Self-awareness by

Defining difference

reberjr — 2025-10-05 14:25:52 UTC

When I think of difference, I think of things that are not similar to one another. Whether that be differing beliefs, values, environments, experiences, etc. We all have unique experiences that attribute to our difference.

Master statuses

reberjr — 2025-10-05 14:38:16 UTC

The term "master status" was unfamiliar to me before taking this class. From what I have gathered, master statuses include my identity and what shapes me as a person, as well as how others perceive me. When I think of my social identity I think of being a white woman, a lesbian, a college student, and a young adult. My statuses that I perceive as stigmatized is being part of the LGBTQ community and being a woman. My statuses that I perceive as privileged are being white and being a college student.

How dichotomization affects my understanding

reberjr — 2025-10-05 14:56:15 UTC

Dichotomization is categorizing people or things into groups. Growing up, I could tell that some of my family members would categorize groups of people in a negative way. While I knew that is was wrong, I think some of this prejudice trickled into my subconscious. It was what I was taught was true. Over time I have come to grow and separate how I perceive people with how I have been taught to perceive people. For example, I can acknowledge that race can contribute to difference in culture, but I no longer place people in boxes based off of their race. I'm also unsure if I ever did genuinely think that way. I more so think it was the stereotypes held by family members that made me uncomfortable when they came up in my mind, but the thoughts came nonetheless. It has made me feel shameful in becoming aware of the separateness I was taught, but awareness was the first step in consciously changing those harmful beliefs.

Experiencing my stigmatized and privileged statuses

reberjr — 2025-10-05 15:14:05 UTC

How these experiences influence my understanding of difference and how this will impact my role of social worker

reberjr — 2025-10-05 15:30:30 UTC

Having experienced both stigma and privilege, it is very obvious that certain people will treat me differently based on these things. I wouldn't want to make any client feel the way I have felt when it comes to gender roles or being gay. In my life there have been certain things expected of me because of my gender that I am not supposed to fight or argue with. With being gay, I have been taught to keep it hidden in fears of what people will say or think. If I had a social worker, I would not want them to put me down, silence me, or judge because of my gender or sexuality. I also wouldn't want someone who is straight or a man to act like they know my experiences, but instead listen to my perspective. As a future social worker, I know to treat everyone equality. If I have a client who is of a different race for example, I would want to recognize that we don't have the same experiences when it comes to race. I wouldn't take offense if someone felt a certain way about me being white, because I understand that people of color may have had harmful or discriminatory experiences from white people. No matter the difference between me and the client, I would do my best to look at things for their perspective instead of forcing my perception onto them. It is not about me, it is about the client. I want to do my best to be culturally competent, let my client have self-determination, not feel judged, and seen and heard.

Sources

reberjr — 2025-10-05 15:37:12 UTC

Dillard, C., Collins, C., & Shuler, J. (n.d.). What is white privilege, really?. Learning for Justice. https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/fall-2018/what-is-white-privilege-really

LGBTQ+ communities and Mental Health. Mental Health America. (2025, March 31). https://mhanational.org/resources/lgbtq-communities-and-mental-health/