This meme is from “What Privileges Do You Have?”, based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.
Bold all things that apply to you.
1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children’s books by a parent.
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18.
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively.
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs.
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs.
16. Went to a private high school.
17. Went to summer camp
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels.
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them.
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house.
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home.
25. You had your own room as a child.
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course.
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
31. Went on a cruise with your family.
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up.
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family
ETA: Here’s my take on this meme, as I originally posted it as comments on Karen G and Bill’s blogs.
I thought it was pretty interesting, and effective in a sneaky way.
I see this meme as being as much about what kind of disposable income the family had as it is about education — perhaps more so. This is why there aren’t questions about having a library card, participation in after school programs, etc.
I think if you asked people directly about the more frivolous aspects of disposable income — toys, games, pools, house size, etc. — they’d be more apt to shade the truth.
It also has something to do with where priorities were in the family regarding the maintenance of privilege and class. A lot of these things are about exposure to the trappings of privilege, in my opinion.
In general, though, it’s mostly just not complete — but it does make you think about where the sources of privilege, and of maintaining it, are based.
Some examples:
More than 500 books implies a larger home with space available for things beyond basic living space.
A car purchased for a kid implies that there was extra money for the more expensive insurance that attaches to underage drivers.
An extra phone line for a kid’s room is an expense that can be seen as being done as much for the parent’s convenience as it is for the kid.
There’s also a thing here about what kind of money us being spent to help assure that the privileges of the family are passed on to the next generation — SAT/ACT prep, multiple types of lessons, etc.
It’s actually a pretty good indicator of at least some of where the parents were putting extra cash — what were the priorities? Immediate gratification, or perpetuating and enhancing the class status of the offspring?
Just my take on it. I think it deliberately disguises its intent to get what was going on in the family. As such, I think it’s pretty effective, if incomplete.
Dark Matter 