Priviledge Walk Assignment

During the priviledge walk assignment there were a lot of different emotions going around the room. Certain things only applied to certain people, which made the experience a lot more real. Out of the thirty five questions asked, five of them really bothered me because of how much they apply to society today. Certain aspects of society today, should not be around in the way that they are. First, the statement that affected me the most was the one that said “Step forward if you can move freely through the world without fear of sexual assault.” This bothered me because it was mostly only men who stepped forward. In today’s world, most women are scared to walk around by themselves because they are afraid they will be targeted by a sexual predator.
Women around the world should have the right to walk around without being afraid of their surroundings. Sexual assault is all over the news, daily. It is all over social media. People make awareness posts all the time, but it is something that never goes away. Even if someone said that all sexual assault is to stop today, women who both have and haven’t had a traumatic experience will still be afraid to walk around the streets, and sometimes even out of their homes. This is a major problem in society today and impacted my thought process during the priviledge walk. Next, another statement that affected me during the assessment was “If you were embarrassed of your clothes or house while you were growing up, please step backwards”. This affected me quite a bit because as a child growing up in different areas, no matter where i went i felt as though i was below everyone else because of my family income and house. Children today everywhere feel left out because they can’t afford the newest shoes, or the fanciest house. I personally always grew up without having the newest things, and often felt left out. Today’s children are judged and bullied by other kids just because they didn’t grow up in the nicest houses or clothes. This is bad because as you get older you get told that it’s what is on the inside, but yet are bullied by it younger for something that you can not help.

In addition, another privilege walk statement that affected me was when the instructor said “If you are sure you can walk into a store without being followed”. This most likely affected other people more than me due to the stereotypes and society today. This affected me because teenagers today have a bad reputation of stealing and bad behavior. Most kids are put under a lot of stress today, when they walk into a convenience store or department store, the associates stare at them and sometimes follow them around to check if they are stealing. If I were to go into a mall, seven out of ten times an associate would always be less than five feet away checking on me. This is unfair to teenagers today because they have a bad reputation from other teenagers who set those reputations.

Also, another statement from the privilege walk that affected me was when the instructor stated “If you can walk past a construction site without being looked up and down or catcalled.” This statement affects most women today because they can not.
When walking through a busy street with construction workers, it is kind of embarrassing to be looked up and down by men. Some women take it as flattery, others take it very personally. In today’s society, women should not be scared of walking by a simple construction site. This situation does not happen often, but it does happen and that is the problem. During the privilege walk activity, it was mostly only men who stepped forward. This makes women seem inferior to men, but that is not the case. This statement affected most girls in the priviledge walk, including
me.

Finally, the last statement that affected me personally was when the instructor said “ If you can walk alone at anytime of day step forward.” This affected me probably the most because women and men in today’s society can not walk around alone at night, and sometimes even during the day.
Society growing up has taught me to fear the world around me. Today most women walk in groups when going out. This is very bad because women shouldn't fear the world around them. Yet again, during this statement of the privilege walk, it was mostly only men who stepped forward. This statement is a problem that women face in the world daily, and should be
changed. In conclusion, the privilege walk activity affected my classmates and I during the time that we discussed it. The statement affecting me the most was “If you can walk alone at anytime of day step forward.” The next effective statement was “Step forward if you can walk the streets without fear of sexual assault.” The third effective statement was “If you were embarrassed of you clothes or home growing up, step backwards.” The fourth effective statement was “ If you can walk by a construction site without being catcalled, step forward.” And lastly, the least effective statement was “If you can walk into a store without being followed step forward.” These were all in order from what affected me emotionally the most, to the least. The privilege walk has taught me a lot about my fellow peers and how they view society, and how society views them.