THE PRIVILEGE PROJECT
In the privilege project we applied real world statistics about all types of discrimination to better understand our own privileges and the privileges that some don't have. First, we researched different types of privileges. We looked at racial privilege, gender privilege, health privilege, and many more. We looked within ourselves to see what privileges we had and didn't have. With such a diverse community at HTH, many students found they posses very different kinds of privileges than their piers. We then looked at statistics, probability, and we looked deeper in issues in the community to see if there were statistics that didn't match up with the theoretical and hypothetical probability of the data. If it didn't match up, such as in the case of police discretionary stops in New York, we could infer that there was something significant changing the data, in this case, we inferred there was racial discrimination involved. We then got into groups of up to 4 and targeted our efforts in researching one area of privilege. I looked at gender privilege, and my group mates and I passed out a survey to students at HTH to understand how they felt about sexism in sports at HTH. The results were very interesting. In the sections below, I have my survey questions and my findings. I really took away a lot from this project. I loved how we were able to apply math to the real world in this way. Through this project, I became aware of very important social issues that I would not have taken as seriously if I hadn't gone out and found the data myself.
PERSONAL NARRATIVE
One of my favorite qualities about myself is that I am multicultural. The two cultures I really identify with are Swedish and American. I get to see two very different cultures revolve around me and it makes me really diverse. I have always been very aware of my multicultural privileges but I always get a reminder when I tell people I am from Sweden and they look at me in shock. Sometimes they’ll even say “So do you eat a bunch of Swedish meatballs?” A question I have for someone who isn’t as exposed to a multicultural lifestyle is, “Do you wish to identify better with other cultures? Or are you content with one? An area where I don’t feel I have a privilege is the way I am treated because of my age. I feel that a lot of people generally think that teenagers are troublemakers so they treat us like children. Sometimes our ideas aren't valued as much because we are still young. (If you would like to read the whole narrative, click the button below)
INTERVIEW
I interviewed my mother about gender bias because I knew that her answers would be very different from many other interviewees due to the fact that she grew up in Sweden. I was very curious to what her answers might be because of the possible difference in perception of women in different cultures. Getting an outside view was really beneficial to my understanding of gender bias not only in America, but in another country as well. I gave me to opportunity to compare and contrast the ways we treat women around the world.
EXPERIMENT
Area of Privilege: Gender Privilege
Topic: Sexism in Sports
Essential Question: Has HTH created an environment where both genders feel safe to play sports?
Survey Questions:
Sample Population: High Tech High 9th and 10th graders
Topic: Sexism in Sports
Essential Question: Has HTH created an environment where both genders feel safe to play sports?
Survey Questions:
- Circle the gender you identify with. Male/Female
- Do you feel that HTH has created an environment where both genders feel encouraged to play sports if they wish to do so? Yes/No
- Does HTH offer a sport that you are interested in, but is only for the opposite gender? Yes/No
- Do you feel that your gender narrows the choices you have in the sports you can play? Yes/No
Sample Population: High Tech High 9th and 10th graders
IMPLICATIONS
Analysis & Implications:
What is the probability that the student feels that both genders are encouraged to play sports at HTH given that they are female?
P(Feels Encouraged | Female) = 24/24, 100%
What is the probability that a student feels that gender narrows choices in sports at HTH given that they are female?
P(Feels gender prevents | Female) = 13/24, 54%
What is the probability that a student is female given that they feel that gender narrows their sport choices?
P(Female | Feels gender prevents) = 13/18, 72%
What is the probability that you are a female at HTH and they don’t feel encouraged to play sports at HTH?
P(Female AND not encouraged) = 0/50, 0%
What is the probability that a student doesn't feel that gender narrows their sport choices given that they are male?
P (Doesn't feel gender prevents | Male) = 21/26 81%
What is the probability that a student is male given that HTH offers sports they are interested in?
P (Male | Offers sport) = 21/41, 51%
What is the probability that a student doesn't feel HTH provides sports they are interested in given that they are male?
P (Doesn't offer sport | Male) =5/26, 19%
What is the probability that a student feels that HTH doesn't provide sports they are interested in given that they are female?
P (Doesn't offer sport | Female) = 4/24, 17%
What is the probability that the student feels that both genders are encouraged to play sports at HTH given that they are female?
P(Feels Encouraged | Female) = 24/24, 100%
What is the probability that a student feels that gender narrows choices in sports at HTH given that they are female?
P(Feels gender prevents | Female) = 13/24, 54%
What is the probability that a student is female given that they feel that gender narrows their sport choices?
P(Female | Feels gender prevents) = 13/18, 72%
What is the probability that you are a female at HTH and they don’t feel encouraged to play sports at HTH?
P(Female AND not encouraged) = 0/50, 0%
What is the probability that a student doesn't feel that gender narrows their sport choices given that they are male?
P (Doesn't feel gender prevents | Male) = 21/26 81%
What is the probability that a student is male given that HTH offers sports they are interested in?
P (Male | Offers sport) = 21/41, 51%
What is the probability that a student doesn't feel HTH provides sports they are interested in given that they are male?
P (Doesn't offer sport | Male) =5/26, 19%
What is the probability that a student feels that HTH doesn't provide sports they are interested in given that they are female?
P (Doesn't offer sport | Female) = 4/24, 17%
DATA ANALYSIS
When analyzing this data, it is clear that almost all students, regardless of gender, feel supported and equal in sports at High Tech High. As a matter of fact, 100% of female students feel that both genders are encouraged to participate in sports if they wish to do so. In addition, 88% of males feel both genders are encouraged in the realm of sports. However, some students feel that their gender narrows their choices of sports. According to our data, 16% of girls agree that the sport of their liking is only offered to males. 19% of males’ chosen sports are only offered to females. Similarly, 54% of girls believe that gender narrows their choices of sports. On a greater scale, this can theoretically mean that over half of girls see their gender as a road-block while considering sports, while only 19% of boys see their gender as narrowing the choices they have in the sports they can play. Based on our experimental probability, 32% of students attending HTH feel that their gender narrows their sports choices. From our data, we can conclude the overall majority of students see High Tech High as a supporting environment for athletics, but there is a demand of sports from both genders that remains unmet.
REFLECTION
Privilege is best described as an advantage or a special right that is only bestowed on certain people. People with privilege sometimes have that extra push towards success that others don't have. Privilege increases the probability of having social and/or economic advantages over others. Probability is the likelihood of something happening, the way of calculating a probable cause. In this project we applied real world statistics about all types of discrimination to better understand our own privileges. (If you would like to read the full reflection, the link is below)