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Peggy Stabile: The difference between gender and sex

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Peggy Stabile: The difference between gender and sex

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Peggy Stabile is a high school counselor and a facilitator or PFLAG ( Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) meetings. Peggy speaks out about how through her experience she has met individuals who, while assigned as male or female at birth fall into all of the non-conforming gender categories. She has watched some teens struggle as they try to understand why their biological sex does not match how they feel physically or emotionally.

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"Knowledge is the accumulation of facts and the correlation between them. Wisdom is the said knowledge of life guided by experience. Wisdom comes as we temper and train our knowledge with insights and experiences." Rev. David Hegg, The Signal, May 5, 2018.

Several weeks ago, Rev. Hegg wrote these words in an article for The Signal The following week he addressed truth, lies, and hypocrisy. According to his definitions, truth is alignment with reality and lies, when exposed, damage the liar's credibility in many areas or, at least they should. He feels that lies have become a prominent political tool. I agree with all of these points. It is actually the attack on the transgender community that comes in the second half of the commentary that I feel compelled to address.

In this piece, published on May 12, Rev. Hegg states that gender and sex are the same. Actually, within the fields of biology, psychology and psychobiology, this is not at all the case. For example, according to Medical News Today, one's sex refers to "one's genitalia and hormonal makeup that have been determined at birth." Sex, therefore, is a biological concept. Gender, as defined by the World Health Organization is "...the socially constructed characteristics of women and men such as norms, roles and relationships. It varies from society to society and can be changed." The conclusion drawn, then, is that sex and gender are not, in fact, interchangeable

Rev. Hegg acknowledges that some babies are born with "vestiges of both male and female apparatus" but "none are born with anything other than the two possible genders." As a matter of fact, medical practitioners refer to these babies as "intersex" but because of societal demands, they are, nonetheless, assigned a biological sex - either male or female - by a doctor or parents at birth; that biological sex, however, may not conform with the way the child develops physically or emotionally. At early ages, often during the toddler years, many of these youngsters express discomfort with the biological sex they have been assigned and show preference for gender roles that do not conform with society's expectations.

There are also conditions in which babies are born with external genitalia and secondary sex characteristics that do not match up with the XY chromosomes associated with a male or the XX chromosomes of a female. Sometimes there is even an extra male or female chromosome thrown into the mix or sex hormones that are misaligned. And, further, there are individuals whose physical characteristics match the biological sex they are assigned but whose brains may not have developed as that particular sex during the gestation period. Several MRI studies have shown that the brain structure of transgender individuals show similarities with individuals whose gender they identify with. Thus, we find that, in addition to the birth of males and females, some individuals are born non-binary (do not fit the male and female binary), transgender, or gender non-conforming.

Through my life experiences as a high school counselor, and, more recently, as a facilitator at our PFLAG meetings, I have met individuals who, while assigned as male or female at birth, fall into all of the non-conforming gender categories mentioned above. I have watched some teens struggle as they, themselves, try to understand why their biological sex does not match how they feel physically or emotionally. I have spoken with their parents, often equally confused, who are supporting them in every way they can. I have listened to parents of elementary school children and preschoolers who recognize that their children's gender roles do not conform to the sex assigned at birth. Sadly, I have also met with parents who want nothing to do with their gender non-conforming children or who try to force change upon them, doing irreparable harm. (Suicide attempts among transgender youth are 30% higher than those of the general population.) I've also met many individuals who understand the reality of their orientations and are leading wonderfully productive lives as who they were meant to be. The transgender individuals that I know are not lying to themselves or anyone else. They do not have a warped sense of reality, and are most definitely not championing their gender orientation as a hallmark of societal maturity, as Rev. Hegg suggests.

I refer Rev. Hegg to respected doctors such as psychiatrist, brain specialist, and author, Daniel Amen, and psychologist, sexologist, and author, John Money, to check the facts about sex and gender. I also invite him to join me at a PFLAG meeting to learn about the real-life experiences of transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming individuals and their families. Hopefully, armed with facts that result in knowledge, coupled with the insight he gains from the experiences of these families, he will grow in wisdom and refrain from future attacks on this segment of our population, who, also, are counted as our brothers and sisters in the eyes of God.
Peggy Stabile is a Valencia resident and is Education and Advocacy Liaison for PFLAG SCV.

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Peggy Stabile: The difference between gender and sex

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"Knowledge is the accumulation of facts and the correlation between them. Wisdom is the said knowledge of life guided by experience. Wisdom comes as we temper and train our knowledge with insights and experiences." Rev. David Hegg, The Signal, May 5, 2018. Several weeks ago, Rev.

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Stereo- a film about reversed gender stereotypes 

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Stereo- a film about reversed gender stereotypes 

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This is a short film about reversed gender stereotypes where girls play sports and are the boss and boys wear dresses and don't play sports. This film portrays how society plays a major role in the operation of gender. The star of this short film wants to wear dresses and be in theatre but society doesn't expect that.

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Stereo - a film about reversed gender stereotypes

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Proposals to Ban Harmful Gender Stereotypes in Advertising 

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Proposals to Ban Harmful Gender Stereotypes in Advertising 

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This article proposes a ban on harmful gender stereotypes in advertising to decrease social construction of gender. The guidelines include the prohibition to prevent ads featuring glamorous, attractive, successful, aspirational, or healthy people lifestyles featuring one gender only. Advertisers will have to take into consideration to portray both gender in both socially male and female settings.

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The body responsible for writing the UK's advertising rules, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), recently published a consultation on a proposed rule to prohibit the use of harmful gender stereotypes in marketing and advertisements (ads) together with draft guidance to help explain how the rule would apply in practice. Nicky Strong, Consultant, and Ashley Borthwick at law firm Womble Bond Dickinson Proposed ban on harmful gender stereotypes explain for Lawyer Monthly.
It is proposed that an additional rule will be added to the UK advertising codes which prohibits "... gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence".
Proposed guidance General principles
The proposal follows an Advertising Standards Authority's (the ASA) report undertaken in 2017. It was considered more needed to be done in relation to depictions in ads of gender stereotypical roles and characteristics as well as depictions that mock people for not conforming to stereotype.

The proposed guidance is clear that the proposed prohibition is not intended to prevent ads from:

featuring glamourous, attractive, successful, aspirational or healthy people or lifestyles

featuring one gender only, including in ads for products developed for and aimed at one gender; and

presenting gender stereotypes as a means to challenge their negative effects.

It is also clear that gender stereotypes which are perceived as harmful are unlikely to circumvent these rules by the use of humour. The ASA will consider stereotypes from the perspective of the group of individuals being stereotyped.

A number of guiding principles and examples of ads which are likely to be unacceptable are contained in the proposed guidance under the following broad headings:

Scenarios featuring gender stereotypical roles and characteristics

Ads may feature people undertaking gender stereotypical roles or displaying gender stereotypical characteristics.

However, marketers must take care to avoid suggesting that stereotypical roles or characteristics are:

always uniquely associated with one gender

the only options available to one gender; or

never carried out or displayed by another gender.

Examples of ads that are unlikely to be acceptable include:

ads contrasting male and female stereotypes e.g. an adventurous man contrasted with a delicate or dainty woman

ads depicting one gender's inability to perform a particular task e.g. a woman's inability to park a car or a man's inability to change a nappy; and

an ad that belittles a man for displaying emotional vulnerability.

Scenarios featuring pressure to conform to an idealised gender stereotypical body shape or physical features

Ads may feature idealised body shapes and physical features stereotypically associated with women and men, but care must be taken to avoid suggesting that an individual's happiness or emotional wellbeing should depend on conforming to those stereotypes.
Scenarios aimed at or featuring children
For example, an ad should not imply that a person's physique, which does not conform to an ideal stereotypically associated with their gender (e.g. a man without a "6 pack" or woman without a small waist), is the significant reason for them not being successful in, for instance, their social or romantic lives.

Ads can be targeted at, and feature, a specific gender, and show children undertaking an activity which is stereotypically associated with their gender or using colours, music or settings which are stereotypically associated with their gender.

However, the guidance warns not to explicitly convey that a particular children's product, activity, career etc is only appropriate for one gender. Ads should not, for example, show boys/girls being excluded from a particular activity.

Particular care must be taken not to contrast stereotypical characteristics of boys and girls "...in a way which reinforces perceptions of what a children can or cannot be" because of gender.

Scenarios aimed at or featuring potential vulnerable groups

Ads should be sensitive to particular groups of people who may be under pressure to conform to particular gender stereotypes such as young people and new mothers.
Scenarios featuring people who don't conform to a gender stereotype
For example, it is unlikely to be acceptable for an ad to be aimed at new mums which suggests that looking attractive or keeping a clean home is a priority over other factors such as their emotional wellbeing.

Ads should avoid making fun of people for not conforming to gender stereotypes. As referred to above, the use of humour does not mitigate what is otherwise considered to be a depiction in the ad of a harmful gender stereotype.

The examples of what is unlikely to be acceptable include an ad that belittles a man for carrying out stereotypically "female" roles or tasks, and ads that make fun of groups/individuals for not conforming to stereotypical expectations of their gender.

