I have white male privilege. I wrote a short piece yesterday acknowledging the extent to which I have white male privilege \u2013 it is to every extent. I (and others like me) hold power, and the system is set up to favor us.<\/p>\n
Privilege is more pervasive than the foundation of white male led patriarchy though. There are layers, and within those layers we find the multidimensional marginalization of other humans. Human beings exist across spectrum of issues relating to race, ethnicity, gender, class, ability, age, religion, and mental health \u2013 intersectionality helps us to understand how (and where) those qualifiers combine and create specific identities.<\/p>\n
Recently a spotlight has fallen on how feminism intersects with co-occurring causes (spurred by the wide turnout of the Million Woman March) \u2013 white feminists have been asked to look at their agenda and consider if it adequately includes both the concept and voice of people across a spectrum outside of their experience. This challenge has been difficult for some, for the simple reason that it \u2018feels empowering\u2019 to attempt to include the concept of \u2018all\u2019 in your empowered actions. This creates a strained discourse though, because the implication is that one might assume to speak for another \u2013 and in doing so unwittingly creates an \u2018other\u2019 out of them. If a white feminist claims to speak for all women there is an implicit presumption that \u2018all women\u2019 wish to be represented by a white feminist. There is an even deeper assumption that a white feminist might know \u2018how\u2019 to speak for all women.<\/p>\n
There is a specific difference between advocating for the voice of another, and implying that one is able to give voice for another. While it is usual that the intention of one standing for another is to be an ally, the reality is that one may perpetuate marginalization, without meaning to do so.<\/p>\n
The specific experience of an individual is their experience to define, alone. We are becoming more aware that power, empowerment, and advocacy do not exist together \u2013 they are splintered.<\/p>\n
As a social worker my specific role is to empower the disempowered, and to advocate for the marginalized \u2013 sometimes I extend that role and I speak to concepts, but I do not presume to speak for any one specific group (or individual). I am in the way if I do so. The best I can hope for is to draw attention and then quickly step out of the way so that a person may advocate for themselves. I stand behind them, or beside them.<\/p>\n
Within the complexities of feminist discourse we find intersectionality shaking up the narrative \u2013 we are asked questions like \u201cCan you still be a feminist if you don\u2019t support the rights of sex-workers?\u201d or \u201cHow does a white woman relate to woman of color, or a trans-woman of color, or a gender-neutral person of color?\u201d The answer is buried within the concept of privilege, and as marginalized groups raise their voices within this discourse it becomes apparent that their voices have always been there, buried by others\u2019 privilege.<\/p>\n
Privilege is not simply held by white males, it is not cis-gendered white males who have all the power \u2013 granted the majority of power is locked into that narrative, but patriarchy and privilege exist in complex (and sometimes competing) measures. Understanding how intersectionality informs us of the movement of power is integral in addressing the imbalance of power. It is integral in re-defining what feminism is, in re-defining what advocacy is, and it is integral in re-defining what oppression is. We have to support the often suppressed voices in coming to the fore if we are really to understand where we fit into the spectrum of the human condition.<\/p>\n
Listening to activists advocate for their experience of oppression, and to their experiences of marginalization, and to their experience of invisibility within narratives is having an open hear to being informed that you have been unintentionally tripping up the person you are trying to support.<\/p>\n
#feminism #privilage #intersectionality<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have white male privilege. I wrote a short piece yesterday acknowledging the extent to which I have white male privilege \u2013 it is to every extent. I (and others like me) hold power, and the system is set up … Continue reading