I grew up in a small, predominantly white, English and French-speaking, farming community in Ontario, Canada. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and my kindergarten teacher were my neighbours. In the hot summer months, my sister, cousins, and I would ride our bikes down the dirt roads, collecting other kids along the way to play in ditches or run through sprinklers. My few childhood memories are rooted in the land, the farm, and being in nature.
I am a white, cis-gendered, queer woman. My immediate and extended family present as white and this was never questioned nor explored growing up. I am of French and English heritage. At 37 years old my older sister did a DNA test, and the results gave us the opportunity to explore another side of our ancestral story. Through this, we connected our paternal heritage to the Kaskaskia First Nation. My grandmother’s great-grandmother, Capiouekoue, was from the Kaskaskia First Nation, part of the Illiniwek confederation. Her marriage to a French fur trader, the subsequent inter-marriages with my French and Indigenous ancestors, and their settlement in the Detroit-River region align me with the muskrat-métis people. Looking back, I recognize that my family defined our identity with a focus on our working-class status and my parents’ strong links to their union jobs over our French-English ethnicity or Indigeneity. I do not remember ever celebrating my cultural heritage; European or Indigenous roots were never discussed.
Both of my parents were heavily involved in their associated employment-based labour unions and fought hard for their employment rights and the rights of others. They prided themselves on their hard work and instilled those values in me. While cognitively I understood the interconnectedness of our community, I was raised to be independent, self-sufficient, and progress-oriented. This individualistic worldview instilled values of independence, determination, and personal resilience. These values have helped me to survive hardships but have also been a barrier to the development of deep and interdependent relationships in my life. I recognize that my movement in socioeconomic status to the middle-class comes with a great deal of responsibility and social mobility privilege. I feel a strong sense of solidarity and alliance with members of my community who continue to hold working-class status (Lehmann, 2021).
My whiteness and childhood alignment with the catholic faith were considered the norm and others were seen as different in comparison. This was never openly discussed; it was unquestioningly understood. While my family was not outwardly and blatantly racist, I now recognize that being part of the socially dominant ethnic and religious groups allowed them, and me, the privilege of not having to think about these aspects of our identity. We did not face discrimination or prejudice because of our ethnicity, race or skin colour, or faith-based orientation. I continue to actively work on dismantling my internal bias and racism as a product of growing up in a community of white supremacy (Ford et al., 2022).
The towns surrounding the farm I was raised on, were instrumental in the Underground Railroad movement of the 1800s. Along the coast of the Great Lakes are many Black communities; descendants of people who escaped slavery in the United States. While I understood these historic facts growing up, Black people were not treated as equals. They faced (and continue to face) discrimination and racism, and at times their communities were mocked and treated with contempt. Indigenous Peoples and other People of Colour who lived in my home community faced erasure. The dominant White culture in my home community focused on the assimilation of these cultures.
While I identify as queer, my heteronormative marriage insulates me from the discrimination that many LGBTQ2S+ people experience. I recognize socially constructed hierarchies within the queer community and due to my bisexual orientation, I acknowledge that I have had to confront anti-bisexual discrimination (Craney et al., 2018). I am able-bodied and neurodiverse. I choose to see my neurodiversity as my superpower which allows me the capacity to hold space for many tasks and responsibilities at once. My development of systems and relationships has helped me to externalize some of my executive functioning deficits and these adaptations have been instrumental in my ability to succeed. In addition, I am a gifted learner. Academic learning, within the colonial system of education, is a place where I have always found success. My success in academics continues to be a personal source of pride for me.
Starting from a place of cultural humility, I first recognize that I am a learner and a visitor in peoples’ lives. In my counselling practice, I assume the position of the respectful and empowering listener, rather than one of authority or power-over. From this perspective, I can authentically invite people into, and co-construct, a therapeutic relationship with them. This worldview sets me up to find a space of congruence with each new client and see their struggles through a lens of unconditional positive regard and empathy (Rogers, 2007). Being from a working-class family, I have common worldviews with clients from similar class backgrounds. Connection to clients from this social class requires a level of self-disclosure with which I am comfortable. I recognize that aspects of my ethnicity were hidden and that my clients may also have these experiences. Having experienced the grief of non-belonging I can authentically empathize with clients who may also be experiencing disconnection to culture.