Whilst the proposed new prohibition in respect of harmful gender stereotyping is to be welcomed, based upon our experience of reviewing copy and campaigns, we anticipate that marketing teams across a number of sectors, including domestic cleaning/DIY products, motor industry, fashion, cosmetics and beauty industries would benefit from more, and more detailed, examples. This is especially this case as some of the examples in the proposed guidance overlap and/or add little to the guiding principles.

We also anticipate that the proposed prohibition will be particularly challenging for brands that seek to adopt a humorous style. The ASA is clear that what it considers to be unacceptable depictions in ads will not be mitigated by the use of humour or "banter". Does this mean that, for example, the older-style Diet Coke ads featuring women office workers gathering to watch a handsome construction worker strip off his shirt and then drink a diet coke would fall foul of these rules? On our reading of the guidance, the answer is a resounding yes, on a number of fronts.

The CAP's consultation specifically asks for feedback on the draft guidance as well as on the rule itself. We would encourage businesses to respond to this, with practical examples where possible, to persuade CAP to elaborate more fully on what the rules mean in practice.

Businesses have until 5pm on 26 July 2018 to respond to the consultation which is available here.

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Proposals to Ban Harmful Gender Stereotypes in Advertising

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The body responsible for writing the UK's advertising rules, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), recently published a consultation on a proposed rule to prohibit the use of harmful gender stereotypes in marketing and advertisements (ads) together with draft guidance to help explain how the rule would apply in practice.

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This scene in the comical movie Anchorman discusses the idea how all news anchorman are man and why not have a women on the team. They introduce a woman as the late night talk host and the team is upset because of the socially constructed team anchorMAN.

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Girl Toys VS. Boy Toys: The Experiment- BBC Stories 

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Girl Toys VS. Boy Toys: The Experiment- BBC Stories 

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This video asks the question to parents "Are you sure you don't gender-stereotype children in the toys you choose for them?" This video took a boy and dressed him up as a girl and sat him down near a bunch of toys with an adult, the adult picked girl toys for the boy because she thought he was a girl.

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Girl toys vs boy toys: The experiment - BBC Stories

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Examples of Male Privilege in All Areas of Life

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Examples of Male Privilege in All Areas of Life

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The norm is that "real men" are the ones who don't show their emotions, who value sports and physical strength. That's not always the case and for the men who don't fit into those categories often feel like they don't fit into society. An example of products are that men can buy clothes designed for your gender that have pockets they can actually use. Women are often focused on being "slim" so pockets are hard to come by when buying women clothing such as sweatpants or even some jeans.

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As a man, what does gender equality mean to you?

Because while fairness is a valuable goal, equality for equality's sake isn't nearly as important as justice - for liberation's sake.

By naming the problem, we're not just saying "this is wrong, so let's fix it." Instead, we're inviting you to consider the impact of gender inequality on your life, and we're encouraging you to make a change for your own sake and for the sake of your community.

Our current cultural expectations, legislative system, and social programming work to sustain a hierarchy that constantly places men on the top. Consequently, men consistently achieve, succeed, and benefit at the expense of every other gender. That's called male privilege.
But here's the thing about male privilege: it hurts everyone, including you. This is because accessing male privilege often requires you to conform to a toxic norm of masculinity .
You know this norm - it's idea that the only "real men" are the ones who don't show their emotions, who solely value sports and physical strength, who don't reach out for help when they need support.

And you probably also know that no man completely fits into this narrow box of masculinity, and that our society is unforgiving toward people who don't fit what they're "supposed" to be.

So we have to face the ways traditional masculinity is rewarded with privilege in order to liberate everyone from the painful trap of society's oppressive boxes.

You don't have to be a bad person to benefit from male privilege, and recognizing your privilege doesn't mean saying you don't deserve good things.

But once you understand that these often invisible perks aren't available to everyone, you can see why addressing privilege means recognizing that people of all genders deserve equal access to basic respect for our humanity. There's more about this at the end this article, but for now I'll end with saying I'm so glad you're taking steps to make a change by reading this article and sharing it with the other men and boys in your life.

Without further ado, let's face these examples of male privilege in the US so we can make the change we all deserve.

3. You're not automatically assumed to not know what you're talking about - or subjected to mansplaining.

4. Common vocabulary favors your gender as the default, with language like "mankind" and "foreman," and dictionary definitions of words created by men.

6. You're not expected to swear less, apologize more, or other supposedly "lady-like" behaviors that reflect stereotypes of your gender being submissive.

15. You can get praise for ordinary parental duties or for being a single father, while mothers are simply expected to do the same and even criticized for single motherhood.

16. You're not said to be going against your gender's "natural instinct" or your role in society by not having children.

17. You can be outgoing or open about your choices without people calling you an "attention seeker."

18. You can enjoy traditionally "masculine" hobbies like sports without people saying you're just doing it to impress men.

19. You're more likely to be congratulated for having lots of sex, rather than shamed for it or called a "slut."

26. You can be open about enjoying sex without people feeling automatically entitled to having sex with you.

28. People don't assume something's wrong with you if you don't want to get married - or insist you must be lying, and warn you that "time is running out."

29. You're not expected to change your name if you get married or questioned if you don't.

30. Products like Viagra exist with the aim of helping cisgender men maintain their sex lives as they get older, and social norms congratulate you for doing so. There is far less support for women to continue being sexual beings as they age.

31. You can be expressive about your sexuality in conversation, art, music, and more, without people accusing you of "using your body to get by."

32. You can participate in kink, BDSM, and other alternative sexual practices without being judged as a "slut" or facing assumptions that you're not in control of your own sexual choices.

33. You can be non-monogamous without people judging you for going against your gender's "nature."

Gendered Harassment and Violence

36. You're less likely to be the target of street harassment. The majority of women have experienced street harassment in their lives, and most of the men who do are queer or gender non-conforming .

39. You can drink in a bar alone unbothered. In many other public spaces, including bookstores, coffee shops, festivals, and more, a woman alone is often assumed to be available for men to talk to and harass.

40. You can travel alone without worrying about being targeted for violence because of your gender.

41. You're less likely to experience intimate partner violence.

42. You're less likely to be stalked.

43. You're less likely to be the victim of revenge porn.

44. You're less likely to be raped, especially if you never go to prison.

48. You can enjoy partying without people blaming your "lifestyle" if you're sexually assaulted.

50. You can set a drink down at a party without having to worry about being drugged and assaulted.

55. You can age naturally without being judged for "letting yourself go" if you experience changes like graying hair, gaining weight, or getting wrinkles without using cosmetic products to cover these changes up.

56. Your gender is considered to get "finer with age," while women are considered less desirable.

57. You're under less pressure to be thin, and face fewer social and economic consequences of being fat than women do.

58. You aren't expected to eat less, with ideas of being "lady-like" including dainty portions.

66. You can show your nipples in public, and are less likely to be harassed overall for showing some skin - even when women in public are using breasts for breastfeeding, they can be subject to harassment.

68. You can sweat naturally without being shamed or judged - and the media shows people of your gender sweating from physical activity a lot more often.

77. Successful people of your gender who are , , and other public figures are respected by the media for what they do - not just their appearance and clothes.

82. Comedians of your gender don't face stereotypes of your gender as universally "unfunny."

85. In online gaming, you can play characters of your gender that aren't hypersexualized.

89. If a person of your gender isn't elected to public office, it's not because of their gender.

91. A political candidate of your gender isn't scrutinized more for his appearance than his abilities.

92. A political candidate of your gender won't be penalized by the idea that they can't balance both family life and public office.

93. Politicians of your gender aren't said to have their abilities negatively affected by bodily functions like menstruation.

94. Fictional media is more likely to show your gender in positions of political leadership, giving the public the impression that you're naturally born to be in charge.

95. Political leaders of your gender aren't judged for not demonstrating "lady-like" behavior that's the opposite of qualities that public views as leadership skills, like confidence or "not being afraid to speak your mind."

96. You don't have politicians primarily of another gender making laws to control your gender's bodies.

97. There are more lawmakers of your gender determining the rules we all have to live by. For instance, women make up not even 20% of Congress.

100. You can have strong political opinions without people calling you a "feminazi" or judging you for being "opinionated."

103. You're not insulted for going "against your gender's nature" for choosing to have a career, but not children.

104. If you choose to have children, you're not questioned about how having a family would hurt your ability to do your job.

108. You get more financial support for your work - like more financing for resources , more funding for start-ups , more lab and office space .

109. You're assumed to be the leader of your household - so you can avoid stereotypes like assuming you'd have to "check with your husband" about taking a promotion.

111. You're more likely to work in "formal employment," which is government regulated to insure wages and certain rights, and less likely work in "pink collar jobs," like domestic labor, which are considered "women's work" and have less stability, job security, and pay.

113. If you're a single father, that doesn't put your household at the highest risk for poverty - lone mother households are most susceptible.

115. You're not stereotyped at work as not belonging in higher paid roles, like being mistaken for the nurse if you're the doctor, or for a secretary when you're a lawyer.

116. You can put little time into your appearance without a negative impact on your work life, like having people believe you're unprofessional or not put together.

117. You can spend less on products to maintain your "professional" appearance. Women are expected to spend more on clothing, accessories, and beauty products, even when they're earning less.

