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Why getting mad at the media is not helping you
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away known as “Feminism”, I and tons of others used to get regularly riled up about how the media screwed up our minds. And everyone else’s minds. And the whole of the world. Forever. Etc. And yes, the media does screw up our minds. But focusing on the “screw up” is not helping us. Back story A few weeks ago, Danielle Orner asked on Twitter: “What responsibility, if any, does the media have for promoting a healthy self image?” “Overwhelmed by the problem of negative, unhealthy, inaccurate messages. What can we do beyond spreading awareness?” My answer: “Spread healing. When…
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On Intersectionality & Privilege: BONUS!
So. I was at the pub last night… Wait. I have never started anything with that line. I have to make the most of it. I was at the pub last night, not drinking, and getting frustrated because the kitchen had closed and mama wanted curly fries. And by “mama” I mean ME, of course. Even though I’m not a mother. Nevermind… The guy at the bar offered me “crisps” instead. And I gave him a look that said “do I LOOK like the kind of person who will settle for crisps when she wants curly fries?”. I’m digressing here… So, I was the pub last night not drinking and…
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On Intersectionality & Privilege: Part 5
The “Really Personal” (read: spiritual) As you may have read, the whole “privilege” meme kinda started from the publication of Peggy McIntosh’s “Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” (pdf link). In it she writes about her experience coming to terms with the realisation that, as a white woman, she has “advantages” that people of colour do not have. Most people read that text as a political exploration of racism. I don’t see the text as “political” so much as “personal”… A personal account of the experience of realising that some people are perceived to have less worth than her. Here’s when I go all hippie woo woo. The realisation that “some people…
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On Intersectionality & Privilege: Part 4
The Personal side of “intersectionality & privilege”: The “stuff” aspect We all have “stuff” with regards to intersectionality and privilege. Because we are all… trying to “get somewhere” in life and seeing how difficult and near impossible it is. The people who know about intersectionality and privilege, and who go on about them, are the people who, for whatever reason, want to be “somewhere cool up there” but aren’t there yet, and feel the reason is that they don’t look like those people “up there”. Which reminds me… why do we have the concept of “privilege”, if it doesn’t help us change the world? Oh, right… The reason why we…
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On Intersectionality & Privilege: Part 3
Purely Political Theory I don’t like to talk about “privilege”. For many reasons. But one of them is that it is tied too close to the sense of “meritocracy”. Saying that someone is “privileged” means more or less “you are further along this race than me, and that’s unfair”. Not only are we then caught up in thinking of life as a “race” (which is bad for our mental health), but we’re also assuming that the “meritocracy” kinda works. That indeed, were it not for “privilege”, the talented would rise to the top. I don’t have time to go into all the reasons why the meritocracy sucks, but I will…
