One concept that is central to understanding the nuances of social justice activism is to have a thorough understanding of power dynamics. This post helps get you there.
Tag: institutional power
What Is Afforded to You
This post provides a break-down of the amazing article “Sick Woman Theory” by Johanna Hedva, which demonstrates how many aspects of social justice and the structure of society and even just human existence are interconnected: Disability, chronic illness, police brutality, racism, sexism, the medical system, the mental health industry, intergenerational trauma, socio-political theory, the medical and social models of disability, spoon theory, capitalism, and self-love.
A Men’s Guide to the Me Too Movement
I’ve noticed some men seem a little lost as news of the Me Too movement pours in. Why are so many celebrities getting outed as perpetrators of sexual assault and was what they did really that bad? What behavior is expected of men going forward? Why is what happened with Ansari such a big deal? Isn’t this all going a little too far? This article is for you.
What Does It Mean When a Group Has Power?
When discussing oppressed and privileged groups, you’ll frequently hear me talk about who in the interaction has the most power. But why is identifying the power in an interaction so important and what do I mean when I say a group has power?
Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist, and Sexist, and…
If you were to make an off-color comment to me and defend yourself by saying that you don’t have a racist/sexist/classist bone in your body, or that you are “colorblind” your response would give me an important piece of information about you. Because as the song goes, everyone’s a little bit racist.
Explaining Privilege Part 4: Privilege is an Invisibility Cloak
Privilege can bring you many benefits, and eliminate many obstacles for you. But privilege can also mask negative traits such as incompetence, unethical behavior, and dishonesty. Privilege can give you literal get-out-of-jail-free cards, to the detriment of people who lack that privilege. Privilege is an invisibility cloak.
A Quaker’s Defense of Violent Resistance Tactics
After every big BLM protest, hundreds of people climb out of the woodwork to shout “violence is always wrong,” despite having no understanding of non-violence works as a tactic. As non-religious quaker dedicated to nonviolence, I’m uniquely qualified to defend these protests. This is a quaker’s defense of violent resistance tactics.
Explaining Privilege Part 2: The Cycle of Reinforcement
In the second part of the Explaining Privilege series, I talk about how the socialization of marginalized and privileged groups reinforce the blindspots of privileged groups, which in turn causes a cycle that deprioritizes the needs of marginalized people.