118. You can be assertive at work without being labeled "bitchy" or "bossy."

119. You're more likely to be perceived as a leader.

121. If you're never promoted, it's not because of your gender.

124. If you're careless with money, it's not attributed to your gender.

127. You're less likely to have your failures at work as a sign that your gender shouldn't be doing this type of work. This is especially true in male-dominated industries and leadership positions.

131. You can look up to professional role models of your gender in your field and see them lauded for their achievements, not just their appearance.

133. You're more likely to be remembered for your own work accomplishments, rather than your marriage or appearance.

Childhood and Education

153. As you're growing up, you have more positive role models of your gender to choose from in media, history books, fiction, and more.

157. At school, you can learn about your gender's contributions to the world without needing extra electives or men's studies departments to be included in the curriculum.

Religion (And the Lack Thereof)

158. If you're religious, you're much more likely to have religious leaders of your gender, with every major religion led by men.

159. If you're religious, you're less likely to be assumed incapable of choosing your religion for yourself, like when people assume that Muslim women need "saving."

166. Sacred and religious figures and deities like the Christian God are usually portrayed as your gender.

Male Privilege is Real, But Intersectionality Means That It Looks Different for Different Men

Examples of male privilege demonstrate how the patriarchy shows up - but they aren't representations of every man's life, at every moment. They aren't things that only men have ever experienced.

It's just more likely that you'll get these benefits if you're a man, because they're supported by the system of patriarchy.

But a man of color may have to worry about being targeted for racist violence. A mentally ill man could be targeted for police brutality. A gay man could be the target of homophobic violence.

These examples don't invalidate the existence of male privilege, which are benefits denied to people who aren't men due to their gender. But they show why the context of intersectionality (how different forms of systemic oppression intersect) matters.

In other words, we tend to think of male privilege as what men experience, as opposed to what women experience.

But the truth is, everything we're taught about how we can determine people's gender at birth and categorize everyone as a man or a woman is wrong.

For example, , , and people are outside of the gender binary of men of women, and transgender women who are treated like "men" aren't experiencing male privilege.

These realities complicate examples from research on gender oppression, which unfortunately tend to refer only to cisgender men and women. At the end of this article, I'll share the work of some writers who fill in the gaps of who we tend to erase when we use binary language.

This collection shows the real magnitude of what we're dealing with when it comes to gender-based oppression. Though some examples may seem small on their own, they show how the larger system of patriarchy is maintained every day.

So What Can You Do About Male Privilege?

This is the world we're living in - inequality from casual interactions to deeply entrenched gender norms, creating social, legal, and health consequences for people who aren't men.

So what can you do about it? Use this resource to build awareness. Notice how you're contributing to these harmful cultural norms. And check out some further reading for next steps on addressing male privilege:

I thank people like Adrian Ballou , Michal "MJ" Jones , Sam Dylan Finch , and Pidgeon Pagonis for their work in helping us change the erasive language the gender binary relies on.

Some of these male privilege examples appeared on the following lists, so go support these writers as well:
Maisha Z. Johnson is the Digital Content Associate and Staff Writer of Everyday Feminism. You can find her writing at the intersections and shamelessly indulging in her obsession with pop culture around the web. Maisha's past work includes Community United Against Violence (CUAV), the nation's oldest LGBTQ anti-violence organization, and Fired Up!, a program of California Coalition for Women Prisoners. Through her own project, Inkblot Arts, Maisha taps into the creative arts and digital media to amplify the voices of those often silenced. Like her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @mzjwords.

Filed Under: Tagged With: Articles, Gender Posts

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160+ Examples of Male Privilege in All Areas of Life - Everyday Feminism

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As a man, what does gender equality mean to you? Because while fairness is a valuable goal, equality for equality's sake isn't nearly as important as justice - for liberation's sake. By naming the problem, we're not just saying "this is wrong, so let's fix it."

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This CNN video discusses the differences between race and white privilege. A white man says he will never seem suspicious to the public even if he is wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. If a black man was wearing sweatpants and a hoodie people would think he looks suspicious. African Americans are bothered by the fact that there is racial profiling in America.

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Exploring Progressive Work, Money, and Living 

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Exploring Progressive Work, Money, and Living 

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Jennifer Taylor Chan writes a blog post about an article she read that proclaimed LGBT people can overcome heterosexual privilege. She shared some facts about the LGBTQ community such as, "Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that 46% of homeless LGBTQ+ youth ran away because of family rejection of their sexual orientation, 43% were forced out by their parents and 32% faced sexual, physical or emotional abuse at home". She goes onto share her opinion in hoped that it goes noticed by the majority of people.

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At first, I thought, "Great - a problem I've been dealing with all my life!" And then, upon clicking the post, that the proposed solution was nothing more than, "consider your lifestyle," and, "there are savings to be had just going from a 0% savings rate to a 5% savings rate."

I obviously don't speak on behalf of the entire community. I also don't speak on behalf of poor or working queer individuals. But as a queer woman of colour who has a lot of feels about a community I'm proudly part of, here are some things that need to be shared:

Heterosexual privilege is not having to worry about coming out to your family and potentially be kicked out of your home.

Heterosexual privilege is not having to worry about coming out to your friends and hoping they won't start misconstruing all your future demonstrations of platonic intimacy with them.

Heterosexual privilege is not having to worry about coming out to your coworkers and hoping that dynamics in the workplace doesn't change.

Heterosexual privilege is not having to worry about coming out repeatedly every single time you change jobs, make new friends or meet random strangers who want to know about your partner.

Basically, heterosexual privilege is not having to worry about coming out over and over again until you die.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that every year, up to 1.6 million youth experience homelessness in the U.S. 40% of them identify as LGBTQ+, although it's estimated that LGBTQ+ youth only make up 7% of the population.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that 46% of homeless LGBTQ+ youth ran away because of family rejection of their sexual orientation, 43% were forced out by their parents and 32% faced sexual, physical or emotional abuse at home.

Heterosexual privilege is not recognizing the name Tyler Clementi.

Heterosexual privilege is forgetting that being caught engaging in homosexual behaviour is still illegal in some parts of the world.

Heterosexual privilege is viewing Pride as just a fun party without so much as realizing the event first started as a riot to condemn the police raid at Stonewall Inn.

Heterosexual privilege is not knowing what Stonewall was.

Heterosexual privilege is living in Toronto and not knowing what the Toronto bathhouse raids were.

Heterosexual privilege is living in Toronto and being angry at BLM for stalling Toronto's Pride Parade in 2016 and accusing them of taking space from others (when some of the co-founders are queer).

Heterosexual privilege is feminism lite and selectively not reading any feminist theory written by queer feminists of colour.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that 33% of LGBTQ+ youth have attempted suicide in comparison to 7% of youth in general.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that over half of LGBTQ+ students (47% of GB men and 73% of LB women) have thought about suicide.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in 2010, 47% of trans youth in Ontario had considered suicide and 19% attempted suicide in the prior year.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that LGBTQ+ youth are 4x more likely to attempt suicide then heterosexual peers.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that youth who have been rejected by families for being queer are 8+ times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in 2011, 49% of trans students, 33% of lesbian students and 40% of gay students have experienced sexual harassment in school.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in the U.S., 42% of queer youth say the community in which they live in is not accepting to LGBTQ+ people.Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in the U.S., LGBTQ+ youth are twice as likely as their peers to be physically assaulted, kicked or shoved at.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in the U.S., 26% of LGBTQ+ youth say that their biggest problems are not being accepted by family, bullying at school and a fear to be out/open.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in the U.S., approximately 73% of LGBTQ+ youth state they are more honest online about themselves than in the real world.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in the U.S. 92% of LGBTQ+ youth say they hear negative messages about being LGBTQ. The primary sources are school, online and their peers.

Heterosexual privilege is not needing to be selective as to where you go for vacation because there are no laws in the world that criminalize heterosexual relationships.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in Canada half of transgender individuals earn $15,000 or less each year, despite that 71% have some level of post-secondary education.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in Canada only 37% of trans people are employed full-time, while in the U.S. trans people experience double the rate of unemployment compared to the general population.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that, in some cases, female-to-male trans workers earn more post-transition, male-to-female trans workers can see their earnings drop by almost a third.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in the U.S., trans people are nearly 4x more likely to have a household income of less than $10,000 a year in comparison to the general population.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in the U.S., 47% of trans people report that they have been fired, not hired, denied a promotion or experienced an adverse situation at work of being trans or non-gender conforming.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in the U.S., 47% of trans people report experiencing sexual assault at least once in their lifetime.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in the U.S., 39% of trans people report serious psychological stress, which is 8x higher than the rate of the average American.

Heterosexual privilege is not realizing that in the U.S, trans people are 5x more likely than the general population of HIV infection,

Heterosexual privilege is not experiencing the cognitive dissonance of wanting to choose a high-paying occupation but also feeling obligated to pursue a lower-paying occupation such as a community organizer, social worker or teacher, in order to help out your community.

Heterosexual privilege is having an entire personal finance conference about women in finance and not once speak about issues that face queer women.

Heterosexual privilege is acknowledging your heterosexual privilege but failing to donate your time, money or energy into improving the quality of life for queer people.

We can learn a few lessons from this article.

First and foremost, poor and working queer people need to be involved in these discussions. I want to learn how to overcome straight privilege from queer people. I don't care for learning about how to overcome straight privilege from a self-identified cis-straight person.

