Ther matrix of domination: Using priviilege to uplift communities. | Dimpho Thepa | TEDxUCT
Summary
TLDRIn this thought-provoking talk, the speaker explores the concept of privilege through personal anecdotes and the lens of intersectionality. They challenge the binary perception of privilege, emphasizing its multifaceted nature and the importance of recognizing and utilizing one's social capital responsibly. The speaker's journey from a rural upbringing to a university education highlights the fluidity of privilege and the potential for growth when it is acknowledged and leveraged effectively.
Takeaways
- 🌍 The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing and understanding privilege in the context of global social movements fighting for human dignity and integrity.
- 🤔 The concept of privilege is uncomfortable for many, but it's crucial to confront one's own privilege to foster empathy and social change.
- 🏡 The speaker's personal story illustrates the complexity of privilege, being raised by grandparents in a rural area without immediate access to education, yet benefiting from better educational opportunities later.
- 📚 Privilege is not an either/or situation; it exists on a spectrum and is influenced by various factors such as race, class, gender, and more.
- 👥 Intersectionality, a concept by Kimberlé Crenshaw, is highlighted as a framework for understanding the multifaceted nature of identity and experience.
- 🍊 An anecdote about selling oranges in the speaker's community underscores the importance of social capital and how privilege can vary across different contexts.
- 🏢 The speaker acknowledges their own privilege, such as attending better schools and having access to resources, which contributed to their current position.
- 🍰 The metaphor of a cake is used to explain intersectionality, where individual aspects of a person's identity combine to form a whole, much like the ingredients of a cake.
- 👥 The speaker discusses the idea of positionality, suggesting that privilege is about where one stands in relation to various social structures.
- 🤝 Recognizing privilege can lead to a sense of responsibility and action, as the speaker reflects on what they can do with their own privilege.
- 🌟 The speaker concludes by identifying themselves as privileged and encourages the audience to be aware of their own privileges and how they can use them positively.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the speaker's talk?
-The main theme of the speaker's talk is the concept of privilege, its complexities, and how it operates in various aspects of life.
Why does the speaker mention various social movements like Black Lives Matter and Fees Must Fall?
-The speaker mentions these movements to illustrate that people are fighting for their integrity and humanity, and to emphasize that what might seem unnecessary to some could be a matter of dignity for others.
What personal background does the speaker share to highlight their own experience with privilege?
-The speaker shares that they were raised by grandparents in a rural area without schools, had to attend boarding schools, and experienced a sense of disequilibrium due to their rural background compared to their urban classmates.
How does the speaker describe the concept of privilege?
-The speaker describes privilege not as an either/or situation but as something that exists in varying degrees, similar to height, where everyone has some level of privilege.
What is the connection between privilege and intersectionality as discussed by the speaker?
-The speaker connects privilege and intersectionality by explaining that understanding a person's multiple experiences—such as race, class, gender, and more—helps in recognizing the complexity of privilege in their lives.
What is the significance of the speaker's story about selling oranges?
-The story about selling oranges illustrates the concept of social capital and how the speaker's privilege in one area (attending better schools) did not translate to social capital in their home community for selling oranges.
Why is the speaker's grandfather's response important in the context of privilege?
-The grandfather's response is important because it highlights the idea that privilege is context-specific and that the speaker lacked the social capital necessary to sell oranges in their community.
What are some examples of unrecognized privileges that the speaker lists?
-Examples include being able to express romantic affection in public, accessing private healthcare, having public holidays for one's religion, coming from a background that encourages asking for help, and being addressed with the correct pronouns.
What are the three consequences the speaker mentions for not recognizing one's privilege?
-The consequences are: 1) the potential to abuse privilege, 2) limiting one's potential by focusing on what one lacks instead of what one has, and 3) committing microaggressions due to a lack of awareness.
How does the speaker conclude their talk?
-The speaker concludes by acknowledging their own privilege, introducing themselves as Dimple Randall Atiba, and thanking the audience for attending.
Outlines
🌟 Understanding Privilege and Positionality
The speaker begins by discussing various social movements and the importance of fighting for one's integrity and humanity. They emphasize the difficulty in determining what is necessary in these movements, as it's not always about personal experience. The speaker then introduces the concept of privilege, explaining that it's not an either/or situation but rather a matter of positionality. They share their personal story of growing up without parents, raised by grandparents in a rural area, and attending boarding schools, which provided them with certain privileges. The speaker uses the term 'privilege' to illustrate that everyone has some form of privilege, and it's about understanding and acknowledging one's position in society.
🍊 The Role of Social Capital in Entrepreneurship
In this paragraph, the speaker recounts their childhood ambition to become an entrepreneur by selling oranges from their home. They describe their plan to approach their grandfather for support, only to be told that social capital is crucial for such endeavors. The grandfather explains that being part of the community and having a relationship with its members is essential for selling goods. The speaker reflects on the idea that social capital varies in different environments and that recognizing and leveraging one's social capital is key to success. They also provide a list of everyday privileges that are often taken for granted, such as public displays of affection, access to private healthcare, and the ability to ask for help when needed.
