Positionality Statement

As a foundational learning activity for Athabasca University’s Master of Health Studies Health Promotion course – MHST 631 – I aim to reflect upon and examine my social identity through the writing of a positionality statement. Born of German descent in Whitecourt, Alberta, I am a Canadian citizen. I was raised by my heterosexual parents in a small rural community with my two older siblings. Growing up in an upper middle-class family, I was afforded the opportunity to participate in a variety of extracurricular sports, travel within and outside of Canada, as well as pursue a post-secondary education.

I acknowledge that I am a 40-year-old able bodied male of upper-middle class. I identify as a heterosexual male; my pronouns are he/him. I have been married to my wife for 13 years. Together we have two children: a 10-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son. We live and work in Terrace, British Columbia. My wife works part-time as a Dietitian with the Northern Health Authority while I work full-time for the same organization as a manager for acute psychiatric and tertiary mental health and substance use services. Working in mental health and substance use services within the health sector, I recognize that to date my family and I have lived a privileged life; and, that this is not the case for everyone. I strive to continuously strengthen my understanding of my social identity including my life experiences of both advantage and disadvantage in an effort to better understand my biases and to know when and how to effectively practice allyship (Landy et al., 2016; Nixon, 2019).

References:

Landy, R., Cameron, C., Au, A., Cameron, D., O’Brien, K.K., Robrigado, K., Baxter, L.N., Cockburn, L., O'Hearn, S., Olivier, B., & Nixon, S. (2016). Educational Strategies to Enhance Reflexivity Among Clinicians and Health Professional Students: A Scoping Study. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-17.3.257

Nixon, S. A. (2019). The coin model of privilege and critical allyship: Implications for health. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1-13. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12889-019-7884-9.pdf