The Pedagogical Challenge of Teaching Privilege, Loss, and Disadvantage in Classrooms of Invisible Social Identities

Abstract

Often the ways in which we teach about privilege highlight the experiences of privileged groups in contrast to the experiences of students from less privileged social identity groups. This chapter explores pedagogical exercises that may help people see invisible privileges, but at the same time highlights the extent and acute feelings related to the disadvantaged position. This may present a particularly complex challenge when facing a classroom of individuals for whom a stigmatized identity may not be visible (e.g., sexual orientation, gender non-conforming). In this chapter, I will attempt to address the challenge of countering prevailing hegemonic worldviews in the classroom without simultaneously creating unproductive discomfort for sexual and gender minority students.