Second, self-identified straight people need to undertake more research into the complexities of privilege before they talk about it with any sort of authority. What helped formulate your thinking? What books do you read? What articles do you read? What critical theory do you read? Without learning about your privilege from members of marginalized communities, your knowledge becomes limited to your lived experiences. That doesn't cut it. The least you can do is spend a weekend teaching yourself this stuff. It's important.

Third, acknowledging one's privilege is a pivotal first step - but it's only the first step. Radical systemic change involves sustained action. Volunteer your time. Donate your money. Shop at queer-owned businesses. Sign petitions. Tell other people to sign petitions. Fight for raising the minimum wage. Join a movement. Use your platform to promote policies, programs, activists, organizations, etc. that are helping build up their community. You're not a de facto ally just because you have some sort of self-awareness. That's baseline.
https://egale.ca/backgrounder-lgbtq-youth-suicide/
https://www.hrc.org/youth-report/view-and-share-statistics
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2017/03/29/homeless-rates-for-lgbt-teens-are-alarming-heres-how-parents-can-change-that/?utm_term=.a3251c81d582
http://www.macleans.ca/society/for-transgender-women-the-pay-equity-gap-is-even-wider/

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This Is What It Actually Means to Have Straight Privilege, Because It's Not Just About Acknowledging Your Privilege and Sitting On Your Hands

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Yesterday, I made a video on an Instagram story and tweeted my thoughts on an article that proclaims LGBT people can overcome heterosexual privilege . At first, I thought, "Great ­- a problem I've been dealing with all my life!" And then, upon clicking the post, that the proposed solution

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Denice Frohman speaks out at Colby College about the hardships straight people don't have to think about that the LGBTQ community goes through everyday.

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Oppression, Privilege & Intersectionality 

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Oppression, Privilege & Intersectionality 

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This article discusses how women struggle for equality and must understand how different identities intersect so that they can be sure to include each of them in the goals for the movement for equal rights. This article highlights a few of the identities such as race, disability status, religion, sexuality, and age

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Blackburn Center | Standing Together to End Violence

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Oppression, Privilege & Intersectionality | Blackburn Center | Standing Together to End Violence

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Over the past month, we have explored one particular aspect of intersectionality: race. But race is just one way that women can experience either further

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This TED talk by Kimberle Crenshaw introduces some key concepts of intersectionality through the lens of race and gender while highlighting its role in social issues. She talks about how the malory of people knew certain names from the media and the majority of people knew the male names and none knew the female names because gender is the difference. There's violence against women and police violence against women and their names get lost and forgotten because there are no frames.

ps. The video was too long to upload. This is the main website and you click "media" and can find the video from there.

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What is Intersectionality?
the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage." -Oxford Dictionaries
Intersectionality is the acknowledgement that within groups of people with a common identity, whether it be gender, sexuality, religion, race, or one of the many other defining aspects of identity, there exist intragroup differences. In other words, each individual experiences social structure slightly differently because the intersection of their identities reflects an intersection of overlapping oppressions. Therefore, sweeping generalizations about the struggle or power of a particular social group fail to recognize that individuals in the group also belong to other social groups and may experience other forms of marginalization.Unfortunately, institutions and social movements based on a commonly shared identity tend to disregard the presence of other marginalized identities within the group.

Beyond institutions and social movements, many scholars have disregarded the importance of intersectionality in their respective fields, including deviance and subcultural studies. In the late 1970s, feminist subculture scholar Angela McRobbie brought an intersectional lens to her field of study when she addressed the lack of female perspectives in the exploration of subcultures. In "Girls and Subcultures," McRobbie claims that the absence of girls in youth subculture studies reflects a lack of effort from researchers and scholars to find female perspectives rather than a lack of women in subcultures ( McRobbie 1991: 1-16). Furthermore, McRobbie worked to bring a class perspective into subculture studies when she wrote about "The Culture of Working-Class Girls" (35).

Contemporary scholar T. J. Berard has expanded this intersectional approach even further, claiming that subculture scholars "need to address issues of class, race and ethnicity, sex and gender, social ecology, and issues of adolescence and human development as already intersecting" ( Berard 2014: 330). When scholars fail to embrace an intersectional approach to subculture studies, they run the risk of devaluing identities and misunderstanding the various oppressions that may contribute to the culture and practices of a subculture. Studying intersectionality within subcultures not only allows social scientists to better understand subcultures, but also allows them to better understand intersectionality within mainstream society through comparison.

Intersectionality in History

, which devalued their female identity ( Kimberle Crenshaw , who coined the term "intersectionality" in 1989, has that while the word may be relatively new, the concept is anything but modern. Through a historical lens, it's clear that the leaders of many social movements, such as the feminist and civil rights movements of the 1960's, marginalized their fellow group members by glossing over the influence of intersecting identities on social inequality. In her commonly referenced piece, " Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color," Crenshaw discusses the invisibility of the identities and oppression of black women within both the feminist movement, which devalued their black identity, and the civil rights movement Crenshaw 1993: 1242). Moreover, homophobia and transphobia have played a part in marginalizing queer individuals in several historical social movements ( Smith 1983: 83-84, 190-201).

Black feminists, queers, and working-class individuals combatted the lack of intersectional perspective within society by creating their own spaces to organize (, for example, created an alternative feminist perspective that she called "womanist," in which she encouraged followers to consider race, class, gender, disability, sexuality, and more in their social movements and critical analysis of societal issues ( Giddings 1984). Audre Lorde Lorde 1984). Furthermore, activists like Barbara Smith started organizations, such as the Combahee River Collective, which is "committed to struggling against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression" ( Combahee River Collective). Of course, there are many more historical examples of intersectional ignorance, oppression, and resistance, but it is useful to consider contemporary examples as well.

Although many social scientists recognize intersectionality as an important step in the history of social movements, theorists have developed different, and sometimes conflicting, interpretations of the role of intersectionality in society. However, the conceptual flexibility of intersectionality allows us to examine a wide variety of social dynamics and groups, such as subcultures, through a new lens ( Davis 2008). Alt hough subcultures often abandon social norms, racist, classist, and patriarchal systems still invade subculture spaces. Therefore, the overlapping power structures that accompany intersecting identities affect how participants of a subculture interact with each other, impact how the public views particular participants, and create the need for groups of people to form new subcultures based around their identity. Moreover, intersectional experiences within subcultures have led subculture participants to promote an intersectional analysis of systems of oppression within their own subculture through various forms of resistance.

Afro-Punk: Race, Gender, and Sexuality

Intersectional resistance certainly reveals itself in the an avenue through which to explore how their multiple identities have shaped their experiences. By using their music and zines to "undermine the myths of a post-everything world of linearity" and promote the "transcendence and transformation of homogeneous narratives," afro-Punk feminists have highlighted the still-existing and often overlooked racism, sexism, and homophobia that is prevalent in dominant culture ( Afro-Punk subculture . Afro-Punk is simply a subsection of the punk subculture in which the participants, individuals of color, embrace anti-hegemonic rhetoric through rock music, dark and confrontational style, and media that challenges society's traditional values. The nature of punk's subcultural resistance provides black Afro-Punk feminists with Stinson 2012: 292). Moreover, they have challenged the overplayed white, heterosexual, male-centered worldview that exists in society. It is through the music and written work that Afro-Punk feminists produce that the existence of intersecting identities can finally come to the lime-light and be understood within the context of the various oppressions these individuals face.

Afro-Punk bands like , for example, have used their music to integrate race, queerness, and womanist politics into the punk sphere. To address racism, NighTraiN produced a song called in reference to the debt that white America has to the unpaid labor of the black society it oppressed and exploited ( a "zine by and for black punks" meant to "support black people who exist within predominantly white subcultures," but it is also written to challenge all oppressions and to celebrate the uniqueness of black punks, queers, feminists, and artists ( "Reparations" , in which they chastised the use of the word "bitch" to describe women (317). In addition to music, Afro-Punk feminists like Osa Atoe have used their zines as a way to communicate black feminist politics. Not only is Atoe's Mahound 2012: 320). Moreover, NighTraiN has criticized sexism, as seen in their song, Shotgun Seamstress Stinson 2012: 264-265). It is clear that Afro-Punk musicians and writers like NighTraiN and Osa Atoe have worked hard to contribute an intersectional analysis to the Afro-Punk subculture by focusing on various identities and oppressions that exist within their lives.

Hip Hop: Race and Gender

Hip Hop offers another interesting example of how complex and contradictory identities create authenticity within a subculture closely tied to music and media. Hip hop is historically a form of black cultural expression, as demonstrated by the often race-based distinction of who is "allowed" to use certain language. For example, the word "nigga is hip hop's most powerful word, as valuable as a status symbol and resource for those who are 'allowed' to use it and a means of both dividing 'authentic' rappers from fake and creating race-based distinctions between different groups of rappers" ( Harkness 2008: 41). However, this criteria for authenticity does not necessarily place black women above white men, as many "gangsta-rap" lyrics are blatantly sexist and derogatory to black women ( Stapleton 1998). This misogynoir not only demonstrates the potential of identities to clash with each other, but helps explain the dangers of only considering one aspect of identity when discussing privilege and oppression.

