Me me me meme

Dawn posted an interesting privilege meme on Wednesday, and I decided to see how many of the items apply to me. In the same style as Dawn, I have bolded the ones that apply to me and made comments where appropriate. Then, just because I noticed a striking difference, I posted the meme again but answered it from the perspective of my children. Obviously, some items for them cannot be answered at this time, but I’ve done my best to guess.

It’s interesting that I answered yes to 14/34 and my kids will be able to answer yes to at least 21/34. How do you score?

The meme from MY perspective:
1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor (This one is tough because technically, I do have a relative who is an attorney. But he is a distant cousin I barely know, so does that really count?)
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home. (Children’s books- and the collection grew along with my interest in reading)
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children’s books by a parent.
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 (I took dance lessons—tap, ballet, and jazz—and also learned to play the violin and the organ)
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively.
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs.
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private high school
17. Went to summer camp
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18.
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them. (When I was 19 and in college, my parents bought me a car to get to and from school. Prior to that, I took the Greyhound bus, and I think it made them nervous.)
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child.
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home
25. You had your own room as a child
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18.
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course.
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school.
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college.
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 (All of our vacations were car trips, a habit I still prefer.)
31. Went on a cruise with your family.
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family.
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up.
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family.

Now here it is again from my CHILDREN’S perspective:
1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers.
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home.
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home.
9. Were read children’s books by a parent.
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18 (I assume that this will be true)
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 (Again- probably true)
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively.
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18.
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs.
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private high school
17. Went to summer camp (Summer daycare for kids ages 8-12 is pretty much nonexistent, so I expect that both kids will eventually be spending time at camps)
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18.
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels (Actually, most family trips involve visiting friends and family, and then once a year we stay at a discount hotel for the gaming convention. So I should probably answer this as “sort of.”)
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them.
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child.
23. You and your family lived in a single-family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home (If we maintain status quo, the house will be ours in 2016, and Gabe will be 11)
25. You had your own room as a child
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18.
27. Participated in a SAT/ACT prep course.
28. Had your own TV in your room in high school.
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in high school or college.
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 (Gabe has already flown, but I still prefer the car trips.)
31. Went on a cruise with your family.
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family.
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up.
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family. (I plan to educate the kids on the cost of living in the process of teaching them how to save money, budget, and be responsible citizens. But is the fact that they will know this as a teaching tool another sign of privilege?)

(From What Privileges Do You Have?, based on an exercise about class and privilege developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. If you participate in this blog game, they ask that you PLEASE acknowledge their copyright.)