Thread by @DrPetra

Are you an academic who's succeeded in spite of hardship? Overcome obstacles? Triumphed over adversity? Brilliant!
Do you use your story to tell students and early career academics how they can be just like you? Not so helpful. Here's why.

Giving people hope is very important. Particularly when they may be struggling with multiple barriers or feeling things are very bleak. What are hopeful stories? Ones that don't just share how bad things were then and how great you are now - but the pathway in between.

If you want to share your story of hope, inspiration and triumph then the 'pathway in between' should set out what people might do to emulate your success. And even more crucially acknowledge where you had privileges or lucky breaks.

This is where many academics go wrong. They have faced adversity, and they've 'succeeded' (as in they're now a professor, have written books, or got a grant or done something academia values). BUT they don't note for themselves what things helped them get to this point.

They can get caught up on the past versus the present. As in they struggled with poverty, relationship breakdown, exclusion or other hardships. Forgetting there may be additional things that benefited them, even in times of disaster or distress (e.g. race, sexuality, health)

Meaning when they're telling students or early career researchers to follow in their path they're not noticing said students may have a reduced chance due to health status, disability, sexuality, race and the structural/prejudicial barriers placed against minorities in academia.

This isn't helpful because it wrongly tells people they can get ahead, when they realistically won't. And leaves people blaming themselves when this happens (because they've been told they can succeed if they just try hard enough).

It's not unusual for academics to tell their rags-to-riches stories and understandably get upset if people say they've had some breaks alongside the bad stuff. But in these cases again blame others for not succeeding too, rather than noticing they're facing different barriers.

Much of the time academics mean well. They feel if they share their tale it might help others. And if you've been through hard times you'll want to stop others going through the same. While having it noted how far you've come.

Unfortunately there's a group of academics who use their success stories to imply everyone can achieve if they just try. And those who don't reach the same positions/choose the same subjects either don't want to, or are naturally (aka biologically) unsuited to academic positions.

So if you're an academic who's done well. Be proud. Be bold. Tell other people. But make sure you pause first and see what things got you there. Ask yourself whether other people whose circumstances aren't like yours would've managed the same. If not, make this crystal clear.

Resist the temptation to keep on telling a story of how you achieved against adversity and note if those adversities are still present and disproportionately affecting others not like you. Put your energies and influence into drawing attention to this.

So your story becomes "I have done well because...." while emphasising "these people are still missing out because..." meaning "they can't reach the successes I have enjoyed because..."
Join the dots. Celebrate where you are. Lift as you climb.

Minorities saying they are being kept out and caused harm is your cue to LISTEN AND ACT. It is not your opportunity to say "yes well I've been through..." and list your hardships that may be grim but will still not equal the limitations they face.

If you want a good way to understand this, especially if you feel aggrieved you've gone through a lot and others ought to appreciate that, this comic 'On a plate' by Toby Morris rnz.co.nz/news/the-wirel…

Overcoming hardship stories are popular in academia, science communication and media. Sharing yours can reach people and inspire them to try or keep going. Just be careful how you phrase it. Your struggles aren't diminished by other people facing hardships far greater than yours.

Your candle won't shine any brighter just because you blew out someone else's light.

Ultimately be aware there are individuals, political parties and groups that use overcoming adversity stories to hold people back, refuse accommodations, and justify inequalities. Want to avoid that? Make their actions clear within your story and condemn them vigorously.

And remember though your story may be important to you and compelling to others. Sometimes another person’s story might be even more appropriate for an audience to hear. Particularly if their experiences are more relatable. Again your hardships aren’t diminished by this.

This is an animated version if Harvey Milk’s “Hope Speech” (1977-78) which is only short but does a fantastic job of offering hope within the context of prejudice and abuse (note it mentions suicide).