Fan Culture: Gender and Sexuality

Complex and intersecting identities not only lead to the creation of nuanced subcultures such as afro-punk and hip-hop, but also contribute to how certain individuals interact with the subculture they identify with. C ertain identities carry different social capital, despite the fact that participants in a subculture may have similar interests, styles, or aspects of identity. For example, both participants in fan culture and members of dominant culture perceive women negatively. Media often portrays fangirls as desperate and crazy, while fanboys are generally given more leniency and often have redeeming qualities: "Fanboys are allowed more agency and can be heroes, whereas fangirls are either invisible or weak yet odd girls" ( Busse 2013).

Gender, and in particular female sexuality, also plays a role in authenticity within the subculture. Male fans often accuse female fans of being fans for the "wrong" reasons, such as being attracted to an actor. Moreover, men in fan culture often claim that female fans are participating in the culture the "wrong" way when they write erotic that often caters more toward female perspectives ( fan-fiction Busse 2013). This gendered policing of participation in fan culture reflects an aspect of dominant social culture: fear and negative perception of female sexuality. Fans express their fear of "unconventional sexualities" not only through disdain for female sexuality, but also through judgement of queer fan-fiction. Although "fandoms have become safe spaces not just for geeky behavior but also for expressing one's identities and sexualities" ( Busse 2013), many straight male fans devalue queer fan-fiction, which is a common avenue for queer fans to not only participate in the subculture, but also explore their own identity.

Gamers: Race and Gender

Gaming subculture constitutes yet another space in which individuals within and outside of the subculture attack and marginalize the identities of women, in particular women of color. Millions of people play video games, to be exact; with so many players, it is inevitable that revelations and discussions about how these players interact take place. Since the early 2000s, the most substantial and controversial conversations held within these discussions have concerned feminism. Several franchises and organizations such as and have hosted seminars, workshops, and presentations to discuss the roles and positions of women in the video game industry. However, despite work towards equality for women in the industry, participants in these discussions consistently and systemically leave women of color out of the conversations; as blogger Hazel Allen , it isn't that women of color are not represented in video games, it's just that those women are often blue, purple, or green.

Besides fantastical colors, women of color are horribly represented in video games and are online in ways indistinguishable from . Jef Rouner shines light on the fact that there are playable black female characters in video games. Despite these facts, there has been little to no public effort made to discuss or change this lack of representation, even though members of the videogame industry recognize that videogames can and have been used as a platform to fight racial injustices such as police brutality. Scarcity of discussion surrounding the lack of representation and commonplace harassment of women of color contributes to the shallow statistics surrounding women of color in the industry; only 17% of gamers identify as women of color, and less than 5 % of game developers are women of color ( Ong 2016).

Bronies: Age and Gender

On the other side of the gender spectrum, there are situations in which participants of subcultural spheres challenge the identities of older men. Media and citizens alike often ridicule bronies, adult male fans of the children's show "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic," for enjoying a show directed towards female children. The television show, developed in soft, pastel colors, features several feminine ponies who develop strong friendships and learn lessons through their adventures ( not only demonstrate how identities impact the way in which subculturists relate to their scene, but also show how multiple identities interact to further change the social meaning of their subcultural participation. Adult male fans of the show often face strong stigma because they violate not only gender rules, but age rules. While outsiders might consider adult female fans of the show odd for enjoying a children's program, they often see adult male fans as "creepy" and similar to pedophiles ( Robertson 2014). Robertson 2014).

What Can We Learn from Intersectionality?

Although intersectionality originated as a way for black women to adapt and relate to feminism, the lens of intersectionality can be used to understand a wide variety of social interactions and complex social hierarchies. While this lens helps alert us to just how complicated these hierarchies and interactions are, the lack of a clear methodology on how to use intersectionality to bring about social justice makes intersectionality studies a developing and complicated field. However, the intersectionality that we have observed in many subcultures not only confirms the importance of considering intersectionality in social science studies, but also helps demonstrate that subcultures are more than simply a style of music or dress; subcultures contain their own social meanings that both contradict and confirm dominant social structures. Moreover, by comparing and contrasting examples of intersectionality within subcultures with mainstream society, we can better understand how intersectionality plays such an integral role in such a variety of aspects of social life.
Page designed by Carrie Stallings, Anastasia Pulak, and Taylor Burton.
Scholarship

Scholars

Books

Collins, Patricia Hill and Bilge, Sirma. 2016. Intersectionality: Key Concepts . Cambridge: Polity Press. This book is an introduction to the influence of intersecting identities in human rights, social conflict, and cultural scenes such as hip hop and sports.

Crenshaw, Kimberlé. 2015. On Intersectionality: Essential Writings. New York: New Press. This book is comprised of several essays and articles that define and examine the concept of intersectionality.

Scholarly Articles

Berard, T. J. 2014. " The Study of Deviant Subcultures as a Longstanding and Evolving Site of Intersecting Membership Categorizations. " Human Studies 37:317-34. In this article, Berard expands the scope of intersectional perspectives of deviance, crime, and subcultures.

Combahee River Collective. 1977. "A Black Feminist Statement". Combahee River Collective. This statement informs readers of the Combahee River Collective's goals and values.

Giddings, Paula. 1984. When and Where I Enter: The Impact of Black Women on Race and Sex in America. New York: Quill William Morrow. In this book, Paula Giddings examines the history of black women's activism, professionalism, and art. Many of the activists talked about in this book have organized in ways that address intersectionality.

Lorde, Audre. 1984. Sister Outsider. Berkeley: Crossing Press. This book is a collection of essays written by Audre Lorde, many of which address the issue of intersectionality and the need to embrace rather than merely tolerate difference.

McCall, Leslie. 2005. "The Complexity of Intersectionality" Journal of Women in Culture and Society 30(3): 1771-1800. This article offers the perspective of a leading intersectionality theorist about methods of studying intersectionality and using it to better society.

Smith, Barbara. 1983. Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. This is a collection of short stories, essays, and poetry written by women of color. Various essays and poetry entries in this book acknowledge the invisibility of and aggression towards black queer women.

Stapleton, Katina R. 1998. " From the Margins to Mainstream: The Political Power of Hip-Hop " Media, Culture & Society 20: 219-234. An article examining the historical and social complexities of hip hop music and culture.

Stinson, Elizabeth. 2012. "Writing Zines, Playing Music, and Being a Black Punk Feminist: An Interview with Osa Atoe." Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory 22(2-3):261-74. In this interview, Osa Atoe talks about the work she has done in her zine, Shotgun Seamstress , in which she tackles issues of race, gender, queerness, and more.

Other Resources

Ong, S. (2016, October 13). The Video Games Industry's Problem with Racial Diversity [Newsgroup post]. Retrieved from Newsweek website: http://www.newsweek.com/2016/10/21/video-games-race-black-protagonists-509328.html The article discusses how people react to the representation of people of color in video games, especially in Mafia's new release Mafia 3 in which the lead character is black.
Page designed by Carrie Stallings, Anastasia Pulak, and Taylor Burton.

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the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage." -Oxford Dictionaries Intersectionality is the acknowledgement that within groups of people with a common identity, whether it be gender, sexuality, religion, race, or one of the many other defining aspects of identity, there exist intragroup differences.

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Intersectionality 101: Why "We're focusing on women" doesn't work for diversity and inclusion

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Intersectionality 101: Why "We're focusing on women" doesn't work for diversity and inclusion

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This article discusses many issues that women face such as the prominent issue " the gender pay gap" there is the famous statistic that many have heard, that women make approximately 72 cents for every dollar that a man makes. According to research Black, Latina, and Native American women make far less than their white counterparts. In fact, the pay gap between white women and women of color is the fastest growing wage gap.

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Image credit: Rosie the Riveter (Modern)

It's ok to admit you're not yet comfortable with the concept of intersectionality. It took me awhile to fully wrap my head around it, too.

For Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) efforts at any organization to be truly impactful, we all need to better understand and apply the concept of intersectionality. It's a key part of my work - as previous Head of People at the tech startup, Lever, as well as my current D&I advising work with companies who want to build better organizations.

So what does intersectionality (coined by scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw) mean? Here's a ELI5 (Explain Like I'm 5) answer:

"If I'm a black woman, I have some disadvantages because I'm a woman and some disadvantages because I'm black. But I also have some disadvantages specifically because I'm [a] black woman, which neither black men nor white women have to deal with. That's intersectionality; race, gender, and every other way to be disadvantaged interact with each other." ()

Intersectionality considers different systems of oppression, and specifically how they overlap and are compounded. This is increasingly important because more companies are giving attention to D&I than ever, but often with a narrow, single-minded strategy: "We're focusing on women first."

This approach, while well-intended, might actually get in the way of progress. Maybe you've heard it in your organization, or you've even said it yourself - let's unpack this approach for a learning opportunity.

Take for example, a fairly prominent issue: the gender pay gap. You may have heard a statistic that shows women make approximately 72 cents for every dollar that a man makes. But that number doesn't tell the full story.

According to research, Black, Latina, and Native American women make far less than their white counterparts. In fact, the pay gap between white women and women of color is the fastest growing wage gap according to the Economic Policy Institute. But beyond pay gaps, this is about how who gets hired, heard, promoted, supported, and everything in between, all the small and big things that add up to big inequities.

