise is about privilege. Every statement addresses some small privilege that is based on gender, race, ethnicity, class, or sexual orientation. The small statements in this exercise have added up to divide people into different locations in this room. Similarly, small privileges in society place individuals in different places in society.

Interestingly, privilege tends to be invisible to those who are privileged. That is, when we receive privilege based on race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or any other factor, we tend to not recognize the boosts in position that accumulate over time from those privileges.

The point of this exercise is not to make any of us embarrassed about the privileges we have received, but to make all of us aware of how privilege based on gender, race, etc function. Whether we are highly privileged, moderately privileged or lack privilege, it is possible to behave in ways that level the playing field for everyone.

HAHAHAHAHA-------->IMPORTANT: This exercise can be very triggering, so do not do this activity unless you are sure you have plenty of time to debrief and reflect what individuals experienced during the privilege walk.<---------HAHAHAHAHHAHA

Some salient points, particularly the 3rd paragraph. Awareness of one's circumstances, and how they compare in context with others, is never a bad thing to have.

Not that I agree with each one of the "tests," though. Several seem somewhat petty compared to others, while others are likely redundant and, taken collectively, will create more of a false trend in one direction or another than may actually exist. Others still are presented as zero sum, when they're anything but. For example, a doctor making six figures may have to be on call nights or weekends, but one would hardly dock a child for that as a lack of privilege (i.e. a step backward). In short, I think the spirit of the exercise is more important than the individual examples.

What does time off for religious holidays have to do with white privilege? Or having 50 books?

A test about various types of privilege is somehow a white privilege test?

Also all areas have crime and drug activity. Show me a place with no crime or drugs and I'll show you a place with no people.

Ended up taking four steps back. Is there a chair back here?

Originally posted by Surtur
What does time off for religious holidays have to do with white privilege? Or having 50 books?

Originally posted by Emperordmb
A test about various types of privilege is somehow a white privilege test?

Originally posted by Surtur
Also all areas have crime and drug activity. Show me a place with no crime or drugs and I'll show you a place with no people.

All good points, relating back to one of mine:

Originally posted by Digi
In short, I think the spirit of the exercise is more important than the individual examples.

Long Pig, this isn't a White Privilege test my dear child.

I wound up 7 steps forward.

I want you to check my privilege... in the privacy of my bedroom.

If your parents attended your college, then they died, you grew up parentless (then they didn't work a night shift), you walk a step forward frigging priviledged freak!

The one true trolling would be doing a life story of abuse that seems priviledged by all the définitions listed ("I traveled outside of the US... Sold as a slave"😉, but who has that much trolling time?

Originally posted by Surtur
What does time off for religious holidays have to do with white privilege? Or having 50 books?

I also agree with Digi, the spirit seems to be more important than the actual implementation. Of course we don't know the contexts since long pig, once again, neglected to post a source, but as an exercise to make one aware of privilege it seems good.

There's this other exercise to illuminate it that I find pretty good: http://twentytwowords.com/what-will-you-do-with-your-privilege/

Originally posted by krisblaze
Amount of books in the household is a surprisingly accurate measure of cultural capital. 50 is too rough, but the correlation between amount of books and scholastic performance is absurdly high.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/05/100520213116.htm

This seems somewhat relevant to the topic:

http://twentytwowords.com/what-will-you-do-with-your-privilege/

When a high school teacher wanted to teach a class about privilege, he came up with a simple, but powerful and insightful object lesson for his students.
At the beginning of the class, all the students received a piece of paper, and were asked to crumple it into a ball.

Then, he moved the recycling bin to the front of the room.

He told them…
The game is simple — you all represent the country’s population. And everyone in the country has a chance to become wealthy and move into the upper class.

To move into the upper class, all you must do is throw your wadded-up paper into the bin while sitting in your seat.

The students in the back of the room immediately piped up and said it wasn’t fair — the students in the front of the room obviously had a much better chance than they did.

All the students took their shots. Most of the students in the front of the room made it, and of course only a few students in the back of the room did.

The teacher continued…
The closer you were to the recycling bin, the better your odds. This is what privilege looks like. Did you notice how the only ones who complained about fairness were in the back of the room?

By contrast, people in the front of the room were less likely to be aware of the privilege they were born into. All they can see is 10 feet between them and their goal.

Then the teacher wrapped things up with the most important thing to take away from this simple lesson…
Your job — as students who are receiving an education — is to be aware of your privilege. And use this particular privilege called “education” to do your best to achieve great things, all the while advocating for those in the rows behind you.

Originally posted by riv6672
This seems somewhat relevant to the topic:

http://twentytwowords.com/what-will-you-do-with-your-privilege/

[b]When a high school teacher wanted to teach a class about privilege, he came up with a simple, but powerful and insightful object lesson for his students.
At the beginning of the class, all the students received a piece of paper, and were asked to crumple it into a ball.

Then, he moved the recycling bin to the front of the room.

He told them…
The game is simple — you all represent the country’s population. And everyone in the country has a chance to become wealthy and move into the upper class.

To move into the upper class, all you must do is throw your wadded-up paper into the bin while sitting in your seat.

The students in the back of the room immediately piped up and said it wasn’t fair — the students in the front of the room obviously had a much better chance than they did.

All the students took their shots. Most of the students in the front of the room made it, and of course only a few students in the back of the room did.

The teacher continued…
The closer you were to the recycling bin, the better your odds. This is what privilege looks like. Did you notice how the only ones who complained about fairness were in the back of the room?

By contrast, people in the front of the room were less likely to be aware of the privilege they were born into. All they can see is 10 feet between them and their goal.

Then the teacher wrapped things up with the most important thing to take away from this simple lesson…
Your job — as students who are receiving an education — is to be aware of your privilege. And use this particular privilege called “education” to do your best to achieve great things, all the while advocating for those in the rows behind you. [/B]

That is uncanny, I wish I had thought of posting it....

But yeah, I think it's a good way to illustrate privilege as a concept.

Originally posted by krisblaze
Amount of books in the household is a surprisingly accurate measure of cultural capital. 50 is too rough, but the correlation between amount of books and scholastic performance is absurdly high.

But what if it's 50 trashy romance novels?

Originally posted by Surtur
But what if it's 50 trashy romance novels?