ADRRESSING Autobiography

Rank	Relationship to Rank	Skill most often used in daily life
Age	Target	Indifference
Disability	Agent	Indifference/Distancing
Race	Target	Inclusion/Awareness
Religious Culture	Target	Indifference/Distancing
Ethnicity	Target	Distancing/Inclusion
Social Class Culture	Target	Distancing/Inclusion
Sexual Orientation	Agent	Indifference
Indigenous Heritage	Target	Inclusion/Awareness
National Origin	Target	Indifference/Distancing
Gender	Target	Confusion

 

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 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.