| IBARW - A discussion of 'whiteness' |
[06 Aug 2008|03:53pm] |
From about 5 years ago So peoples' opinions may well have changed.
But, rereading it, it's a very good discussion from all angles. It's looong, but worth it.
Whiteness
Also, for more pointers, check out IBARW itself for allies/unlearning racism links...
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| IBARW - Thanks to all of you who are doing the talking |
[06 Aug 2008|01:36am] |
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A question has come up.
I don't know what it would be appropriate for me as a white person to do about racism as an issue. It's not my fight and dipping my oar in without being asked would be patronising (IMO) - as if people who are impacted by racism aren't able to stand up for themselves.
Some answers that occur to me.
The more (both in quantity, and in amount of knowledge/self-awareness) individuals are clued up about race and their own complicitly/place within structures, the more likely change is to happen and the less it becomes 'the problem' of the POC.
And the less 'white' will be seen as a baseline/objective/neutral category
So one aspect of this which, frankly, I'd feel odd commenting on in much the same way, is white privelige.
That's not my work. Although I have been known to poke at it from time to time I am Goodness Gracious Meme in this discussion.
NB: This discussion (check the dates) is about five years old. The contributors may well have changed their opinions/should not be held to them
;-)
Critique it, if it feels unhelpful, but consider it, how it may work for you, how that may be an uncomfortable realisation, especially in liberal self id's (a apposite point which has already been made)
Google 'whiteness', and 'white privelige' or 'white antiracist work' and see what comes up. (that's all I do to find about things, y'know.)
Think about what being an ally might be, a term with which many people here are familiar in terms of LGBTQ 'allies/friends/family'
White Privelige, Unpacking Ihe Invisible Knapsack - Peggy McIntosh.
I know the list is semi-canonical these days, but read the introductory paragraphs.
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This week in LJ land: International Blog Against Racism Week (thanks ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) skibbley) |
[05 Aug 2008|03:27pm] |
For more info go here and here but basically:
( 1. Announce the week in your blog. )
**********
I'll be thinking about a post over the week, but I have one thing I'd like to ask.
While one of the obviously really important things about this is to get more POC(people of colour) voices out there, I'd really like to ask those of you who don't ID as POC to consider writing something. And if you don't want to feel like you're hijacking, write something small and brief and link to/highlight lots of POC stuff you might not otherwise read/link to.
Most of my life is in environments where there are very few (visible) POC.
I find I'm looked to to talk about/work on racism/racial diversity stuff, as if this is only and/or (which really is shit) more the responsbility of those who are affected by it, and not a collective issue. Or people assume I have knowledge/contacts that I don't have on eg BME* LGBT* issues. And when I don't, don't themselves go off and generate some leads ie google stuff (which is only what I'd be doing anyway)
Conversely, I have one or two environments where racism is regarded as a collective responsibility and other people generate work and ask/invite me to contribute/consult in a way that's to me pretty much exemplary.
(and if you want to debate POC, race stuff, ask me about this, share stories please do feel free to do it on this post. This has come up at a very timely moment for me and I'm very up for talking about it)
* Black Minority Ethnic, one of the current UK jargon terms for POC
* Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
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| Short notice of some excellent theorybitching! London/Brighton, Tonight/14th November |
[08 Nov 2007|07:27am] |
London: Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak - TONIGHT: Revisiting Postcolonialism.
5pm to 7pm, Goldsmiths Great Hall, Richard Hoggart Building. A ticketless event. All welcome.
How to get to Goldsmiths (New Cross, SE14)
Brighton: Sara Ahmed - Unhappy Queers
This seminar explores the significance of unhappiness, and in particular
unhappy endings, within queer cultural politics. It considers
firstly how we can understand happiness as a promise that directs us
towards some life choices and not others; happiness is imagined as
'following' the straight line. By refusing heterosexuality, certain lives
are seen as inevitably unhappy. Rather than responding to such
presumptions of inevitable unhappiness by depositing our hopes in the
figure of the happy queer, the paper argues that we need to re-read the
negativity of the unhappy queer as a starting point for social critique.
By contrasting Well of Loneliness with more recent texts, including the
novel Annie on My Mind (1982) and the film Lost and Delirious (2001), the
paper argues that unhappy queer archives help us to explore how
unhappiness does not originate with the fact of 'being' queer, but is an
effect of how 'being queer' is read as the origin of familial and social
unhappiness.
Wednesday evening, 14 November, at 5 pm in the EDB Lecture Theatre (room EDB 121), University of Sussex. All are welcome and a wine and cheese reception will follow the event.
************
I'm about 80% on for the Spivak, more so for the Ahmed
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| Bicon 2007 - Bicon Support Service (listeners, counsellors, first aiders) - Volunteers needed |
[09 Jul 2007|12:49am] |
As in several previous years, we'll be offering support over the bicon weekend in the form of counsellors/trained listeners and first aiders. This service can only run if we can get volunteers, so if you have experience in either of these areas, ( please have a look below the cut )Thankyou.
plumsbitch (Bicon Support Service Co-ordinator)
ETA: please email me on support@bicon2007.org.uk
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| Off to London to feel the RAWK |
[13 Jun 2007|02:20pm] |
have just meeting cancelled so am off to the Purple Turtle Camden in a bit to watch mr_lovelace and co - Lying Seasons Do Their Thang in the Battle of the Bands semifinal!
Wheeeee! Wooooooooooh!
Am not expecting anyone to be around, but if you do fancy it, shout or ring me or I'll see you there for THE ROCK
More info here
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| Gender Trust seeking helpline volunteers (home work, don't have to be trans) |
[04 Jun 2007|11:06pm] |
am going to be doing this, and just thought it might be interesting to other people on my flist. (training at warwick uni in a few weeks, expenses paid.)
