Title: Social location: what people mean | by Brianne Benness | Medium
Headings: Social location: what people mean
Social location: what people mean
Content: As a heterosexual man, I am likely unaware of the harassment or discrimination women and the LGBTQ community face. Unless I see it happen right in front of me or hear about it happening, then I will likely be totally unaware it’s happening at all. The point is, if someone tells you that they have had experiences that are totally different from your own, that doesn’t mean they are false. Go read it all: So, You’ve Been Told You Need to “Check Your Privilege.” Now what? by Nathan Palmer
As an academic from a working-class background, I often struggle with the wall which is cut to the form of middle-class norms of communication, language, dress-code, and individualism. With a large percentage of my students being first-generation and/or working-class, this helps me understand many of their obstacles entering the academy and figuring out the landscape and where the landmines are located. Of course, being a woman at the front of the classroom also affects not only my approach, but how students view me and frame my presence. At the same time, my whiteness, able-bodied status, and U.S. citizenship can often prevent me from recognizing the daily microaggressions that students of color, students with disabilities, or immigrant students face.