Comments on: Minorities within minorities within minorities

By: Xtinian Thoughts » Blog Archive » I had too many tabs open.

Xtinian Thoughts » Blog Archive » I had too many tabs open. — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:09:55 +0000

[...] In a post about mix-and-match minorities, Katie comments on something interesting – being part of the LGBTI community and being deaf. And now I want to go be That Person who transcribes YouTube posts. [...]

By: Pride & Opinions » Blog Archive » Friday Link Roundup

Pride & Opinions » Blog Archive » Friday Link Roundup — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:42:58 +0000

[...] Hampshire primary is over, are there litmus test issues for the GLBT community? * Feministe: “Minorities within Minorities within Minorities,” – a good roundup of intersectional perspectives on feminism, racism, and GLBT [...]

By: Orodemniades

Orodemniades — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:08:18 +0000

BFP’s post was absolutely brilliant. Despite being mixed race, I’d never looked at Women’s Studies in that view before and to be honest, I was truly shocked by how much had never occured to me, how many women I’d missed simply because I wasn’t aware of them…of their very existence, which is really the point, isn’t it?

By: charles

charles — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 18:38:44 +0000

i wanted to share my lucky and apparently unusual experience with Women’s Studies taught from a womanist perspective. i attended the Master’s program at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. This program, in my opinion, did exactly what was suggested earlier, turn the syllabus around and center the women of color experience. It could have very easily been called “Womanist Stdies.”
One of the professors, Dr. AnaLouise Keating, was Gloria Anzaldua’s co-editor on “This Bridge We Call Home” the follow-up to “This Bridge I Call My Back.” The intersection and overlapping of oppressions was the groundwork for the entire term of study. Dr. Keating and the head of the department, Dr. Claire Sahlin, both have backgrounds in feminist and womanist spirituality, which is also a main part of the program.
There were students from every continent on earth, which obviously added to the inclusive scope of the program. And there were also two women who were activists in the area of being inclusive of women with disabilites, and their insights were also taken by the profs and are now a part of the curricullum. it is a mind-opening, inspiring, and very inclusive program, and i would certainly recommend it highly to anyone.
When i think of how beautiful and open and inclusive the program i was lucky enough to study in was, it is really heartbreaking to read that so many women are not having this type of experience in women’s studies.

By: Sarah in Chicago

Sarah in Chicago — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:44:35 +0000

Thanks ever so much for bringing this up Holly, as it should be mentioned loads.

I’m white, but I’m not American, despite living here for my PhD. I’m transnational, having been born in New Zealand, living there and in continental Europe. While kiwiland will always be identified for me as ‘home’, the cultural melange that I have inside me now means I don’t and won’t really ever have a true ‘home’ anymore, as I am now almost always a foreigner in some respect.

Not that I want to say “boohoo, this white person has it so bad” because, honestly really, as a while person in the US, I really CAN’T have it that bad. However, I often feel that my identity and cultural values as ‘non-American’ get subsumed by ‘white’ as it is performed here in this country. I get myself denied by being positioned as ‘White American’ … course, until I open my mouth and start talking … but even then, my being white (and I am definitely white, being of english, welsh and dutch ethnic backgrounds) seems to trump everything, even overt statements to the contrary.

White is incredibly powerful.

I’ve actually had this discussion with a few people that are also transnationals (itself being a particularly privileged category of _chosen_ a-nationalism) where intersections of ethnicities, culture, and nationalities become HIGHLY blurred. It is only around other transnationals where I can speak of having a large majority of my ex-girlfriends having been non-white and non-american without it being seen as some kind of colonialising and objectifying fetish. Dating other transnationals for the most part MEANS a majority of your ex’s will be non-white, simply because the far majority of transnationals are non-white.

I’ve thought about ways in which I could access my non-American-ness here … joining an API (Asian/Pacific-Islander) group, as being from NZ, I am a PI. However, that WOULD be imposing my white privilege by forcing my inclusion on their space, so I don’t do that.

But, in this long-winded way, I wanted to speak to and agree with your mention of the intersections of identities and oppressions, because even this white person is very very aware of such.

By: Holly

Holly — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:02:42 +0000

The title is partly from Sisniega’s post, but on top of that, when it comes to this feeling of “I never knew there were X who were also X” that people have while they’re growing up, it often does have to do with being a minority. The point here is not just about overlapping oppressions, although it’s related. It’s about becoming invisible and not being able to conceptualize your experiences or yourself because the slivers of intersection are considered so miniscule by society at large. Katie’s post about being queer & deaf is a good example.

By: Elaine Vigneault

Elaine Vigneault — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:23:58 +0000

i think every youtube video should have captions – in many, the audio is so horrible i can’t make out a word they say.

That would be nice but I’d settle for a written description of the video or a transcript. Captions would only be helpful for the people who can still play the video. There are plenty of people with older computers, slow networks, spying bosses, sleeping babies, and other situations where videos are not feasible.
—
Also, I don’t think ‘minority’ is the right word for this. Some groups are ‘othered’ who aren’t in the minority. And overlapping oppressions are not a result of being in a minority. They are a result of power-mongers grabbing power whenever and where ever they can.

By: katie

katie — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:09:12 +0000

Thanks everybody. In light of examining our own privileges I am very much aware of being a white, middle class professional with a supportive family and an advanced degree in my field. Woc, both deaf and hearing have called me on it, as well as people of a different socieconomic class.. I have the luxury to examine my personal identity as a deaf/queer person, as compared to a deaf person who was robbed of an meaningful education struggling day to day just to survive.

Often I think we forget what benefits the “other” benefits us all. Captions on youtube being helpful for all of us? From my position, my only response would be, duh! It can be maddening seeing how other people can be blinded by their own privileges…

And while subtitles or a transcript would be nice, until better voice to caption recognition software is installed, a simple summary goes a really long way.

This is, of course, only one example of how accomodating “the other” benefits us all.

By: nexyjo

nexyjo — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 05:18:48 +0000

i think the vast majority of people are privileged in some areas. i know i am, even as a jewish transwoman. despite all my mental issues, i know i have able body privilege, white privilege, and most people see me as having het privilege, in that i’m married to a straight looking man.

it’s posts like this, and comments like katie’s, that help keep me grounded, keep me examining and searching myself. comments like katie’s, and posts like these, are never “might not be exactly the place to bring this up”. thanks for the posts and the comments.

by the way, little light over on taking steps, just posted a relevant essay, that also speaks to this issue. she’s been ill, and experienced a temporary loss of her able bodiedness..

and for what it’s worth, i think every youtube video should have captions – in many, the audio is so horrible i can’t make out a word they say.

By: Frankye

Frankye — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 05:12:36 +0000

Other people say gaysian? Asian people say gaysian? You mean I didn’t invent the word all by myself when I watched a slew of gay melodramas from mainly Korea, Japan, and China last year? Lots of the movies I watched shared certain characteristics, despite coming from different countries and eras. I thought I’d discovered a new genre of film, and privately named it “Gaysian Cinema.” Even though I was amused by my own cleverness, I never said it aloud because I couldn’t decide if it was a shitty thing for a non-Asian person to come up with, or if it was as benign as “blaxploitation.” Then I had to to wonder how benign the word “blaxploitation” actually is. And that was a lot of thinking to do when all I wanted was to watch two boys fall in love. Anyway, this is so off topic, but I had to comment. The trademarked gaysian startled me.