🏆 Embracing Privilege and Its Impact
The final paragraph focuses on the importance of recognizing and understanding one's privilege. The speaker, Dimple Randall Atiba, shares their journey of becoming aware of their privilege through university courses and personal growth. They highlight the three negative consequences of not acknowledging privilege: the potential for abuse of power, limiting one's potential by focusing on what one lacks, and committing microaggressions due to a lack of understanding. The speaker concludes by affirming their own privilege and encourages the audience to reflect on their own, emphasizing the need for a shift in perspective to better navigate and utilize the power that comes with privilege.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Privilege
💡Social Capital
💡Intersectionality
💡Underprivileged
💡Human Dignity
💡Positionality
💡Boarding School
💡Microaggressions
💡Social Class
💡Pronouns
💡Entrepreneurship
Highlights
The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing and understanding privilege in various social movements.
Privilege is not an either/or situation but a spectrum of positionality, as explained by Patricia Hill Collins.
The speaker shares personal experiences of growing up underprivileged yet recognizing their own forms of privilege.
Privilege can manifest in various forms, such as access to better education and opportunities.
The concept of intersectionality is introduced to understand the complexity of human experiences.
The speaker's entrepreneurial journey is hindered by a lack of social capital in their community.
Privilege can be overlooked due to its ubiquity in one's life, such as speaking English or being able-bodied.
The speaker discusses the potential consequences of not recognizing one's privilege, such as abusing it or limiting one's potential.
Microaggressions can occur when individuals are not aware of their privilege and the impact of their actions.
The importance of using correct pronouns and respecting others' identities is highlighted.
The speaker's transformation from a village girl to a UCT student illustrates the fluidity of privilege.
The speaker calls for an awareness of privilege to prevent its misuse and to leverage it for positive change.
Privilege is discussed in the context of social capital and how it varies in different environments.
The speaker concludes by acknowledging their own privilege and encouraging others to do the same.
The applause signifies the end of the talk and the audience's appreciation for the speaker's insights.
Transcripts
[Music]
good afternoon everybody
black lives matter fees must fall Murray
Ghana
LGBTQI plus all these movements around
the world are movements where people are
fighting for their integrity and their
humanity and sometimes it is easy for us
as we look at the organizing work that
these movements do across the world and
think I'm they doing just a little bit
too much other nude protests really
necessary but it's very difficult for us
to decide what is necessary and what is
not when it is not our integrity and
human dignity that is on the line and
today I'm going to be talking about
privilege not a lot of people like
talking about privilege it's
uncomfortable while correction we like
talking about other people's privilege
for example one of my personal favorite
is white privilege because I'm not white
you know it doesn't really concern me so
I like talking about it and
[Music]
and I mentioned the movements above
because I wanted to tell you that just
because something is not a problem to
you personally does not mean it's not a
problem so today I'm gonna tell you
first about how supposedly
underprivileged I am first of all I
don't have parents and I was raised by
my grandparents and I was raised in a
place called Mahoney we're quite in
village and this particular place I was
raised in there are no schools we got
our first primary school when I was in
high school so I had to go to boarding
schools and because I went to boarding
schools in the city and because I come
from a very rural community and people
who go to school in the city live in the
city there was a disequilibrium of
access because I come from a rural area
and they live in the city so in general
it is very valid for me to have assumed
that you know like these people that I
go to school with are generally more
privileged than I am and the problem is
that we think of privilege as an
either/or situation we think because
somebody else has more of it it doesn't
mean you don't have any of it but this
is not how privilege works now I'm gonna
tell you another story about how
privileged I am I had people who looked
after me there are many people who don't
have parents and they have nobody to
look after them at the end of the day
and I was able to go to schools much
better schools than the ones in my
community schools that made me that gave
me better access to opportunities and
had it not been for those better schools
I probably wouldn't be standing before
you today and even in that because I
went to boarding school there are some
perks to go into boarding school by the
way first of all you have three jobs to
eat sleep and go to school and because
of that very reason I only learned to
cook this year because people have been
cooking for me all my life so I was very
privileged
and this other way of looking at
privilege is not an either-or situation
it's about positionality you know and by
talking about privilege in this manner
was taken from millions by Patricia Hill
Collins when Patricia discusses the
metrics of domination this way of
looking at privilege is looking at
privilege like height I don't know a
height less person there are short
people they're total people and they're
medium-sized people but there is no
person way they can say zero centimeter
height and it's easy for us to think of
ourselves as underprivileged because
confronting ones privilege is difficult
I mean these conversations about
privilege were only ignited in me by a
tutor I had called I and Amitabha and
because of my journey at university not
only being an academic one but a
personal one through courses that I took
such as sociology I was able to battle
with my privilege confront my privilege
accept my privilege and ask myself what