Thus, the singular focus on one identity - gender - can take away from solving the broader systemic problem. Diversity & Inclusion work is about paying attention to the experiences of marginalized groups, to correct collective biases and obstacles to ensure an equal playing field.

Just focusing on gender may end up only benefitting a subset of the population that already is further ahead.

Since women make up 50% of the population, the "Women first" strategy might seem to make sense for senior leaders who prioritize D&I initiatives based on pure numbers of people impacted. But the numbers-driven approach to D&I is just one part of the equation.

Imagine you're a Black woman working for a company that touts "we're focusing on women." You're being implicitly told, "sure, we care, but only a part of your identity, one that *we* are familiar and comfortable with." Despite the good intentions, there's an insidious implication behind the message - "Wait your turn. We're helping the white women first." And that's what non-intersectional D&I work can often lead to. You can look no further than our own women's rights movement in the U.S. to see examples of non-intersectional feminism.

Twitter thread. I've also heard from many women of color who don't feel like they're being served by ERGs/women's groups at their companies.

The "women first" trap is understandable, to an extent, and I want to make it clear - there's no point in excessively calling out, or shaming individuals. The truth is, "helping women" seems like the low-hanging fruit to many of us. It's the more palatable, comfortable route. We live in a world where too many of us are still incredibly intimidated by talking about race, much less take action to solve it, especially when it involves dismantling institutions and norms that have been in place for decades.

While many great D&I initiatives do start with small steps, asking people with multiple identities of marginalization to "wait their turn," contributes to further inequity. So, all of our efforts must be intersectional, and deliberately focus on those on the fringes. Because unfortunately, a "focus on women" often becomes just white women. The key to remember, if we can remove the obstacles for those who are most unfairly held back by our society, then those in the middle get automatically uplifted, too.

By approaching our D&I work through a lens of intersectionality, we become more effective at fighting injustice. Once we understand that, we can then recognize problematic statements and attitudes such as: "I'm a woman so I show up to all the women's events, but it's not my place to be an ally to people of color." or, "As a member of a racial minority group, I'm extremely aware of the systemic oppression against my people in this country, but the LGBTQ+ community don't deserve the same rights as I do because of [some faulty logic]."

Sign at the 2018 Women's March. Intersectionality fail 😱 Don't be this person.

At the end of the day, being an advocate for workplace equity requires compassion, curiosity, and continual introspection. D&I is also an invitation to hear and learn more about others' experiences and systematically examine the workings of our society, even if it feels pretty uncomfortable sometimes. Furthermore, it's an ongoing conversation with yourself in understanding how your own multiple identities fit into the broader work towards progress.

So continue to advocate for women's causes, LGBTQ+ issues, racial equity, disability rights, immigration, and more - but do it with the lens of intersectionality. Because systems of oppression all overlap and their effects are compounded. With a focus on intersectionality, we can actually solve the systemic problems, not replace one with another, or just work on issues closest to our own hearts. Remember that we're all allies in this work.

And that's Intersectionality 101! With this new understanding, I hope you'll continue to be mindful and expand your thinking, so you can do the work that truly makes a difference.

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Intersectionality 101: Why "we're focusing on women" doesn't work for Diversity & Inclusion

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It's ok to admit you're not yet comfortable with the concept of intersectionality. It took me awhile to fully wrap my head around it, too. For Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) efforts at any organization to be truly impactful, we all need to better understand and apply the concept of intersectionality.

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5 Things "Bring it on" Taught us About Intersectional Feminism 

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5 Things "Bring it on" Taught us About Intersectional Feminism 

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The classic cheerleader movie "Bring it On " has taught us a few things on practicing an all-encompassing intersectional feminism. There is an underlying theme of cultural appropriation, particularly how said appropriation can lead to the erasure of the people who originated their culture. Amandla Stenberg summed it up best in her treatie on cultural appropriation and epic read of repeat offender Kylie Jenner. Rivalry, outside of beauty and romance, is not a trait traditionally fostered in girls. In fact, even in 2015 women are still vilified for being competitive in sports and demonstrating the same level of passion for their field as men. Bring It On was exemplary for demonstrating both skilled competitors and effective leaders in a very athletic environment.

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It seems like only yesterday when the then-unknown Gabrielle Union teamed up with Kirsten Dunst to create the cheertastic cult classic, "Bring It On." Over a decade later, the worn-out franchise has seen the longevity and relative irrelevance of straight-to-DVD releases like other teenybopper series (i.e. American Pie, Step Up, Scary Movie, etc.). However, unlike its more farcical contemporaries, the flagship Bring It On satirically addresses social injustices while comically delving into a popular subculture. As it turns out, the Toros of Rancho Carne High were tackling issues of feminism, race, and gender roles well before Rowan Blanchard was a plus sign on a pregnancy test.

Fifteen years later, where everyone is a feminist and the waters of gender equality have become murky by the clot of white POV, the central themes of Bring It On serve as a road map to the basic idea of practicing an all-encompassing intersectional feminism. Here is the cliffnotes version:

1. The Dangers Of Cultural Appropriation
Who could forget this notorious scene featuring Gabrielle Union and two-thirds of the futuristic R&B group Blaque.
While a teen-flick about stolen cheer choreography doesn't seem to level the magnitude of upset as Rachel Dolezal's 'blackface' or any of Azealia Banks's beefs , there is an underlying theme of cultural appropriation, particularly how said appropriation can lead to the erasure of the people who originated their culture. Amandla Stenberg summed it up best in her treatise on cultural appropriation and epic read of repeat offender Kylie Jenner . (I wonder if Kylie is a fan of Bring It On?)

2. Feminism vs. Womanism

There has always been a trope of black women in history and media as "angry." Most recently seen in the exchange between Nicki Minaj & Taylor Swift over the VMAs. Bring It On, however, took a light-hearted stab at addressing why it may be perceived that black women come off as angry in their fight for equality. Instead of portraying Gabrielle Union's character Isis as antagonistic, violent, and unreasonable, she was grounded in her resolve for the best opportunities for the community she led. She often displayed more coolness under pressure than her counterpart Torrance and any anger she may have possessed was justified by the historic and systematic theft of her predecessor's talent and skill by those of her rival's...sounds familiar?

3. Competitiveness & Leadership Aren't Gender Specific
Rivalry, outside of beauty and romance, is not a trait traditionally fostered in girls. In fact, even in 2015 women are still vilified for being competitive in sports and demonstrating the same level of passion for their field as men. Bring It On was exemplary for demonstrating both skilled competitors and effective leaders in a very athletic environment. I mean who could forget Missy's awesome audition for the Toros?

4. You Don't Have To Be a 'Bitch' To Be A Boss

Torrance faced the inevitable conundrum of every woman who has ever held a position of power: how to be authoritative without being antagonistic? (I.E. How to get one's point across without appearing as a bitch?) While many have suggested that it takes bitchy behavior to be respected as a woman in charge, Kirsten's skillful acting shows the complexities of leadership that calls for harsh language and action but shows that when one is adamant and authentic in their approach, they will earn the respect of their peers. (Except for the bitches of course!)

5. Don't Conform To Gender Stereotypes
It can never be stated enough that feminism about equality between the sexes and while that definitely means supporting women in pursuing roles traditionally delegated to men, it also includes not shaming heterosexual men for pursuing roles that are traditionally associated with women. While used as a device of comic relief Bring It On teaches us about gender roles and homophobia as the high school jocks in typical jock fashion gay bash the male cheerleader Jan, who is actually straight. Jan shows that gender equality extends both ways and that masculinity exists in many forms (he's also notably a more successful athlete than his bullies.)

And with perks like this, he shows there are some clear benefits to joining the cheer team!

There still a lot of strides to be made in the quest for trans, racial, and gender equality. However, along the quest there is a need for media that positively shows how such equality can be and is beneficial to society. As much as we like to think that the lack of representation for women of color and men in the feminist movement is due to lack of voices it's so amazing to see that even 15 years ago cheesy cheerleading comedies were able to make poignant observations about intersectionality.

There's no longer an excuse for young white feminists to be ignorant of intersectional feminism; they were basically raised with it. So the next time an ill-informed person attempts to belittle or deny the voice of asian, black, or latino women tell them to Bring It On!

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5 Things 'Bring It On' Taught Us About Intersectional Feminism

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It seems like only yesterday when the then-unknown Gabrielle Union teamed up with Kirsten Dunst to create the cheertastic cult classic, "Bring It On." Over a decade later, the worn-out franchise has seen the longevity and relative irrelevance of straight-to-DVD releases like other teenybopper series (i.e. American Pie, Step Up, Scary Movie, etc.).

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Disability, Oppression, and Intersectionality 

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Disability, Oppression, and Intersectionality 

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This educational video discusses how disabled people aren't treated equally and how society views the able body as "normal" and anyone who falls outside of this group must be abnormal. It explained ways to reduce stigma such as don't prejudice, treat everyone equally, and when referring to someone with a disability use politically correct language.

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A Conversation About Intersectionality Black Dating, and Youth

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A Conversation About Intersectionality Black Dating, and Youth

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Host Lilada Gee chats and Kimberly Foster speak with two local Madison activists about topics include feminism vs. womanism, dating, social media and the experience of black girls. They watch a video about men who say they will never date black women because of their personalities and how they are ruling out an entire race of women.

