#207

I am acutely aware that as an educated, white, English speaking, heterosexual, able bodied individual, I am afforded privileges. I am equally aware that in some other respects I do not have privilege and am marginalized. Being empowered and/or marginalized is, in many respects, beyond our control.

Mindful that privilege is nuanced across various attributes, I appreciate Sylvia Duckworth’s Wheel of Power/Privilege and this second image (Shared by Joel Jr Llaban during the International School of Luxembourg's Sustaining Courage for Change webinar of December 7, 2021]. Rather than using a simplistic binary of privilege or non privilege, the wheels illustrate the intersectionality of power and privilege across a wide range of attributes. In lieu of focussing on the oft mentioned race, ethnicity, and nationality, the use of a range of attributes renders a more comprehensive and nuanced perspective pertaining to privilege and power. I am - in thinking about the notion of power and privilege - once again reminded of Dolly Chugh’s line "Invisibility is the very nature of ordinary privilege" (p.119, The Person You Mean to Be). When one has privilege and power, one is - as referenced in my July 2021 blogpost - often oblivious and unaware of that experienced by those who are marginalized.

Is your notion of privilege and power - both in a personal capacity and more broadly - altered as a result of looking at these wheels?