Situating Self

When analyzing aspects of our identity that shape our attitude, behaviors and experiences we must include concepts of sex, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, age, socioeconomic class, religion, and ability. It’s essential that we understand our own and others identities in order to better understand our social relationships and our interactions with one another.

Specifically, I am talking about intersectionality. Intersectionality helps us understand the discrete forms and expressions of oppression and the ways that gendered subjects are created and are shaped by, one another. These numerous systems of oppression and discrimination propose how various biological, social and cultural categories such as race, class, gender, (dis) ability, and sexual orientation coexist on multiple, and often simultaneous levels, contributing to systematic social inequality.

In situating myself, I am an East Indian woman, born into a first generation immigrant family. My ethnic background is Punjabi; specifically, I am from a Sikh background. I am less privileged because I am a woman and I am raced. I am more privileged because I can pass as almost white, I live in an economically developed part of the world, I have almost completed a post-secondary education, I am able, and I was born into a upper middle class family.

As an East Indian woman from an upper middle class family who speaks fluent English I have access to certain opportunities that others do not. Another East Indian woman who may have come from a poor family and is unable to speak fluent English would not have the same possibilities I would have in access to jobs, housing, finances, and medical treatment.

In discussion of how settler colonialism has affected my life I have...

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... shaped my realities and shaped the way I perceive the world and understand others and myself. To this day I introduce myself as “Prab.” And pronounce it a certain way. I do not do this because I prefer Prab, I do this because it is easier for white people to pronounce and remember.

Examining that differences matter help us acknowledge that various concepts of power can help explain how different bodies have different perspectives and can lead to different experiences, values and access to power and privileges. These components affect how we see the experiences around us, and people are systematically advantaged or disadvantaged depending on their relative position. Overall, these experiences paint a picture of my life. They inform me that in the grand scheme of things I am fairly privileged, I have to access to power and opportunities that are closed for others.