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zeegoeshere at 11:37am on 25/06/2009
zeegoeshere at 11:37am on 25/06/2009I'm trying to stay away from the remains of the warnings wank, but this one thing is just bugging the shit out of me, and I have no idea if this is a coherent post about it but I just need to vent. A few people have been implying or claiming that white women shouldn't be using language that has been primarily used for anti-racist work to talk about sexism, ablism and sexual abuse.
I think that maintaining some skepticism with regards to white people using language that originated with anti-racists is probably a good thing. However, I had really hoped that fandom might have grasped the basic concept of intersectionality by now. Being gay doesn't negate having white privilege, being a woman doesn't negate having straight privilege, being a PoC doesn't negate having abled privilege, etc etc. Fucking duh, right? This is like Anti-Oppression 101.
In this particular context, being able to read any kind of fic without getting triggered is a privilege that I have that many survivors don't have. When we use language that came out of Racefail, that is not meant as a comparison between racism and ablism in fandom--NO ONE is saying that this issue is as bad or worse as racism. The entire point of intersectionality is that this kind of stuff is not "either/or," it's "both/and." Anti-racists don't have some kind of copyright on language--it is oppressive and frankly moronic to say that you only want us to fight this way for your particular issues, because all of these isms intersect and affect each other anyway. Claiming that we can only use particular tools to fight for you and no one else pits groups against each other and hurts everybody.
I think that maintaining some skepticism with regards to white people using language that originated with anti-racists is probably a good thing. However, I had really hoped that fandom might have grasped the basic concept of intersectionality by now. Being gay doesn't negate having white privilege, being a woman doesn't negate having straight privilege, being a PoC doesn't negate having abled privilege, etc etc. Fucking duh, right? This is like Anti-Oppression 101.
In this particular context, being able to read any kind of fic without getting triggered is a privilege that I have that many survivors don't have. When we use language that came out of Racefail, that is not meant as a comparison between racism and ablism in fandom--NO ONE is saying that this issue is as bad or worse as racism. The entire point of intersectionality is that this kind of stuff is not "either/or," it's "both/and." Anti-racists don't have some kind of copyright on language--it is oppressive and frankly moronic to say that you only want us to fight this way for your particular issues, because all of these isms intersect and affect each other anyway. Claiming that we can only use particular tools to fight for you and no one else pits groups against each other and hurts everybody.
annoyed
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Wait - so what you're saying is if you're white you can't use the word "privilege" to refer to your situation? (I mean, that's their position?)
That's ridiculous! The whole point of privilege is that it's intersetional. I mean, granted, maybe I've had this hammered into my head a lot because I went to a single-sex school with an excellent gender studies department (in which I was a major for a while...) but. I feel like that much, sans serious theory, should be obvious.
No one has a monopoly on privilege. I would give examples but I'd just be quoting your post.
And I think it's also ridiculous for people to claim that that language came out of RaceFail. The word/concept "privilege" is not something that fandom invented for the use of RaceFail and for anyone to claim that it did -- even if it was effectively used in that situation -- is uneducated about the subject, at best.
But then, it's a privileged position to not have to deal with triggers on a personal level, and it's always easier to be casually hurtful from a position of privilege.
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So many race discussions in fandom have revolved around trying to get white queer feminists to understand that just because they might be oppressed in some way doesn't mean they don't also have privilege in other areas. It's depressing to feel like we're having to do that dance all over again, with people who should really know better.
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I feel like the problem is that so many people have (rightfully) had to be defensive about the fact that white queer feminists have privilege by virtue of being white (abled, etc) and aren't just blanket-ly oppressed by being queer and women, that for some of the PoC/other racial minorities in this argument, it may be a complete roadblock to introduce the idea that they have privilege over white feminists. Granted, I don't know the races of those involved but I got the impresssion that racial issues were at play here. And I understand that -- goodness knows this society is not one where racial privilege is something you can skim over -- but both areas of non-privilege are things that affect the way you live your life, and in this case, interact with fandom.
However, if it is primarily other white women who are arguing the case, I really don't get it, except on a purely theoretical basis.
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But I guess the motivation is just that mental health really isn't considered a valid form of privilege. And as someone with mental health issues and a lot of friends with them, it's not exactly the first time I've bumped into that...
Although I still am a little baffled by the idea that RaceFail invented "privilege"? I don't know.
sorry to repost - bad tag, no edit PRIVILEGE
And besides, unlike "intersectionality," "privilege" is also just a regular word, a commonly used word in all kinds of contexts in English. And its usage in discussions of oppression is especially effective *because* its meaning is the same. "This is a type of privilege that you may or may not have noticed." No one needs to be introduced to it.
Re: sorry to repost - bad tag, no edit PRIVILEGE
...As a side note, I love that I edited this THREE TIMES and didn't notice my misspelling of intersectional. o_O
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I find shades of similarity in this debate, because it's one thing for anti-warnings people with no triggers to say "can't we be respectful* and agree to disagree? Why are you all up-in-arms?" This is a theoretical discussion for them and for me, because it won't actually directly affect me, but for someone with triggers this is the difference between reliving trauma or feeling safe.
*Even though, of course, many of the anti-warnings voices have been insanely disrespectful.
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It goes back to the old "watch your tone" foolishness: it's a lot easier to stay calm and logical when you're discussing an abstraction. So to people for whom this whole debate is just theoretical, it's difficult to understand the hurt and trauma being experienced by survivors, and to understand why they won't just "let it go." Also it's hard to understand why you've caused anger when you yourself don't think there's anything to be angry about. I'm trying to be generous here, but honestly I think a lot of people are being OBSTINATE MORONS.
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Yes. When I found myself overreacting to metafandom commenters this morning, I didn't really know why, until I realized that what was offending me so deeply was the treatment of the pro-warning argument as a theoretical issue when I was understanding it as an articulation of pain.
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This post is really awesomely articulate. Thank you.
via metafandom
As far as I can figure out, the particular usage and concept of the word "privilege" in these discussions originated with Marxist critical theory and a bunch of philosophers/theorists called "the Frankfurt School". Some guy named Otto Kirchheimer when writing about how the bourgeoisie was oppressing the proletariat.
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