1.4 Understanding ourselves

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NARRATOR:
We may not be aware of this, but we see the world through our personal experience and beliefs. And we make assumptions all the time based on those beliefs. It’s a normal mental process. We need a realistic picture of the situation requiring change and be aware of the assumptions we are making about ourselves, about others, and about how change happens. To get a clearer picture of the underlying causes of the current situation and where the potential for change lies, we must recognise our own power, influence, attitudes, and behaviours. A good awareness of self.
This includes an awareness of who we are, what drives our thinking, our power, prejudices, and values, and understanding what privileges we have or don’t have relative to others. It includes an awareness of the role our different identities, such as gender, race, class, age, disability, and sexuality have on our attitudes and behaviours and those of others. None of us are ever really objective. What we see and what we do is dependent on who we are, our background, personal experiences, social stereotypes, and cultural context. Having awareness of these facts help us to adjust our behaviour, be alert to gaps in our understanding of the situation, make better decisions, and to channel our energies to best effect.
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Watch this video which explains that, without always being aware of it, we see the world through our personal experience, identities and beliefs and we make assumptions all the time based on those beliefs. If we are to engage in effective change processes, we need to be aware and willing to interrogate our own assumptions and beliefs. Failure to do so will likely make us judgemental and could bring us into conflict with others.

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Activity 1.2: Thinking about you

Timing: Allow 10 minutes

Take some time to think about who you are and what your various identities and sources of power and privilege are, or your experiences of marginalisation or oppression. How might these inform the way you think about and engage with different issues in the world?

Here are some useful questions to help you reflect on this:

  • What are one or more ways in which you have had unearned advantage in your life due to factors outside your control, or where there are barriers that other people experience that you do not (also known as privilege)?
  • What are one or more ways in which you have had disadvantage in your life due to factors outside your control (also known as areas of oppression)?

Think about these questions in relation to your own:

  • Gender and gender identity
  • Race
  • Class
  • Religion
  • Employment
  • Economic status
  • Nation of origin
  • Sexual orientation
  • Ethnicity
  • Age
  • Physical ability
  • Education
  • Language
  • Migration status

Try to remember the first time that you became aware of the differences in power between people and how their identities may advantage or disadvantage them. What was the incident or experience that led you to this awareness?

Now, try to remember the first time you became aware of your own power, or felt a sense of powerlessness? If you have felt less power at times, what are your strategies to build your own power?

When you reflect on yourself – your multiple, intersecting identities, your background and life experiences, your own power – what does this lead you to consider in terms of your role as a changemaker?

Add your thoughts to the free text box, in the Make Change Happen Plan or in your own notebook.

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1.3 Introduction to Unit 1: What kind of change are we talking about?

1.5 So what is change?