Personal Narrative: My Interpretation Of Conflict Theory

According to Hays (2008), privilege is when a person has a right or immunity to gives them either a distinct favor or advantage in a situation where others may be oppressed. Hays (2008) further explains that privilege isolates people by cutting them off from enriching information or experiences related to the specific minority group. I found that identifying three areas of privilege was difficult. When in a group of mixed ethnicities with the dominant ethnicities being Hispanic or African American, I appear to be more Caucasian with a family made up of Caucasians and therefore I have more privilege than my counterparts; however, when I am in a group primarily made up of European Americans, my appearance typically sets me apart and I am treated as if I am a minority;

In society, social privilege is bestowed upon particular individuals at birth- typically on the merit of characteristics that individuals have little or no control over, including: race, gender, nationality, physical ability, etc. (Black & Stone, 2005). Though these traits may seem arbitrary they bare very real social consequences and shape individual life experiences (Black & Stone, 2005). Racial privilege is rooted in a history of white supremacy and Eurocentric ideologies of early North American settlers (Black & Stone, 2005). Classically, this privilege has been discussed in the context of a white/black dichotomy, however, this is inaccurate given that members of all racial groups are affected by racial privilege or the lack thereof (Black & Stone, 2005).

To be a person, requires intersectionality. Intersectionality is the idea that people do not function on only one aspect of their being, but instead, function on every aspect. Aspects that include race, gender, ability, etc. With this intersectionality comes innumerable categories that lie on the scale of privileged, oppressed, or somewhere in between. To be privileged is to have advantages that are not necessarily earned, and instead come with a specific, usually uncontrollable feature, such as race, gender, class, and ability. To be oppressed is to have disadvantages that are not earned, but instead come with the same uncontrollable categories as privilege. Even cis-gendered, heterosexual, white, men have aspects of their intersectionality that might not place them at the top of the privilege hierarchy. And it is in these complications where people start to place doubts on their own privileges. It is important to realize that it is nearly impossible to have privilege in every single way or oppression in every single way, yet, this is not an excuse to deny privileges. Even with some oppressions, some are still granted more advantages than others. To delve into this deeper, analyzing writings from established writers, such as Peggy McIntosh and Devon Carbado become necessary.

White (male) privilege comprises of having more access to resources, having normative assumptions of self-worth, and escaping consequences like being discriminated against just on the basis of one’s race (Neville, Spanierman, & Lewis, 2012). There are seven core components of White (male) privilege (Neville, Spanierman, & Lewis, 2012). The first core component is that While (male) privilege differentially benefits Whites on the basis of social group membership, including class, gender, and sexual orientation. Further, differentially benefits Whites, means that Whites benefits vary based on their social membership group. An example

Every paper, no matter how well written needs to be revised and edited as time goes on. In some ways, life is similar. We all go through changes that influence us and shape the direction we are headed. Some of these changes come from our own prerogative while others are inspired by friends and family members. I know that my worldview has gone through this revision process. Even looking back to freshman year I had many of the same ideals, same focuses on values and hard work, but over time they have come to manifest themselves in different ways. For instance, I am much more willing to share my beliefs and opinions on controversial issues. This developed as I came to realize my ideas are worth arguing for and I gained a knowledge of

The idea of privilege and discrimination plays a pivotal part in humanity. In my own definition, privilege is the freedom and immunity that one occupies based on certain characteristics. Some of the privilege factors in my social life are my race/ethnicity, class, and religion. On the other hand, I define discrimination as a form of social injustice in which one is at a disadvantage solely based on his features. For example, because of the pigment of my skin, my middle school teacher treated me in an unfavorable fashion. Furthermore, Race plays an important role in obtaining a privileged status. Dan Pence, a professor in Southern Utah University, argued that “once white students recognize their advantages, they acknowledge that

I would describe my social identity as a Productive adult, African American female from the middle class. English is my first language and I am a Christian. I am slim, fit and healthy. I am also a single parent that is working toward getting my bachelor’s degree. These attributes such as being African American and Christian have influenced the way I originally thought about sexuality and diversity.

