1. Privilege & Oppression
S0 232

2. Purpose of Course
•Develop an understanding of anti-oppressive
practice in Social Work
•Begin to look at issues of power differentials in our
society
•Begin to develop an understanding of personal
reflection on your own social location and its
influence on your beliefs and actions
•Begin to develop an analysis around issues of
oppression

3. How is the class run
• Lectures posted
• In class discussion, activities & videos
• Take home assignments

4. Social Identity
Oppression
Privilege
Lecture 1 – An Introduction

5. Social Identities - definition
• Social identity
• Part of an individual’s perception of who they are (self-concept) comes from
his/her understanding of their connection to a group
(Rohall, D., Milkie, M., & Lucas, J., (2007)
• Dominant vs Subordinate

6. Social Identity (Stevens-Curry, A., 2003)
• Our identities are social constructed
• Our lives are largely a function of our identity – gender, race, social
class etc
• We are normally born into it
• Unlikely to change
• Our accomplishments (or lack thereof) are tied to our identity – so
too are everyone else's

7. Social Identity(Rohall, D., Milkie, M., & Lucas, J., (2007)
Dominant Group
•Has access to power
•Provides standards
•“Norms”
•Economic control
•Privilege
Subordinate Group
•Disadvantages
•Categorized
•Differential
treatment
•Lack power and
influence

8. Dominant group (Nagda, R.,)
• Has the power to determine:
• Who holds the power,
• Who gets the best jobs,
• Whose history will be taught in school,
• Whose relationships will be validated in society.

9. Oppression (Johnson 2006)
•Social oppression
• Defined as the exploitation of one group (dominant
group) for the benefits by another group (target group)
•Key elements:
• Dominant group describes what is normal
• Those in power and those who are not – get treated differently
• The outcome of oppression is often Internalized oppression
• The culture of the oppressed group is discounted and dominant group’s culture
imposed

10. Oppression (Johnson 2006)
• Systemic
• Rooted in our cultural and systems
• E.g., media, family, religion, language, education, economics, justice system, and
culturally defined norms, reality, what is viewed as correct; beautiful; and valuable.
• Socially approved
• Power imbalance remains firmly entrenched
• Campaign 2000 – reduction in child poverty

11. Systems vs Individuals (Johnson 2006)
• Important to understand the difference between systems and
individuals
• The major problem is the oppression exerted by systems and not
individuals
• Harder to identify
• Much more difficult to change

12. Internalized Oppression (Urban Dictionary)
the process by which a member of an oppressed group comes to
accept and live out the inaccurate myths and stereotypes applied to
the group.
“We hate ourselves because
We grew up
And live in a society that hates
us”
-- Michael Denneny

13. Why does oppression persist?
• Denying it exist
• Blaming the targets of oppression

14. Privilege: What is it? (Johnson 2006)
•An advantage not available to others on equal
terms
•Having control of societies extra resources
•Basis of privilege:
• Sex – male privilege
• Race – white privilege
• Age -
• etc

15. Naming our Privilege
• Ability
• Age
• Class
• Gender
• Race
• Physical Appearance
• Personality
• Sexuality
• Culture
• Ethnicity
• Geographic location
• Religion
• Views
• Education

16. Privilege permits us to: (Johnson 2006)
• Feel comfortable in the world
• Escape dangers that others may suffer
• Choose whether or not to address certain issues of oppression or
injustice
• Not have to hide parts of our identity or lifestyle

17. Why don’t dominant groups see
privilege as a problem? (Johnson 2006)
• Unaware that their privilege exist in the first place
• Don’t have to – privilege protects them from consequences
• Perspective that privilege is a personal issue – people get what they
deserve
• Don’t want to give it up
• Afraid..... of blame, guilt, rejection by own group

18. Assimilation’s Ideals (Johnson 2006)
• Group-based differences
• Eliminated
• Every one is treated the same - according to the principles, rules standards
• The myth of “neutrality”
• Belief that it “maximises “choice”
• The idea that we can develop to our full capacity as “individuals” without the
impact of group norms or expectations

19. Privilege – the lessons we learn (Johnson 2006)
• The “isms” - disadvantages of others
•Not the advantages that we have – the things that
put us ahead

20. Privilege - Denial and Resistance (Johnson 2006)
• No one likes to see themselves as connected to someone else’s
misery, no matter how remote the link.
• Response - is to find a way to get themselves off the hook.
• But we are all on the hook

21. Our response to privilege (Johnson 2006)
•Deny and Minimize
• “I can ‘t be racist I have black friends.”
• “Women have it good today.”
•Minimize
• Acknowledge that it exists but doesn’t amount to much
i.e.
• Women & minorities “whine”
• “just get on with it!
• Denying the reality of oppression also denies the reality of the privilege
that underlies it, which is just what it takes to GET OFF THE HOOK!

22. Our response to privilege (continued)
• Blame the victim
• Allows us to acknowledge:
• That privilege and oppression exist
• There are t and that they have appalling consequences for people
• Gets us off the hook by blaming it all on them!
• “If aboriginal peoples worked harder or got an education, they’d be okay.”
• “Some women are hypersensitive”

23. Our response to privilege (continued)
• Call it something else
• An indirect way to deny oppression and privilege:
• “battle of the sexes”
• Most often seen in sexism - men (dominant group) and women (target
group) depend on each other in ways unlike other groups

24. Our response to privilege (continued)
• I’m one of the good ones
• Bad people do bad things
• Silence & inaction makes us just as much of the problem.

25. What Can We Do? (Bishop, A., 2002)
• The challenge:
• Change patterns of segregation, dismissal, privilege, harassment,
discrimination and violence
• Patterns that have existed for hundreds (or thousands) of years

26. What is the most powerful barrier
to change? (Johnson 2006)
• Those with “privilege” need to make the problem of privilege their
problem and do something about it.
• Why!!!!!

27. Privilege (Johnson 2006)
• Privilege is not always negative
• Focus on sharing rather than taking it away
• Inequality is created when only certain members of society enjoy
privilege
• Privilege no longer can exist when all members of society enjoy
certain opportunities - equal rights for all members of society

28. What are the ‘Tools’ we have? (Johnson 2006)
• Reclaim the language
• Understanding the social system
• Using the concepts of “privileged and unprivileged at the same time”
– rather than simply looking at “under privilege”
• Understanding the forms of oppression (avoidance, exclusion,
rejection, unequal access to resources and rewards, and violence)

29. Reference
• Stevens-Curry, A., (2003). An Educator’s Guide for changing the world: Methods,
Models and Material for Anti-oppression & Social Justice. The Centre for Social
Justice, Toronto Canada. www.socialjustice.org
• Rohall, D.E., Milkie, M.A., & Lucas, J.W. (2007). Social Psychology: Sociological
Perspectives. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
• Johnson, A. (2006). Privilege, Power & Difference. Boston, MA: Mcgraw-Hill.
• Bishop, A., (2002). Becoming an Ally: Breaking the Cycle of Oppression in People.
Halifax Canada: Fernwood Publishing.
• Left Stage productions for Canada World Youth.
http://www.acgc.ca/09/images/file/resources/Youth%20Action%20Resources/Oppressio