A long while back I wrote a piece about the misinterpretation of Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality. I believe intersectionality is a critical concept in understanding… well… pretty much everything in the universe, but specifically in understanding social justice issues and systems of oppression.
I love this so much! I could cry. It’s exactly that tension and middle ground. That place of nuance and grey that we as a society are so afraid of. What causes the polarity? Fear, insecurity, lostness. As we struggle to create bonds, we end up causing factions and divisions. It almost seems inevitable under the trauma of capitalism (another area that looks like privilege but has a very ugly core) And yet, can we still keep going? Can we move forward, forgiving, letting go, being different and still moving in similar directions? I think this has been the impetus around many collective movements. To keep the doors open around divisive issues and hold a memory so-to-speak of when we were in a different place. To hold that memory as we approach relationships, knowing that our progress might be a form of regression to another. Ah, I’m rambling. Anyway. Love your thoughts!
Sometimes I think the polarization comes from the place of desperately wanting a "right" answer, a list of things that we can do correctly to guarantee success. When there's only right answer, that also assumes that there's a wrong answer, when of course we know that there's a whole universe of answers that all have their own ways of being right and wrong. I think once more people can start to recognize the various paths and accept these different paths as unique but not wrong, maybe then we'll start to see some progress?
It's wild how much of this plays into our role as parents and caregivers trying to raise kids in a consent-based way: honouring our kids' uniqueness and own approach, letting them follow their own path - we can start to create a culture where multiplicity can exist comfortably without threatening each other. <3
I love this so much! I could cry. It’s exactly that tension and middle ground. That place of nuance and grey that we as a society are so afraid of. What causes the polarity? Fear, insecurity, lostness. As we struggle to create bonds, we end up causing factions and divisions. It almost seems inevitable under the trauma of capitalism (another area that looks like privilege but has a very ugly core) And yet, can we still keep going? Can we move forward, forgiving, letting go, being different and still moving in similar directions? I think this has been the impetus around many collective movements. To keep the doors open around divisive issues and hold a memory so-to-speak of when we were in a different place. To hold that memory as we approach relationships, knowing that our progress might be a form of regression to another. Ah, I’m rambling. Anyway. Love your thoughts!
Sometimes I think the polarization comes from the place of desperately wanting a "right" answer, a list of things that we can do correctly to guarantee success. When there's only right answer, that also assumes that there's a wrong answer, when of course we know that there's a whole universe of answers that all have their own ways of being right and wrong. I think once more people can start to recognize the various paths and accept these different paths as unique but not wrong, maybe then we'll start to see some progress?
It's wild how much of this plays into our role as parents and caregivers trying to raise kids in a consent-based way: honouring our kids' uniqueness and own approach, letting them follow their own path - we can start to create a culture where multiplicity can exist comfortably without threatening each other. <3