Give me your links! And please signal boost!
Okay, from some of the conversations I've had lately, I've decided I want to write an entry entitled Welcome to social justice discussions! Here's a primer.
The purpose of the post? To debunk the most common assumptions about privilege terms. A lot of people who are coming across sexism/racism/homophobia/ableism discussions don't have a grasp of many of the most commonly-used terms in social justice conversations, which means lots of assumptions are being made from fallacies, and clearing up those fallacies takes energy away from the topic at hand. So I want to do a little FAQ of sorts with many, many links, many voices. A short description of the fallacy, then a link clearing-house for the related topic, all organized in my crazy Virgotastic manner.
Topics I want to cover for very basic version 1.0: (editing as I go along!)
Definitions:
-- Privilege does not mean you should feel guilty about slavery: what privilege means in various contexts.
-- "Racist" and getting called out: when someone tells you what you've said is racist, it doesn't mean they're calling YOU a racist.
-- "Feminism": What it means, what it doesn't mean. Also, alternate words that people use to describe gender equality movements (Womanism, et al.)
--What is rape culture? What does the term mean and where/why is it used?
-- GLBTQ (+ other related groups) related terms. This is probably going to use many of the points
rm brought up in the very illuminating "PSA: Queer" post. I very much need a good guide to discussing transgender issues with sensitivity to terminology, because this is not an area I have a lot of knowledge in.
Meta-discussion: how to join the conversation without being a jerk.
--On the Tone Argument: Let's Not, Okay? (Also a discussion of the moving goalposts of "nice" and how marginalized voices are often painted as angrier than privileged ones.)
--White Womens' Tears: how to not make a discussion about marginalized experiences All About You. (AKA: "Not ALL men/white people are like that!": Menfolk/white people, women/POC are not saying all of you are evil rapists/racists when they talk about institutionalized sexism/racism.)
-- Oh The Places You (Won't) Go: how not to take a discussion off the rails. (Obviously very Derailing for Dummies dependent.)
-- Anything else you think is really important for Noobs to know but I haven't covered here.
So... I have many links on these topics, but I am asking for more so I can be comprehensive and create a good resource for the Social Justice Noob, who likely has some ill-informed opinions about these various terms. Please, give me your links. Ask your friendslist to give me THEIR links. Mucho thanks!
The purpose of the post? To debunk the most common assumptions about privilege terms. A lot of people who are coming across sexism/racism/homophobia/ableism discussions don't have a grasp of many of the most commonly-used terms in social justice conversations, which means lots of assumptions are being made from fallacies, and clearing up those fallacies takes energy away from the topic at hand. So I want to do a little FAQ of sorts with many, many links, many voices. A short description of the fallacy, then a link clearing-house for the related topic, all organized in my crazy Virgotastic manner.
Topics I want to cover for very basic version 1.0: (editing as I go along!)
Definitions:
-- Privilege does not mean you should feel guilty about slavery: what privilege means in various contexts.
-- "Racist" and getting called out: when someone tells you what you've said is racist, it doesn't mean they're calling YOU a racist.
-- "Feminism": What it means, what it doesn't mean. Also, alternate words that people use to describe gender equality movements (Womanism, et al.)
--What is rape culture? What does the term mean and where/why is it used?
-- GLBTQ (+ other related groups) related terms. This is probably going to use many of the points
rm brought up in the very illuminating "PSA: Queer" post. I very much need a good guide to discussing transgender issues with sensitivity to terminology, because this is not an area I have a lot of knowledge in.Meta-discussion: how to join the conversation without being a jerk.
--On the Tone Argument: Let's Not, Okay? (Also a discussion of the moving goalposts of "nice" and how marginalized voices are often painted as angrier than privileged ones.)
--White Womens' Tears: how to not make a discussion about marginalized experiences All About You. (AKA: "Not ALL men/white people are like that!": Menfolk/white people, women/POC are not saying all of you are evil rapists/racists when they talk about institutionalized sexism/racism.)
-- Oh The Places You (Won't) Go: how not to take a discussion off the rails. (Obviously very Derailing for Dummies dependent.)
-- Anything else you think is really important for Noobs to know but I haven't covered here.
So... I have many links on these topics, but I am asking for more so I can be comprehensive and create a good resource for the Social Justice Noob, who likely has some ill-informed opinions about these various terms. Please, give me your links. Ask your friendslist to give me THEIR links. Mucho thanks!