NIA: Intersectionality & Inclusive Youth Organizing

Systems of Advantage include discrimination, stereotypes, prejudice but most importantly, the power and the privilege required to maintain, perpetuate and establish itself through force and definition and domination. Discrimination Systems Of Advantage vs. Racism Sexism Ableism Imperialism Classism Heterosexism "The system isn't broken, it was built that way." These are the social and political constructions that define social location and these systems are the foundation upon which our economy is based on. As it determines who gets what and in what quantity. They serve a very clear purpose and they are always intentional. Intersectionality Prejudice is an irrational feeling of dislike for a person or group of persons, usually based on stereotypes. Virtually everyone feels some sort of prejudice, whether it’s for an ethnic group, or for a religious group, or for a type of person like blondes or large people. The important thing is they just don’t like them — in short, prejudice is a feeling, a belief. You can be prejudiced, but still be a fair person if you’re careful not to act on your irrational dislikes. Discrimination takes place the moment a person acts on prejudice. This describes those moments when one individual decides not to give another individual a job because of, say, their race or their religious orientation. Or even because of their looks (there’s a lot of hiring discrimination against “unattractive” women, for example). You can discriminate, individually, against any person or group, if you’re in a position of power over the person you want to discriminate against. White people can discriminate against black people, and black people can discriminate against white people. Goals & Accountability Terms & Definitions Systems of Advantage Illuminating Intersectionality Privilege & Power A closer look at specific examples Response strategies "May we continue to disagree, may we continue to distinguish our movements by their bases of accountability, may we continue to give different accounts of how we got here and where we are, and may we collaborate but never compromise our visions of where we ought to be." - Alexis Pauline Gumbs Stereotypes are generalizations about a group of people whereby we attribute a defined set of characteristics to this group Power Status Wealth Cash "Women are discriminated against because of the negative meaning given to their gender. It is not our gender or skin color that we have to change, but systems of oppression that benefit some groups at the expense of others. This whole process is what William Ryan calls "blaming the victim." It is an ideological process that justifies inequality by finding defects in the victims of inequality. The logical outcome of analyzing social problems in terms of the deficiencies of the victim is a simple formula for action: Change the victim!" This is why we will never hear stories about the parenting styles of heterosexual parents, or the white crime rate, or the graduation rate of able bodied people. Inclusive Youth Organizing Whiteness is a racial identity created by upper class colonialists to distinguish themselves from indentured servants and slaves. A guarantee against being enslaved & a strategy to secure white wealth & domination. Colonization is the violent taking of land, wealth and labour of indigineous peoples through domination & conquest leading to their extermination in some cases & Trans-Atlantic slave trade which created a underclass based on race and gender that persists today. Systems combine social power, institutional power (policies & practices), cultural messages, and individual actions. Activity: Can you name any other systems or structures that may also have a profound impact on expressions, and understandings around Sex, Gender Role, Sexual Orientation, or Gender Identity? Race; a masculine of centre Black person might identify as a stud versus a butch. Age; a little girl who is showing ‘masculine’ traits under the age of twelve may simply be regarded as a ‘tomboy’ and not have her gender policed in the same way as she would post 12 or during puberty. Ability; a differently abled descriptively femme person may not be able to physically access some of the social markers of ‘femininity Examples I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children’s magazines featuring people of my race. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world’s majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion. If I declare there is a racial issue at hand, or there isn’t a racial issue at hand, my race will lend me more credibility for either position than a person of color will have. White Privilege Cis Male Privilege (MAAB) If I do the same task as a woman, and if the measurement is at all subjective, chances are people will think I did a better job. If I choose not to have children, my masculinity will not be called into question. My elected representatives are mostly people of my own sex. The more prestigious and powerful the elected position, the more this is true. Heterosexual Privilege I can be pretty sure that my roommates, hall-mates and classmates will be comfortable with my sexual orientation. If I pick up a magazine, watch TV, or play music, I can be certain my sexual orientation will be represented. I do not have to fear that if my family or friends find out about my sexual orientation there will be economic, emotional, physical or psychological consequences. During a conversation about homophobia, a student of colour makes the comment that ‘all Jamaicans are homophobic’. A fellow organizer who is a working class womyn of colour keeps saying 'retarded' when frustrated. A student of colour posts a blog entry that explains that if Black students don't want to be criminalized, they should stop committing crimes. A group of organizers holds a Feminism panel and one of the panelists, a white womyn talks about the importance of liberating Arab womyn from the weight of Islam. Case Studies The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others. That action is the testimony of love as the practice of freedom. - bell hooks Key Definitions: Ten Lies You are Told Every Single Day 1. If you don’t physically hold someone down, you can’t be an oppressor. 2. Racism is physically hating and acting on that hate based on a person’s race. 3. White Privilege means you are rich and/or have an easy life. 4. Pointing out racism is a racist act. 5. Not knowing better is a perfectly justifiable reason to have hurt someone. 6. There is a specific way to be (insert race here) 7. White and whiteness are the same thing. 8. Anger is childish. 9. Using angry phrasing or curse words makes your point invalid. 10. It is my job to teach you but not your job to search for knowledge on your own. White Saviour Industrial Complex Privilege Happens At The Expense Of Others Race http://racismschool.tumblr.com/ http://unfaircampaign.org/resources/know-it/#timeline http://oppressedbrowngirlsdoingthings.tumblr.com Gender http://subtlecluster.tumblr.com/post/7838336276/genderqueer-links-and-books http://thebrownggrrlzproject.tumblr.com/ http://blackgirldangerous.tumblr.com/ Sexuality http://yosimar.tumblr.com/ Ability http://deafmuslimpunx.tumblr.com/ http://thepeopleprojectto.tumblr.com/ Fatphobia http://fuckyeahfatbrownhijabis.tumblr.com/ Intersectionality http://kimkatrincrosby.squarespace.com/queer-gifted-black/ Resources I have noticed that whenever you have soldiers in the story it is called history. Before their arrival it is called myth, folktale, legend, fairy tale, oral poetry, ethnography. After the soldiers arrive, it is called history. – Paula Gunn Allen, Native American writer Source: thedailyconservative Native American and Xican@ students protest the 500th anniversary of Columbus landing in the Americas. The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. Another’s experience does not invalidate your own, but it should and necessarily does complicate your own. Privilege happens at the expense of others. Treat others the way that they want to be treated. Ask. Imagine that your allyship card expires at the end of the day. It is no one’s responsibility to educate you but your own. Listen. Learn. Practice. Repeat. Acknowledge Privilege. Dissolve Guilt. Take up less space. Fall back. Collect your folks. Center. Listen. Acknowledge. Inquire. Move towards resolution. (CLAIM) Strategies For Solidarity "to remain exempt from perpetuating social inequity" DEFINE MAINTAIN ENFORCE (cc) photo by medhead on Flickr POWER PRIVILEGE & Introduction Of Mandatory Jail Sentences Harsher Sentences For Young Offenders Fewer Conditional Sentences Prison Expansion