Social Identity and Privilege: At Home and Abroad

In reflecting on the various aspects of my identity- as a white, upper middle class, female (among other identifying characteristics), I believe one of the most salient aspects of my identity is my citizenship as an American. While domestically, in the chaos of everyday life I often take my American citizenship for granted and rarely reflect on the privileges it grants, when abroad, it serves as an aspect of my identity that is particularly defining and undoubtedly influences not only other’s perceptions of myself, but also influences the nature of the interactions I engage in. However, reflecting on my identity as just an American is a bit too broad; my experience as an American certainly does not align with many other Americans’ experiences, so I believe it’s necessary to specify my identity as an American with an additional trait that clearly defines my privilege: An American who attends an Ivy League school- a privilege so great and so rare in the context of the socio- economic spectrum of the world, we all often forget just how privileged we are to not only be able to study at such a prestigious institution, but also to be able to receive an education at all. Although I have only been at Cornell for almost two semesters, there is a marked difference in how individuals interact with me (particularly off campus) after discovering I go to Cornell. Depending on the individual I am interacting with, there is almost an immediate increase in the level of respect I am shown, or in some cases obvious intimidation (this usually depends on the educational attainment of the person I am engaging with, and his or her familiarity with Cornell).

While this is a domestic example of how my identity as a Cornell student has shaped my experiences and interactions with others, when traveling internationally, my identity as an American often elicits stronger responses- sometimes contempt, sometimes admiration, but almost always results in applied stereotypes (either that Americans are fat and lazy or Americans live the lifestyles of the Kardashians). I believe that when in country, my identity as a white, American female will largely influence my interactions, and I will be treated differently as a result of the pre- conceived notions that Zambians may possess about Americans- but I believe these reactions will be diverse. While I am unsure about in what ways specifically I will be treated differently, I will certainly be mindful of the privilege I possess as an American that may not be as widely experienced in Zambia- particularly in terms of education, healthcare, and other overall standards of living that we often take for granted in the U.S. I believe this recognition of the privileges associated with our social identities as American, Cornell students goes hand in hand with the power we possess as global citizens. At Cornell, we have so many incredible resources at our immediate disposal to not only potentially enact changes that we want to see, but also to further ourselves. Simply having the privilege of attending such an incredible institution grants us so much power on a global scale, because of the pre- conceived notions of what it means to be a part of the Ivy League community, and what it means to attend Cornell. This automatic, inherited power that stems from attending an Ivy League school is also what often elicits the inequitable advantages when it comes to attaining wealth- of which Ivy League students/graduates make up much of the top 1%- of the world. Therefore, I believe it’s necessary that we remain mindful of this overwhelming privilege that we possess as Americans and as Ivy League students, and use our privilege to not only uplift ourselves, but also those around us.