**********************
The Trust has run a helpline for some years now and we are grateful for the time given by our volunteers that run this service. Currently the helpline operates between 19:00-22:00hrs Monday-Friday, however the Trust plans to extend this service in 2007 so that it is available 12 hours a day, 5 days per week.
In order to do this we require further volunteers. You do not need to be a member of the Trust, a trans person or effected in any way by gender identity issues as full training will be given, however we do require a comittment to the objectives of the Trust. You can live in any part of the United Kingdom as our system allows you to dial-in from your home location.
If you are interested in becoming part of our helpline team please contact Michelle Bridgman, Project Manager (michelle.bridgman@gendertrust.org.uk) stating your name, location and a brief statement as to why you are interested.
Thank you.
***********************************
for more info check:
http://www.gendertrust.org.uk/htm/index1.htm
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| Gay Activists Beaten and Arrested in Russia |
[29 May 2007|11:58am] |
more
here - Guardian
here - The Pink - Tatchell's account
and in The Sun!!1! (for which we have the always-wonderful Right Said Fred to thank.)
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| PLEASE READ - Glass Bar threatened with closure - 5 days to raise £14k |
[08 May 2007|01:36pm] |
The Glass Bar, one of the best of the already few women's bars in London is faced with closure. Although thus far things sound a bit messy, the future sounds much more realistic.
The Glass Bar is a REALLY important venue, it'd be terrible if it closed. A wonderful 'secret' bar in central london, and home of many long-running groups over the years including the London Bi Women's group, Shugs the Word (Black and Asian book club) and many more.
Please give what you can and pass this on anywhere any and everywhere, especially if you have media/community contacts.
http://www.thechocolateloungelondon.com/home.htm
http://www.gingerbeer.co.uk/listing.php?ListingID=31&CategoryID=
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| Lost phone |
[24 Mar 2007|06:33pm] |
again. Dropped this one down a drain. My life is a low budget UK TV sitcom storyline.
So will be needing no.s, leave 'em and any others you're okay to give me and think I might need in a (screened) comment. Will update when I get new no. sorted.
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| FYI: people getting UK health-based benefits eg long term incap ben., DLA, or registered deaf etc |
[21 Feb 2007|12:30am] |
you/we can apply for a railcard that gives 30% off train fares on all national networks. Costs £14 per year/£48 for 3 years.
Applies also to people with repeated severe epilectic attacks, registered as partially-sighted people, people who have NHS hearing aids etc....
Thanks heaps to artremis for this very exciting information.
More info here (they're also setting up a disability consulting panel, which some people here may be interested in)
I knew nothing about this and I bet it applies to loads of people so please pass on to anyone you know who it might benefit. Nobody fucking tells you this stuff, do they.
Also gives discounts at Holiday Inn hotels and theres an interesting feature here on planning visits to London with accessibility in mind...
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| perfection |
[12 Feb 2007|08:46pm] |
am sitting and surfing while my lovely cousin (yep, a cool member of my family. really) practices flamenco guitar. wonderful waves of music washing through this calm quiet space in berlin.
This is wonderful.
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[10 Feb 2007|01:31pm] |
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hope bifest is going well, I bet its rocking! :)
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| Just coz everyone's doing it, doesn't mean they're not RIGHT |
[05 Feb 2007|11:50am] |
I love Charlie Brooker with all my heart and soul
Maybe I should send him a Valentine. Beautiful enough on its own, the first comment takes it into the sublime.
Public, because everyone should read and love.
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| that was probably one of my best New Years' thingies ever |
[01 Jan 2007|10:56pm] |
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mood |
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tiredly euphoric |
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music |
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Casimir Pulaski Day |
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Which was wonderful for many reasons, certainly among them being just home from a two part(y) NYE London Adventure, bookended either side by loud and quiet sessions with prime home folks.
Magical. Thank you to everyone who was a part of it, whether in person, by text, in thoughts etc...
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| Queer Theory help |
[29 Dec 2006|01:12am] |
okay, I've been out of the field as a full-timer for about a decade, and have kept a bit in touch, but suspect I'm missing alot. Want to catch up, for self, and for work stuff upcoming.
SO: could people update me with vital/useful/interesting links/articles/books on where QT has gone in about the last 6/7 years. the only thing I'm remotely uptodate with is Eve Sedgwick.
This left public so if you know anyone else who can help, you can point them at it. Would very much appreciate all pointers, no matter how silly/obvious they seem.
Also, could someone remind me of the title of that book that crosses/compares Crip and Queer Theory please?
EDIT: to be a bit more specific/useful, particularly anything in the Queer Performativity line, Performative writing/pedagogy, crossovers with SM/narrative therapy/queer speech acts and/or performance studies.
Ta!
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| If I do not post a meme that hugely simplistically defines 'gay rights' |
[03 Oct 2006|01:47pm] |
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both in terms of the definition being extremely problematic, and its assumption that 'gay rights' exist in an acontextual vaccum, I am ignoring it, therefore I 'don't believe in gay rights'.
%yeah right%
FUCK OFF
Please post whatever the hell you like in your journal
[EDITed cos I've just remembered what this reminds me of, although ergotia's excellent point reminds me that they're not directly comparable, but in emotional terms.... Being at college, and being for all of about two seconds an enthusiastic Socialist Worker (yeah I know). The crunch point was being told (by a white guy) that 'if I didn't go on the Anti-Nazi league march, I was a racist'. Which eg is much more extreme and offensive, but the dynamic is reminiscent)
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| Life is Sweet |
[15 Aug 2006|12:22am] |
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I am *ridiculously* happy.
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