Wednesday 19 December 2012

Pitting the minorities against one another:


Why do we let them do this to us? Why do we do it to ourselves?

Do we really fear that there isn't enough equality to go around and that granting it to someone else will mean less for us?

Why are feminist circles so often a toxic mix of Disabilism, homophobia, cissexism, racism, classism and other oppressions?

Why are spaces for people of color so often reeking of disabilism, homophobia, cissexism, misogyny and other oppressions?

Why are GLBTQ groups often full of toxic cissexism and misogny?

Do people really think that not using slurs that hurt others groups in minority spaces will somehow lessen their equality? Is that the equality you want? The equal ability to be an oppressive bastard just like any other majority, while also getting your rights?

I am tired of safe spaces that are not actually safe spaces.

I am tired of safe spaces that say "you must be one of us" where one of us means "you must tolerate the bigotry of people who share one minority in common with you because calling them out is not being one of us".

I am tired of safe spaces that give lip service to some minority rights. It's one thing to say isms are unacceptable, but when you don't enforce it, you might as well not say it.

As a disabled, impoverished, bisexual, genderqueer, female bodied person, I want a space where I don't have to put up with disabilist slurs to be with my female bodied peers and to talk about misogyny. I want a space where I don't have to leave parts of my identity outside and suffer micro-aggressions.

I'm tired of seeing my peers pull "we're oppressed, so we should be allowed to say things that hurt you/others". You'd think they'd all know better, if only because being subjected to that shit themselves, they should know what it feels like when people think they're entitled to say whatever shitty hurtful things they want.

I am tired of people who rather than going "okay, I won't use that slur again" instead argue that someone else's privilege (given most of us have a mix of privilege and oppression) means that person calling them on the slur usage is oppression itself.

The fact that you suffer from sexism/racism/disabilism/homophobia/transaphobia/classism/any other ism does not make it acceptable for you to perpetuate other isms in minority spaces, and I am tired of people who think it does make it acceptable.

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