Whether measured by Pakistani or American terms, I grew up in a privileged family, but also one that was only a few generations away from being village farmers on either side.

I try to be conscious of how that shapes my actions, words, and world view and try to conduct myself with empathy and humility. For years in Boston, I was the lone brown being in my privileged social and networking circle. In San Francisco, though my friends are from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, given their education and professions I recognize that the class situation is similar.

So I was intrigued with this entry at Racialicious asking if, for some people, class trumps race.

Looking at the Democratic presidential contenders, the media is reporting that Clinton has an edge among women, Latinos, Asian-Americans, gays and lesbians, older voters and working class people, while Obama has stronger support from college-educated professionals, African Americans, white men and independents.

In my own life, I know that class privilege has come with excess material goods as well as increased access to networks. Though I look back and know that I got every job I applied for based on merit, I know that the way I conducted myself, sounded, and looked also impacted my interviewers to recognize me as one of them, whether it was conscious or not.

What I find most interesting in my own life right now is how class continues to shape my outlook even when I am technically no longer part of that class. I have deliberately made decisions to live and covet differently from the class I grew up in. Based on my financial situation after leaving my job, on my own two feet I would live below the poverty line right now, but I do not see or conduct myself as poor nor do I perceive the world or my relationship to it that way.

I have a safety net that allows me to live as if I was still of that class, with a techie husband and cardiologist father cushioning my health-related fall. And, as we contemplate whether or not to have children, I am also keenly aware that I will not be able to give them many of the same privileges that I grew up with, some of which are listed below.

Since WWII, each successive generation has climbed socially and economically to rise above their parents. My cohort, Gen X, is the first not expected to do as well as our parents. I’m still trying to figure out how growing up privileged, holding onto residual privilege that no longer really reflects my current socioeconomic status, and then possibly having children who may grow up with perceptions of a less privileged socioeconomic class will play out.

Gender plays a role, as does being an attractive woman, with its pros and cons, although that is not on the checklist. An aspect that is mentioned, however, is the one that could tip my balance between race and class the other way: Are my people portrayed positively in the media?

Absolutely not.

As John Esposito said last night at a Stanford lecture: Islamophobia is alive and well in America. Not only have the culture wars begun, but the actual house is already on fire.

Religion is the wild card in my equation. In the nearly three decades that I’ve lived in the US, I have rarely been aware of my skin color as a negative trait (in Pakistan, constantly). Sometimes exotic, yes; lesser than, no.

But the few times that I have ever been singled out for hostility here have each been because I was perceived as Muslim. So when does a religious affiliation become a race or ethnic grouping? It would seem difficult to do with a religion with as diverse a set of followers as Islam has but although I don’t wear the hijab, I do have the brown skin stereotypically associated with Muslims.

For example, after living in a very white area of Boston for years, the first time I was painfully aware of my otherness was on a red line T ride from Cambridge soon after 9/11. The unspoken hostility pressed upon me until I changed to the more diverse orange line and rode into Jamaica Plain.

In the US today, being Muslim or being perceived as Muslim comes with a host of very negative attributes and thus holds the potential to increasingly impact class and race perceptions both internally and externally.

Do the checklist below if you wish, and then check out part two at Racialicious, Interpreting Privilege. (Part three covers entitlement).

Class Privilege Checklist

The instructions are simple. While in the classroom, you would take a step forward for each item that is in your experience. In the blogosphere, you simply bold the item. (I have given my answers below.)

When you were in college:

If your father went to college
If your father finished college
If your mother went to college
If your mother finished college
If you have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor
If you were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
If you had a computer at home
If you had your own computer at home
If you had more than 50 books at home
If you had more than 500 books at home
If were read children’s books by a parent
If you ever had lessons of any kind
If you had more than two kinds of lessons
If the people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
If you had a credit card with your name on it
If you have less than $5000 in student loans
If you have no student loans
If you went to a private high school
If you went to summer camp
If you had a private tutor
If you have been to Europe
If your family vacations involved staying at hotels
If all of your clothing has been new and bought at the mall
If your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
If there was original art in your house
If you had a phone in your room
If you lived in a single family house
If your parent own their own house or apartment
If you had your own room
If you participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
If you had your own cell phone in High School
If you had your own TV in your room in High School
If you opened a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
If you have ever flown anywhere on a commercial airline
If you ever went on a cruise with your family
If your parents took you to museums and art galleries
If you were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family