November 14, 2024 (Lincoln, IL) A few members of CORAL attended “Safe Zone” training conducted by Logan County Pride at the Heartland Community College in Lincoln the evening of November 14th. Safe Zone is a project created two individuals, Meg Bolger and Sam Killermann, in 2013 to provide free resources to obtain training on the LGBTQ+ community. To learn more about the program, you can visit www.thesafezoneproject.com
Within the curriculum for the training are several game ideas to assist with learning both about those who are LGBTQ+ and what they go through. In particular, one game of interest was “Privilege For Sale.” The attendees are broken down into smaller groups and each group is given a “credit card” with a different credit limit on each – one for $1,000.00, another for $500.00, and the latter for $300.00. Each group must ‘purchase’ their chose privileges for $100.00 each and present their reasoning for their selections.
The results of the game was genuinely interesting. Even though there were so many privileges to chose from, one might think the groups might have agreed to many. However, the interlap in those chosen was actually very small. The point of this game was to show those attendees who do NOT have to fight for privilege what it must feel like to have to decide what is important.
As I drove home from the training, I couldn’t stop thinking of what I would do if some of those ‘privileges’ were not available to me. It made me wonder, what do we, as a community overall, see as our most important privileges to maintain. Because of this, I was hoping that you might provide some feedback to that question. I’ve attached the list of privileges. If you would, go through it and place your top three in the comments of this article.
1. Celebrating your marriage(s) with your family, friends, and coworkers.
2. Paid leave from your job when grieving the death of your partner(s).
3. Inheriting from your partner(s)/lover(s)/companion(s) automatically after their death.
4. Having multiple positive TV role models.
5. Sharing health insurance with your partner(s).
6. Being able to find role models of the same sexual orientation.
7. Being able to see your partner(s) immediately if in an accident or emergency.
8. Being able to be promoted in your job without your sexuality playing a factor.
9. Adopting your children.
10. Filing joint tax returns.
11. Able to obtain child custody.
12. Being able to complete forms and paperwork with the information you feel most accurately
communicates who you are.
13. Being able to feel safe in your interactions with police officers.
14. Being able to travel, or show ID in restaurants or bars, without fear you’ll be rejected.
15. Kissing/hugging/being affectionate in public without threat or punishment.
16. Being able to discuss and have access to multiple family planning options.
17. Not questioning normalcy both sexually and culturally.
18. Reading books or seeing movies about a relationship you wish you could have.
19. Receiving discounted homeowner insurance rates with your recognized partner(s).
20. Raising children without worrying about state intervention.
21. Having others comfort and support you when a relationship ends.
22. Being a foster parent.
23. Using public restrooms without fear of threat or punishment.
24. Being employed as a preschool or elementary school teacher without people assuming you will
“corrupt” the children.
25. Dating the person you desired in your teens.
26. Raising children without worrying about people rejecting your children because of your sexuality.
27. Living openly with your partner(s).
28. Receiving validation from your religious community.
29. Being accepted by your neighbors, colleagues, and new friends.
30. Being able to go to a doctor and getting treatment that doesn’t conflict with your identity.
31. Being able to access social services without fear of discrimination, or being turned away.
32. Sponsoring your partner(s) for citizenship.
33. Being open and having your partner(s) accepted by your family.
15, 27, 29
7, 30, 31