My predominantly socially dominant upbringing sheltered me from experiencing racism, discrimination or prejudice. At times, I struggle with White guilt and experience feelings associated with White fragility (Grzanka et al., 2019). Growing up in an individualistic culture also means that I continue to learn about and explore more collectivist worldviews and have an emerging understanding of social and familial interconnectedness in relation to the counselling process. Specifically, I recognize that I have room for growth in my competence to work with individuals who are refugees, or individuals that have had to flee their home country due to political unrest or terror.
Taking the Harvard Implicit Attitude Test (IAT) shines a spotlight on my need to continue to build my multicultural competence. The results that relate to my automatic preferences will be used as a tool for personal self-reflection and will guide my further investigation into how I will strengthen my cross-cultural sensitivity and understanding. This assessment clearly identified that I must continue to do the work of deconstructing my internalized racism and implicit bias.
Creating cultural awareness and sensitivity begins with looking inward. A teaching, gifted to me by Stó:lō First Nation elder Carman McKay states that “We can not know where we are going unless we know where we come from” (C. McKay, personal communication, 2010). Active reflection, recognition, and analysis of the socio-cultural factors that influence my social location grant me the opportunity to evaluate my journey and where I currently stand. I welcome this journey of self-exploration. I recognize my ethical obligation to use my privilege to lift the voices of marginalized people to ensure the equitable treatment of all clients.
References
Craney, R. S., Watson, L. B., Brownfield, J., & Flores, M. J. (2018). Bisexual women’s discriminatory experiences and psychological distress: Exploring the roles of coping and LGBTQ community connectedness. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 5(3), 324-324–337. APA PsycArticles. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000276
Ford, B. Q., Green, D. J., & Gross, J. J. (2022). White fragility: An emotion regulation perspective. American Psychologist. APA PsycArticles. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000968
Grzanka, P. R., Gonzalez, K. A., & Spanierman, L. B. (2019). White Supremacy and Counseling Psychology: A Critical–Conceptual Framework. Counseling Psychologist, 47(4), 478-478–529. Complementary Index. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019880843
Lehmann, W. (2021). Conflict and contentment: Case study of the social mobility of working-class students in Canada. European Journal of Education, 56(1), 41-41–52. Education Research Complete. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12431
Rogers, C. R. (2007). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 44(3), 240–248. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.44.3.240
I am a white, cis-gendered, queer woman. My immediate and extended family present as white and this was never questioned nor explored growing up. I am of French and English heritage. At 37 years old my older sister did a DNA test, and the results gave us the opportunity to explore another side of our ancestral story. Through this, we connected our paternal heritage to the Kaskaskia First Nation. My grandmother’s great-grandmother, Capiouekoue, was from the Kaskaskia First Nation, part of the Illiniwek confederation. Her marriage to a French fur trader, the subsequent inter-marriages with my French and Indigenous ancestors, and their settlement in the Detroit-River region align me with the muskrat-métis people. Looking back, I recognize that my family defined our identity with a focus on our working-class status and my parents’ strong links to their union jobs over our French-English ethnicity or Indigeneity. I do not remember ever celebrating my cultural heritage; European or Indigenous roots were never discussed.
Both of my parents were heavily involved in their associated employment-based labour unions and fought hard for their employment rights and the rights of others. They prided themselves on their hard work and instilled those values in me. While cognitively I understood the interconnectedness of our community, I was raised to be independent, self-sufficient, and progress-oriented. This individualistic worldview instilled values of independence, determination, and personal resilience. These values have helped me to survive hardships but have also been a barrier to the development of deep and interdependent relationships in my life. I recognize that my movement in socioeconomic status to the middle-class comes with a great deal of responsibility and social mobility privilege. I feel a strong sense of solidarity and alliance with members of my community who continue to hold working-class status (Lehmann, 2021).
My whiteness and childhood alignment with the catholic faith were considered the norm and others were seen as different in comparison. This was never openly discussed; it was unquestioningly understood. While my family was not outwardly and blatantly racist, I now recognize that being part of the socially dominant ethnic and religious groups allowed them, and me, the privilege of not having to think about these aspects of our identity. We did not face discrimination or prejudice because of our ethnicity, race or skin colour, or faith-based orientation. I continue to actively work on dismantling my internal bias and racism as a product of growing up in a community of white supremacy (Ford et al., 2022).