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Wednesday host Lilada Gee chats with Kimberly Foster, cultural critic and founder and editor-in-chief of For Harriet, a multi-platform digital community for Black women. They speak with two local Madison activists, Sagashus Levingston and Ali Muldrow. Topics include feminism vs. womanism, dating, social media, and the experience of Black girls.

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A Conversation about Intersectionality, Black Dating, and Youth - WORT 89.9 FM

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Wednesday host Lilada Gee chats with Kimberly Foster, cultural critic and founder and editor-in-chief of For Harriet, a multi-platform digital community for Black women. They speak with two local Madison activists, Sagashus Levingston and Ali Muldrow. Topics include feminism vs. womanism, dating, social media, and the experience of Black girls.

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From East to West, Feminism in Politics 

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From East to West, Feminism in Politics 

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The level in which women involve and participate in political debates connects with their historical underrepresentation in the public spaces. But what is the scenario like in different parts of Europe? How are the debates around the concepts of ‘feminising’ or ‘feministing politics’ and the gender-transformative policies in countries like Spain and Romania? The notion covers both descriptive and substantive gender representation. Feminising descriptive representation means increasing women’s presence in decision making while feminising substantive representation strengthens the need to develop a gender inclusive political agenda that will advance women or gender friendly public policies. These approaches should be clearly understood as two ways of feminising politics that can work hand in hand or independently.

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What "feminising politics" means has been largely written and discussed in Spain over the past couple of years. The debate, which is still developing, has some axes that can help us understand the difficulties of introducing feminism into politics without first transforming the political institutions and movements themselves from the inside through daily feminist actions in both public and domestic spaces. The level in which women involve and participate in political debates connects with their historical underrepresentation in the public spaces. But what is the scenario like in different parts of Europe? How are the debates around the concepts of 'feminising' or 'feministing politics' and the gender-transformative policies in countries like Spain and Romania? Oana Băluță and Carmen Castro Garcia bring some insights on the topic from two sides of Europe.
European Alternatives: What does feminising politics mean to you?
Oana Băluță: The notion covers both descriptive and substantive gender representation. Feminising descriptive representation means increasing women's presence in decision making while feminising substantive representation strengthens the need to develop a gender inclusive political agenda that will advance women or gender friendly public policies. These approaches should be clearly understood as two ways of feminising politics that can work hand in hand or independently. There have been wide debates concerning the topic, I do not want to add more important nuances now, just to acknowledge their presence either in the academia or political praxis. In my opinion both dimensions are important. Women's descriptive representation needs to increase in politics because women should make decisions that concern their own life and the life of their communities and countries. When women make political decisions they may also advance policies in some fields that concern especially women: gender based violence, work-life balance, sexual and reproductive rights etc. This does not mean that only women can support these types of policies or that only these fields are important for women. I believe there is no need for me to argue how important green policies, measures to fight poverty and to increase employment are for women. At the same time, I want to strengthen a fact grounded in the political experience of my country. When you analyse who have been the proponents of legislative changes in the field of gender violence, we notice that most of them have been women MPs and that advanced the most important changes. The theoretical nuances and the political praxis tells us that it is an ongoing debate that needs to be understood and situated in various country contexts to better reflect on the shape it takes.

When women make political decisions they may also advance policies in some fields that concern especially women: gender based violence, work-life balance, sexual and reproductive rights etc.

European Alternatives: The concept (feminisation of politics) is often misunderstood as quotas for women in political representation rather than a symbolic and cultural transformation of the nature itself of political organising (with a focus, for example, on care work as basis of the production system, on welfare, on organising practices, on language...) What are the main directions that a feminisation of politics should take?
Feminising politics cannot be reduced only to formal politics, but also to activism and community mobilisation. Activists have their own ways and strategies to support representation and the development of an inclusive agenda. To resume, I correlate feminising politics to descriptive and substantive representation, to formal and institutional politics and activism.

Carmen Castro Garcia: In my opinion, the concept itself refers to the result of a higher presence and participation of women in politics. Obviously, when the participation ratio gets even and the representation is increasingly gender-equal, more elements will contribute to the political debate, and practical needs associated to gender roles (and not addressed in the androcentric culture of political organizations) will be brought up. However, thinking that said process will automatically mean a transformation of politics is more a projection of the 'feminist desideratum' than an immediate possibility.

Oana Băluță: Quotas for women address descriptive representation. They are an answer to one problem: gender imbalance in politics or the descriptive masculinisation of politics. Quotas are not a miraculous instrument; they are not a panacea for each and every problem concerning women or gender or the world that we live in. If feminisation of politics means both the political inclusion of women and the inclusion of their interests/needs and perspectives, quotas address the first criteria.
European Alternatives: In what way does feminising politics mean a step towards more justice and inclusion of other oppressed subjects and collectives?

It is reductionist to consider that quotas stand as the ultimate example for the feminisation of politics

It is reductionist to consider that quotas stand as the ultimate example for the feminisation of politics. It is an answer to one problem, and an important one if carefully implemented. Nevertheless, quotas are sometimes used as an instrument by political parties to tackle gender equality while ignoring other demands correlated to gender public policies. I will give you one example, a party may support descriptive representation, and it can embrace a conservative understanding of gender roles and identities. At the same time, it often happens that those opposing quotas focus more on the need to change gender policies, and almost not at all on the gender of representatives. A wide number of studies show the two are correlated in the sense that the gender of representatives does matter in regards to what policies are present on the agenda. We see again how challenging is the relationship between descriptive and substantive representation both on normative grounds, but also in the political life. In my opinion, both approaches that I briefly referred to fail to understand the role of quotas.

Feminisation of politics should address three layers: who makes decisions, policies that are shaped and the political praxis that should value more cooperation, participation and less the confrontational and competitive aspects of politics. The last layer is debatable since critics may argue that women may also be competitive and confrontational. Still, whether it is a feminisation of politics or not or just an outcome of more reasonability, decision makers need to also consider cooperation and solidarity as two landmarks of democracy.

Carmen Castro Garcia: Even though the issue of 'feminizing' politics seems to be activating a very interesting and necessary debate, I argue that for it to be more than a pose, it needs to come with real proposals to depatriarchalize the structure , politics, power, and society. To insist on the idea that by increasing the presence of women in the public sphere and assuming the 'ethics of care' in the functioning of structures we will gain the necessary potential to trigger a real change in them, is to engage on a discursive illusion.
European Alternatives: The Feminisation of politics is definitely a tenet of the change that many "rebel cities" are bringing forward throughout Europe, especially in Spain. In what way the "new municipalities" or local politics are translating or should translate the concept of feminisation of politics into practice?
Oana Băluță: If feminising politics means more than descriptive representation and if the demands of activists become part of the formal political agenda, the answer is yes. Feminists have addressed diversity issues for a number of decades. Feminist ideas/ theoretical approaches and feminist community activism are dedicated to promoting social justice and inclusion not only of women, but also of other vulnerable persons. Think about feminists supporting green causes or fighting poverty or feminists that have been allies of the LGBTQ community. The unity principles of Women's March from 2017 are a good example to understand that feminism is inclusive and nowadays it visibly and publicly addresses different subjects and collectives. These principles address: LGBTQIA+ rights, workers' rights, disability rights, immigrant rights, environmental justice, etc. Show me another ideology or movement that is so inclusive and aware of other oppressed subjects and collectives...

Carmen Castro Garcia: Paritary democracy is necessary for the normalization of democracy, and for social justice. As parity increases, we widen the diversity in politics and rise the possibility of including those who are further from hegemonic masculinity, and have historically been excluded.
Oana Băluță is an Associate Professor on the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Studies at the University of Bucharest and member of the new Initiative Group Demos in Romania. Carmen Castro Garcia holds a PhD in Economics, specialised in Policies and in birth permit systems. She reflect about it in her last book "Políticas de igualdad. Permisos por nacimiento y transformación de los rol This article was first published in the journal of TRANSEUROPA Festival. es de género". You can follow her on Twitter @sinGENEROdDUDAS and on her website http://singenerodedudas.com
European Alternatives: " Feminising" can be a debatable term to define this change in priorities as it may be accused of implying an "essentialised" notion of female characteristics. What's your take on this?

Oana Băluță: The concept of strategic essentialism was introduced in the 1980s by Gayatri Spivak. It is a political tactic that helps, for instance, minority groups, ethnic groups to mobilise on the basis of shared gendered, cultural or political identity. It is sometimes important from a strategic viewpoint to mobilise starting from some "essentialised" features to advance your interests and redesign the political agenda. This does not mean that those shared features define all aspects of the individuals. It is important to be aware of the fact that intersectionality, the term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, is again a very powerful and vivid concept that provoked universalism, racism and sexism. Coming back to the essentialised perception of female characteristics, when I argue that kindergartens and crèches need to be among policy priorities or that women must have access to reproductive rights, I do not believe that women are their bodies or that gender roles are static. Women and men have different gender roles in real lived life (we know about gender socialisation that teaches boys and girls about "their place"). If some roles generate inequality, I think it is our responsibility to advance those policies that will either reduce or eliminate inequality. These policies also reflect a change in priorities towards a "feminised agenda". If I argue for access to safe abortion, this does not mean that giving birth is women's duty. It is a choice and when materialised, I consider it a political responsibility to make sure women have access to safe public maternities. Romania has the highest morality rate in Europe due to cervical cancer. Policies to address the incredibly high mortality rate due to breast cancer or cervical cancer ought to be a priority. Does this mean feminising healthcare policies? It might, but the honest truth is I do not care. I only care for the development of a responsive health strategy that also includes the problems, needs and interests of women.

