My issues with Privilege Walks is the specificity of it all. Growing up and even in my early adult life, people perceived things about me that weren’t necessarily accurate and that perception lead to similar treatment to those who exist in marginalized populations. The questions don’t account for this demographic.

For instance, all of the questions geared toward enlightenment about same-sex oriented people are worded in such a way that it is exclusionary to the lifestyle, taking absolutely zero account for those of us who grew up being percieved as gay, and because of that perception, being on the recieving end of the same types of judgement, discrimination and bigotry reserved for these marginalized individuals.
Hearing a statement such as, “If you have ever been called names regarding your sexual orientation and felt uncomfortable, take one step back.” can be very upsetting. How does one respond? “That’s not my true identity… it’s just the perception others have about me…” Does it count? I mean, no one ever called me names in regards to my actual orientation… just my perceived orientation.

My love for the LGBT+ community was born of shared struggles. But because my personal orientation doesn’t ‘track' with perception, do I not get ‘credit’ for the ridicule and discrimination that I experienced? I was once refused an employment opportunity due to this incorrect perception of me… doesn’t that fact alone place me in the same category?

I think that perception of others plays a vital role, not to mention the fact that our individual experiences, as well as our ‘woke status' cannot be summed up with this activity because of the exclusionary approaches it relies upon. The tool fails exponentially, at identifying privilege when one considers the simple concept of perception.

We all have our own personal challenges and opportunities. Who we are or are perceived to be by others should not define us. We set goals regardless of those challenges and opportunities and we do what is necessary to rise above and reach those goals.

I don’t argue the validity of the concept of privilege, but of our narrow understanding of it.

I’m a white heterosexual identifying man who attended college, recieved both bachelor and masters degrees, obtained 6 teaching certificates (including my principal certification), and make a respectable salary.

I’m also in over my head in student loan debt, grew up in a very low socio-economic situation (parents had to file bankruptcy when I was 7), where most of my clothes came from garage sales or family hand-me-downs until I was 13 years old (when kids made fun of my clothes-and my parents went deeper into debt [sacrificing meals at times] to provide me with a few pieces of name-brand clothing so I could fit in and not be picked on). I spent a substantial amount of my childhood in the hospital, due to chronic respiratory health issues. My parents may have been married, but my dad (who didn’t even graduate high school) was always on the road, working a job that didn’t pay nearly enough to try to provide for our family of four, so he was never home. I was the first member of my family to receive a masters degree (which I completed in a year and a half while working full time, being married, and taking care of a newborn baby boy).

My point being, everyone has their own individual story and a series of generic generalization questions can’t possibly accurately define the struggles or privileges that any individual has access to. I may look like I have it together now, and it would be easy to assume I always have, but my journey was a long hard fought battle, without question.