The towns surrounding the farm I was raised on, were instrumental in the Underground Railroad movement of the 1800s. Along the coast of the Great Lakes are many Black communities; descendants of people who escaped slavery in the United States. While I understood these historic facts growing up, Black people were not treated as equals. They faced (and continue to face) discrimination and racism, and at times their communities were mocked and treated with contempt. Indigenous Peoples and other People of Colour who lived in my home community faced erasure. The dominant White culture in my home community focused on the assimilation of these cultures.
While I identify as queer, my heteronormative marriage insulates me from the discrimination that many LGBTQ2S+ people experience. I recognize socially constructed hierarchies within the queer community and due to my bisexual orientation, I acknowledge that I have had to confront anti-bisexual discrimination (Craney et al., 2018). I am able-bodied and neurodiverse. I choose to see my neurodiversity as my superpower which allows me the capacity to hold space for many tasks and responsibilities at once. My development of systems and relationships has helped me to externalize some of my executive functioning deficits and these adaptations have been instrumental in my ability to succeed. In addition, I am a gifted learner. Academic learning, within the colonial system of education, is a place where I have always found success. My success in academics continues to be a personal source of pride for me.
Starting from a place of cultural humility, I first recognize that I am a learner and a visitor in peoples’ lives. In my counselling practice, I assume the position of the respectful and empowering listener, rather than one of authority or power-over. From this perspective, I can authentically invite people into, and co-construct, a therapeutic relationship with them. This worldview sets me up to find a space of congruence with each new client and see their struggles through a lens of unconditional positive regard and empathy (Rogers, 2007). Being from a working-class family, I have common worldviews with clients from similar class backgrounds. Connection to clients from this social class requires a level of self-disclosure with which I am comfortable. I recognize that aspects of my ethnicity were hidden and that my clients may also have these experiences. Having experienced the grief of non-belonging I can authentically empathize with clients who may also be experiencing disconnection to culture.
My predominantly socially dominant upbringing sheltered me from experiencing racism, discrimination or prejudice. At times, I struggle with White guilt and experience feelings associated with White fragility (Grzanka et al., 2019). Growing up in an individualistic culture also means that I continue to learn about and explore more collectivist worldviews and have an emerging understanding of social and familial interconnectedness in relation to the counselling process. Specifically, I recognize that I have room for growth in my competence to work with individuals who are refugees, or individuals that have had to flee their home country due to political unrest or terror.
Taking the Harvard Implicit Attitude Test (IAT) shines a spotlight on my need to continue to build my multicultural competence. The results that relate to my automatic preferences will be used as a tool for personal self-reflection and will guide my further investigation into how I will strengthen my cross-cultural sensitivity and understanding. This assessment clearly identified that I must continue to do the work of deconstructing my internalized racism and implicit bias.
Creating cultural awareness and sensitivity begins with looking inward. A teaching, gifted to me by Stó:lō First Nation elder Carman McKay states that “We can not know where we are going unless we know where we come from” (C. McKay, personal communication, 2010). Active reflection, recognition, and analysis of the socio-cultural factors that influence my social location grant me the opportunity to evaluate my journey and where I currently stand. I welcome this journey of self-exploration. I recognize my ethical obligation to use my privilege to lift the voices of marginalized people to ensure the equitable treatment of all clients.
References
Craney, R. S., Watson, L. B., Brownfield, J., & Flores, M. J. (2018). Bisexual women’s discriminatory experiences and psychological distress: Exploring the roles of coping and LGBTQ community connectedness. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 5(3), 324-324–337. APA PsycArticles. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000276
Ford, B. Q., Green, D. J., & Gross, J. J. (2022). White fragility: An emotion regulation perspective. American Psychologist. APA PsycArticles. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000968
Grzanka, P. R., Gonzalez, K. A., & Spanierman, L. B. (2019). White Supremacy and Counseling Psychology: A Critical–Conceptual Framework. Counseling Psychologist, 47(4), 478-478–529. Complementary Index. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019880843
Lehmann, W. (2021). Conflict and contentment: Case study of the social mobility of working-class students in Canada. European Journal of Education, 56(1), 41-41–52. Education Research Complete. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12431
Rogers, C. R. (2007). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 44(3), 240–248. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.44.3.240