Discrimination towards minority groups based on race, gender, and sexual orientation has existed in our society for decades. Till this day these stereotypes and prejudice towards an individual’s race, sexuality, ethnicity, and background still exist. There are particular barriers such as activities and interactions with people occurring daily, as well as plenty of disadvantages for those from different cultural backgrounds other than white. The term racism comes to mind when an individual draws negative thoughts about others due to their biological characteristics. Peggy McIntosh lists a number of conditions in her essay, White privilege, pointing out how her group in other words the advantage of being white protects her from racial harassment, hostility, and violence, giving her a comfortable feeling, more confidence, and respect than those people of color; who feel unconfident and uncomfortable. In addition, some people are well aware of the meaning of privilege, but certainly not aware of why they treat people differently, or choose to ignore it. Those privileges are quite difficult to eliminate completely since some individuals are raised receiving privilege.

I identify as white, Christian, heterosexual, educated, abled, and middle class. It is difficult to understand the unearned privilege of these identities because I have experienced privilege my entire life. Just as with being a female or a student, I learn the roles and expectations of each identity and strive to play that role well. With a middle class economic status, my priorities are expected to be my job and my finances, as well as career growth and professional development. Black males are more likely to experience racial profiling for crimes and brutality from law enforcement. My race protects me from these injustices. I can assume that my ability to get a job, rent an apartment, or secure a loan will not be denied because of my sexual

Though I have no recollection of this, my family often explained that as a young child I was quite rambunctious. I’d repeated refused to participate in activities, had poor grades, and had interesting temper tantrums. Most adults believed it was caused by a lack of attention or a distrust of others. However, I’d felt as if I received all the attention I required and trusted most people I knew. In reality the issue was caused by my dissatisfaction of how gray the world seemed and I lacked a creative outlet to counteract this. This all changed when I receive my first handheld system. My parents immediately noticed a drastic improvement in both my behavior and learning pace afterwards. I was astonished at what such a small device could accomplish,

Courage is a trait that every person possesses; it is a sort of spell that washes over a person, giving them strength, and the ability to overcome a task that may be daunting or hard to do. It Just so happens that I felt and acquired this; when I was about ten years old I was taking Tae Kwon Do, a form of Martial arts. I was lucky enough to be invited to my first every tournament, in which I had the chance to compete against people from all over the nation. As I discovered I would partake in this, I felt very proud, but as I thought more about it the more I felt overwhelmed and pressured. I knew then I would need some kind of luck to get me through this, I felt I was going to fail, as it was my first tournament after

Prior to taking this class I only thought about the differences related to race. The main reason I only thought of racial differences in relation to power and privilege is due to my experiences. According to Johnson (2006), there are six characteristics that allow us to have power and privilege. These six characteristics include: age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities/ qualities, sexual/ affectional orientation (Johnson, 2006). Reading this chapter allowed me to reflect on where I stand in each of these characteristics. I am a heterosexual Latina female, in my early twenties with no disabilities. Before reflecting on the privileges I hold I did not see myself as holding any privilege,

Race, gender, and sexual orientation are things even the strongest people have to endure. Even people who have a "perceived" privilege have difficulty progressing in society.

The church I am serving has a kind of conflict. It has been for a while. The kind of division has never been solved. There looks like two different groups that are separated, and they do not like each other. They seem to harm each other and people in the both group are hurt becaue of the situation. I notice that some people try to harm other people by action and words and some people harm other people without notice and intention. In both ways, they are hurt a lot and their conflict keep remaining because of the scars from hurt. As Reuben Job says, “giving up favorite position” or “disarm,” (26) people should disarm not to harm any more since they seem to happen to harm other people automatically without power to control. There are sometimes

As defined by Folger et al. (2013), “climate can be defined as the relatively enduring quality of a social unit that is experienced in common by members, and arises from and influences their interaction and behavior” (p. 212). The climate of this conflict was very negative. The competitive conflict style as mentioned in the previous section, was the main reason why we had such a negative climate which all of us experienced. We all became defensive of ourselves and what we were arguing for. As noted by Folger et al. (2013), “a negative climate produces more extreme expressions of conflict which in turn produces a more conflict negative climate” (p. 217). We were stuck in this cycle of negativity and defensiveness that the conflict got very heated and ruined our relationships with one another. This greatly impacted the interaction between all of us both during the conflict and after because I have avoided both of my roommates ever since the conflict started.