Privilege Progress Report: A Year in Review

This may very well be the last Breaking Bias post of 2014. I think this is why I feel a special obligation to take a leaf out of Facebook's book and write a "Year in Review." At first I thought of doing a timeline, but I felt like that would treat certain issues disproportionately. Then, I thought of writing a list of highlights for each form of privilege, but I didn't want one triumph (or failure)...

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When Christmas isn't a Holiday

"It's not about what you get, it's what you give." That's what my parents always told me. Growing up, that lesson was water off a duck's back; however, this phrase took on a whole new meaning for me this season. In one of my first posts, I mentioned that while I live in a low-income household, I have more than a couple of affluent relatives on the other side of my family.  This has given me...

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Mental Illness in the Media

A recent study conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) found that 18.2 percent of America's adult population endure some form of mental illness every year. That's just about one in five. Statistically speaking, you could have two or three co-workers suffering from a mental illness in your office. If all of my classmates were eighteen, up to five of my...

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Trivializing Privilege

Privilege is a tough subject to talk about, and not one that people understand fully. This Buzzfeed article shares the story of how one teacher tried to teach privilege to their students. It’s a very simplistic activity that involves throwing paper and fairness. But, as some people have pointed out, privilege isn't just throwing paper. Jeff Wang, the author of this article shared his opinion on the...

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Everything Wrong With the Boyega Controversy

Confession: I am a huge nerd. So, of course, when I heard there was going to be a new Star Wars movie, I just about ripped my hair out in excitement.Last week, the first trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released and with it came an explosion of questions, comments and concerns from the Star Wars fan base. Everything seemed to be going great and then...the bigots joined the party.Within...

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Bias Goes Beyond Race

Check this out.  Why? It's another example of how society wants to define something that they don't get to define.  Yes, it may have been hard for her family to accept her the way she saw herself, but the reality is that "he" was a "she" and not amount of make-up or changes to hair can change that. This article makes me think of babies who are born with two types of genitalia and...

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