am I going to do with my privilege and
as a way of understanding why I say
every single body has privileged I'm
gonna talk about intersectionality from
the lens of kimberlé crenshaw what is
intersectionality intersectionality is a
way of understanding and analyzing the
complexity in the world in people and in
human experiences this means that when
we look at a person we look at them as
if they are made of multiple experiences
it means that we don't just see a person
we see their race their class their
gender their ethnicity their age their
sexuality and their religious group all
of those people combined together like a
cake and that's what we mean by
intersectionality because when you eat
red velvet you don't taste the
ingredients you taste the cake
growing up I was highly influenced by
entrepreneurs they came to my school and
they gave amazing speeches and the world
rich and I wanted to be like those
people so I told myself I'm gonna start
my journey of being an entrepreneur by
selling oranges well in my home we have
tons of orange trees literally everybody
who visits me gets a sack of oranges one
for you one for you one for the whole
auditorium and so I came up with a smart
plan about how I'm gonna start selling
my oranges of the market and I
approached my grandfather to explain
exactly what was going to happen for me
to start my journey to being an
entrepreneur and after I told my
grandfather this brilliant well
thought-out plan my grandfather said it
won't work I was very confused I'm like
I'm smart understand that what do you
mean I can't manage to sell it sex of
oranges and although my grandfather
didn't use the word social capital my
grandfather told me that that is not how
the people of that community buy
commodities they need to know you you
need to live in their community to sell
to them and what he was basically
telling me is that you do not have the
social capital to sell these oranges and
if we can look at that because I had the
social privilege to coexist in other
spaces at my school but I couldn't have
the social capital to go and sell
oranges that tells us that each and
every single one have social capital
it's just that there are some areas
where our social capital is more
prevalent than other areas and there are
certain things that you know we become
so used to them that even we don't
recognize that those things are
privileges and I'm gonna go through a
short list of some of those things and
one of them is being able to express
romantic affection to your partner in
public being able to see a private
doctor or mental health practitioner
when you are ill belong to a religious
group where you get to have public
holidays to observe religious holidays
coming from a background that teaches
you to ask for help when you can no
longer cope so that when they actually
tell you that they given you tutors and
lectures that you can have
- you can actually be able to go there
and ask for help from these people were
meant to help you and being addressed
and the correct pronouns speaking
English is a privilege and not having to
worry about whether you're going to be
able to get to class or not because the
lift isn't working because you're
able-bodied if the lift isn't working
you're just able to walk up the stairs
and some of these things you some of you
probably possess and you've never
realized their privileges because you're
so used to them that you did not see
them as a privilege remember I told you
how I absolutely love and shakyas right
so how many of you have been to
entrepreneurial talks or motivational
speeches you see quite a number of you
and you're gonna think I'm psychic after
that I'm gonna tell you a story that
they've all told you when they start
presenting metals hi my name is haben
i'm just a boy from a small village in
Limpopo and our daughter bang is saying
that in order to try and display some
kind of context to where he comes from
so that everybody can understand that
they eventually can get there - but a
van is no longer just a small boy from a
village in limbo for tagging is a
millionaire of a JSC listed company but
you see if we're able to constantly be
cognizant of our privilege and how it
changes from one place to the other in
life were not able to understand and to
know our power and something happens
when were not able to recognize our
privilege and how it can instantly
change in a minute like how we change
the minute you got accepted to be a
usage his student although I might have
been a village girl at a place with a
very difficult address I am now a UCT
student and these are the three things
that happen when we don't ruin we aren't
cognizant of our privilege number one we
can abuse this privilege for an example
if I'm involved in a dispute with a maid
and she probably doesn't speak good
English and I was in the wrong and that
dispute has taken to a disciplinary
hearing and I have the better English to
explain what
in that dispute she is likely to lose
all those she's wrong just because I
speak English and if you're not
cognizant of this privilege you're able
to be you're very unaware of how you
navigate in these spaces number two your
limit we limit our potential because we
always see ourselves from a point of
being underprivileged so we're and we're
so busy focused on the things we don't
have that were unable to see the things
that we do have and were unable to tap
into our social capitals and the power
that we hold number three we commit
microaggressions and we don't understand
why it is important to learn to refer to
people in the right pronouns because
we're probably says heterosexual people
so we all have privilege because
privilege is not an either/or situation
no no no no it's about the environment
you know and it's about in which
environment you possess social capital
in and different people have different
social capitals and some social capital
is effective everywhere there is an
environment where your social capital is
more effective than the other and just
because it's not your problem does not
mean that is a problem so today I'm here
to say that my name is dimple Randall
atiba I have privilege and thank you for
coming tonight a talk
[Applause]
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