Carmen Castro Garcia: I don't think the debate should be focused in the idea of 'feminization of politics' because, despite the good intentions, there is a high risk of it being used as an ploy to distract, to reinforce the stereotypically gendered system through the symbolic value of labeling certain skills -desirable in politics- as 'feminine".

We need to directly address the specific inequalities that take place within the political structure, the subtle and not-so-subtle violence mechanisms that are always present, or the playing down of feminists in politics. There has to be zero tolerance to mansplaining in left-wing organizations, to the resistance to direct the public budget to gender equality, and an eradication of femicide, with the active implication of the whole political structure. These are just some aspects of the whole process of de-patriarchalization .

Carmen Castro Garcia: I firmly believe that it is necessary to insist in a change of the symbolic imaginary. Leaderships like Ada Colau's (Barcelona), Manuela Carmena (Madrid), or Mónica Oltra (País Valencià) encourage another way of making politics, closer to everyday life concerns, explicitly dealing with social care; it has to do with the advocacy of public services, such as aid for dependent people, nursery school, nursing homes, and the prevention of male violence. It is obvious that these leaderships encourage a willingness towards these issues, but they do not guarantee that the patriarchal and heteronormative structures will start questioning male privilege, developing feminist politics, or creating a real change in the order of their priorities.

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What "feminising politics" means has been largely written and discussed in Spain over the past couple of years. The debate, which is still developing, has some axes that can help us understand the difficulties of introducing feminism into politics without first transforming the political institutions and movements themselves from the inside through daily feminist actions in both public and domestic spaces.

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Effective activism follows a cycle. We start with our theory of how change happens. Then we take action based on our theory. Then we take a step back and reflect on how the action went, which re-shapes our theory. Basically, praxis means “learning.” It may seem simple, but few activists actually do it. Praxis requires us to be students of our own experience and context. It’s not just about being smart and reflecting. It’s also about building specific behaviors and group norms that promote habits of strategy, debrief and revision. It’s about your group’s meeting style, organizational structure and leadership dynamics.

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In Sum

Theory without action produces armchair revolutionaries. Action without reflection produces ineffective or counter-productive activism. That's why we have praxis: a cycle of theory, action and reflection that helps us analyze our efforts in order to improve our ideas.

Effective activism follows a cycle. We start with our theory of how change happens. Then we take action based on our theory. Then we take a step back and reflect on how the action went, which re-shapes our theory. Basically, praxis means "learning." It may seem simple, but few activists actually do it.

Praxis requires us to be students of our own experience and context. It's not just about being smart and reflecting. It's also about building specific behaviors and group norms that promote habits of strategy, debrief and revision. It's about your group's meeting style, organizational structure and leadership dynamics.

Here's the difference that praxis can make:

Let's say we're in a student group at a college. If our group lacks praxis, we may say: "Let's bring Radical Thinker X to speak at our campus!" We affirm that the event will be "good." Then we have the event. It's somewhat well-attended, but afterwards our group has mixed feelings about it. We decide to keep moving forward and host another event.

That's a bit directionless. There was no actual theory, and no basis for reflection.

Instead, let's start with a theory. We start our group meeting by saying "Bringing Radical Thinker X to campus will help our campaign. They can talk about why activism is powerful, and it will reach a new audience of people who are not yet engaged in our campaign. Let's post fliers in our favorite coffee shops. Three hundred people will attend, fifty will sign up, and five of those people will show up at our next meeting."

Now that's a real theory. It has an explicit logic, a process of how you will do your action, and concrete measurable outcomes that you expect.

The event happens. Only one hundred people attend and most of them already work with your group, so only a few sign your list, and nobody new comes to your next meeting.

You now have a real basis for reflection. You can debrief your event, and instead of subjectively talking about whether you thought it was "good" or not, you can have a conversation about why it didn't measure up to your success indicators, and what to do next time. These lessons shape how you do your next event.

Organizers should have the praxis cycle spinning in their heads all the time. We are always learning from what's going on around us. The point of building a culture of praxis in your group, however, is so your whole group can learn, not just a couple of organizers. When you develop your theory (your plan and your goals) with your group, and then have a real debrief after, the lessons are available to all. If you don't take real time out to name your theories, and then reflect, revise, and learn lessons, you will be left spinning your wheels, with fewer and fewer people understanding how to do the work of your group.

Joshua Kahn Russell is an organizer and strategist serving movements for social justice and ecological balance. He is an action coordinator, facilitator & trainer with the Ruckus Society, and has trained thousands of activists. Joshua has written numerous movement strategy essays, chapters for several books, and a few organizing manuals, most recently Organizing Cools the Planet: Tools and Reflections to Navigate the Climate Crisis, with Hilary Moore (PM Press 2011). He has helped win campaigns against banks, oil companies, logging corporations, and coal barons; worked with a wide variety of groups in a breadth of arenas, from local resiliency projects, to national coalitions, to the United Nations Climate Negotiations.

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In Sum Theory without action produces armchair revolutionaries. Action without reflection produces ineffective or counter-productive activism. That's why we have praxis: a cycle of theory, action and reflection that helps us analyze our efforts in order to improve our ideas. Effective activism follows a cycle. We start with our theory of how change happens.

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The Power to Change the World: A Teaching Unit on Student Activism in History and Today 

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The Power to Change the World: A Teaching Unit on Student Activism in History and Today 

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This video discusses how much of a difference can young people make in addressing the problems our society faces? What makes their voices uniquely powerful? In this unit, students consider these questions as they examine gun-violence activism by teenagers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and discuss the planned school walkouts this spring. They can then go further by learning about youth movements in history, and, finally, considering actions they might take around the issues they care about.

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7 Time in History When Students Turned To Activism

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7 Time in History When Students Turned To Activism

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Every few weeks or months, after a man armed with a high-powered weapon walks into a school or a church or a nightclub and opens fire, the national response plays out in a rote, almost performative way. The outcry lasts only a few days before guns fade back into the background noise of American politics, but nearly three weeks after a gunman walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and killed 17 people with an AR-15, the conversation has not faded, because the students have taken up the cause of gun control. Already, they have lobbied state lawmakers in Tallahassee, spoken to President Trump and Persuaded many companies to cut ties with the National Rifle Association.

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7 Times in History When Students Turned to Activism (Published 2018)

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The survivors of the Parkland, Fla., high school shooting have surprised many with their public activism. But they are hardly the first students to push the adult world for political change.

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From protesting in front of the white house and volunteering in your local community, activism can take many forms. Americans have been more active in their communities such as a rise in financial activism and conversations around gender equality. This article talks about the many ways you can be an activists in your every day life "Look at the things that you do in your everyday life and look for ways to infect those with progressive values," said Amy Ziering, Academy Award-nominated, and two-time Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker.

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From protesting on the Washington Mall to volunteering in your local community, activism can take many forms. Since President Trump's election, Americans have been more active in their communities such as a rise in financial activism and conversations around gender equality.

At its "State of Our Union" luncheon, The Foundation For Gender Equality addressed some of the ongoing gender equality issues: rape culture, access to education and political representation. Beyond these discussions, the honorees shared their advice on how to promote activism and gender equality in your everyday life.

"You have to be active to be an activist," said Nick Ferroni, activist and award-winning educator. "If everyone did something local it would all add up."

Founder Richard Fitzburgh was inspired to do something in his community two years ago when he started The Foundation For Gender Equality. The organization hosts events and fundraisers to promote gender equality as well as other charities like Paws4People. Its board, of which Fitzburgh is the chairmen, are 70% women.

Ferroni also presented a youth award to one of his students, Mickaela Brand, who founded the Feminist Club at Union High School in New Jersey where Ferroni teaches.

"Look at the things that you do in your everyday life and look for ways to infect those with progressive values," said Amy Ziering, Academy Award-nominated, and two-time Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker.

You can see that Ziering follows her own advice. Her films Invisible War and The Hunting Ground both tackle the staggering statistics of sexual assault in the military and on college campuses, respectively. However, Ziering has gone beyond telling these stories on the big screen. She has also made sure that the films have been used to educate and change laws. In her speech at the luncheon, Ziering recounted how she reached out to the heads of the U.S. military in order to host a screening of The Invisible War for the men and their wives. Ultimately, her outreach changed the laws surrounding prosecution of sexual assault in the military, according to Ziering. The Hunting Ground has also had an impact on rape culture on college campuses as the film is available for free to be used in middle and high schools for education on consent.

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Share to email Share to facebook Share to twitter Share to linkedin Share to google From protesting on the Washington Mall to volunteering in your local community, activism can take many forms. Since President Trump's election, Americans have been more active in their communities such as a rise in financial activism and conversations around gender equality.