Multiple Jeopardy Conga Line: Our Intersecting Identities

Objective(s) & Context

1. Name our many identities and examine how different combinations of oppression and privilege operate within us.

2. Explore ways in which an aspect of our identity can be a source of oppression in one situation and a source of privilege in another.

Our visible and invisible differences give us different kinds of power in society at different points in time. Power is often related to the opportunity and the means an individual or community has to assert and sustain their culture or ways of life. The possibility of asserting our realities and having them represented around us establishes a form of privilege, whereas not having such opportunities can establish forms of oppression that have real consequences for the well-being of those affected.

Forms of oppression and privilege are interrelated and we can experience oppression and privilege in different ways at the same time. The combined aspects of our identity can either intensify or buffer the potency of oppression that we experience.

For example, girls and young women have experienced oppression as a result of the historical devaluation of the female gender in the majority of the world combined with the fact that youth is under-represented and under-valued within decision-making bodies. Here, gender and age could intersect to create a heightened experience of oppression. In another context, for example, in a location where youth and gender are both considered and valued, this same group could experience privilege.

Depending on our social context, our ”race,” ethnicity, legal status, geographic location, and religious identity (to name a few social locations) have and continue to intensify our experience of oppression or to facilitate privilege. Power itself is not negative. However, if we do not want to sustain oppression, it should not be secured at the cost of marginalizing others. Naturally, we tend to be more aware of inequalities when we are on the oppressed side of a power relation and less conscious when we are on the privileged side. This can create blind spots that sustain privilege and oppression in society.

Duration

Approximately 25 minutes

* Add 1 minute for each additional person added to a group of ten

Group Size

4 +

Age Group

Older participants or those who are able to understand concepts of privilege and oppression

Skills

Capacity to identify one’s social locations, creative expression, interpersonal communication skills, increased perspective on difference

Format(s) & Technique(s)

Large group activity and expressive exercise

Materials

Drums, percussion instruments, or music with a strong, repeating rhythm

Facilitation Tips

For groups that may not be as comfortable with the “conga line,” participants can do this exercise standing in a circle.
Emphasizing the group’s collective responsibility to one another reinforces an atmosphere of trust and shared experience. It is important to set a tone of mutual trust and respect before this activity begins by:
Conducting an icebreaker activity
Emphasizing ground rules before the exercise
Give participants the option to pass their turn.
This exercise can bring to mind difficult experiences for participants. It is important to leave enough time for conversation at the end and to prepare a list of resources or to have a resource person available.

Popular Education Prompts

Although this workshop provides a way of beginning with participant’s experiences of privilege and oppression, it is not an icebreaker.
Ideally, this workshop should be followed by an activity where participants identify their individual and communal assets, in order to avoid reinforcing a sense of powerlessness in the face of oppression.
This activity could also be followed by a knowledge-building activity that could add to participants’ information about intersecting identities.

Leading the Activity: Steps to Take

Preparation:

Bring musical instruments or music and a music player.

Workshop:

Ask the group to form a large circle.
Invite participants to do some stretching before the exercise by first squatting as low as they can comfortably go, then standing up and stretching, reaching as far up as they can.
Ask them to reflect on their day so far.
Begin to beat out a beat on your drums/instruments or turn on the music.
Ask people to start dancing around a circle with a hand on the shoulder or back of the person in front of them. Get a good rhythm of the conga line going.
Ask participants to dance their “height” for privilege/oppression when it comes to race, with the highest for most privileged to the lowest for the least privileged, based on their experience. For example, those who have a lot of racial privilege should stand tall and those without should squat down for a few low beats. Explain that when we have privilege in certain areas, it allows us to stand taller and reach heights more easily. Let people look around for a few beats.
Repeat this for other categories of social location, such as nationality, immigration status, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
Ask participants to call out another identity category. This will allow participants to self-identify for some of the categories, such as sexual orientation, if they wish. Please note that this may be risky for some participants. Remind participants that they only need to share that aspect if they are comfortable enough to publicly identify with a particular group.
Ask participants to think of all the categories that they identified with today. Ask them to dance at their “average height,” that represents a combination of all of their identity aspects.