Autobiography

First:

Copy and paste your ADRRESSING rank chart below. Add a third column onto the end, as you see in my example.

Next:

Spend some time thinking about how often you think about each one of the Rank categories in a typical day. This will give you an idea of what skills you use most often in your daily life.

· If you never think about a particular rank, and you are an agent, than you are probably using indifference skills.

· If you never think about a particular rank, and you are a target, then you are probably using survival skills.

List the most common skills that you use daily.

· Remember that the skills are holiarchal–meaning that you cannot “skip” skills sets.

· If you use indifference, then the next most common skill will be distancing.

· If you use confusion, then the next most common skill will be empowerment.

· If you find that you only use one skill, just list that one.

· Also keep in mind that we are talking about the skills used MOST OFTEN, not the skills that you do or do not have access to.

· For example, I think about ageism every time I visit or talk to my grandparents, and I have some awareness skills around that, but most days I do not use these skills, and instead I exercise indifference. Notice that this has little do with with how I feel about ageism–I feel quite strongly that it is harmful. But I am not basing my notes on how I feel. Rather, I am observing the actions that I take most often in relation to age.

· In another example, I would say there are times when I have been able to use ally skills in relation to the Rank of Race, but this takes incredible skill and energy, and most days, I find myself using inclusion or awareness.

Below is my example:

Pay close attention to the 3rd column, “Skill most often used in daily life”.

Dr. Kleisath’s Rank autobiography:
Rank	Relationship to Rank	Skill most often used in daily life
Age	Agent	Indifference
Disability	Target	Survival/Confusion
Race	Agent	Inclusion/Awareness
Religious Culture	Agent	Indifference/Distancing
Ethnicity	Agent	Distancing/Inclusion
Social Class Culture	Agent	Distancing/Inclusion
Sexual Orientation	Target	Confusion
Indigenous Heritage	Agent	Inclusion/Awareness
National Origin	Agent	Indifference/Distancing
Gender	Target	Empowerment/Strategy

 

Finally:

Write two paragraphs of minimum 500 words (total). In each of these paragraphs, reflect on one Rank category, and the skills that you most often use as Target or Agent. Please give one specific example for each skill. Fewer points will be awarded for general answers. Please also note that you must speak specifically about the ranking system, which means speaking to the ADRRESSING categories.

Here is an example of a specific story from my life where I used awareness skills. One day my friend was over and she was hanging out with my 3 year old. As she left, she asked for a hug from the 3 year old, and he responded by turning away. This indicated that he did not want to touch her or be touched. The message was crystal clear. When he turned away, my friend approached him and reached out and slapped his butt lightly, saying, “oh, so shy, I will just pat your tooshie” He looked unhappy, and the moment passed. I was horrified, but said nothing. I was just frozen in place. I still want to bring the issue up with her, but I am not sure how to talk about it.

Children’s bodily autonomy is violated constantly in our culture. When they say “no” in their own way (by turning away very clearly) they are ignored. Even when they say no very directly, using the word “NO!” they are still ignored, and people hug, kiss, and pat them against their wishes.

MY Rank	Relationship to Rank
Age	Agent
Disability	Target
Race	Agent
Religious Culture	Agent
Ethnicity	Agent
Social Class Culture	Agent
Sexual Orientation	Agent
Indigenous Heritage	Agent
National Origin	Agent
Gender	Agent