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[primordial-soupism]

[primordial-soupism]

Hey idk if this was long overdue, but I can’t pretend like the radical feminist movement hasn’t been watered down to bigotry. if u play along w/ the “superstraight” thing & don’t recognize that it is a group of ppl openly mocking not only trans ppl but LGB ppl as well to own the “TRAs” i have no idea what to make of u. if ur actually serious of dropping the T to add an S at the end, u have completely lost it. Reminder that the LGBT+ community is a safe space and organizational strategy to fight against a heteropatriachal society, if u have forgotten even this, don’t call urself a radfem. and if I’m in the minority here, I guess I will have to drop the label of radfem altogether.

[primordial-soupism]

I find it interesting that you keep saying that Asians in Asia don't see themselves as poc. While you may feel that way, I think it's valid to note that Britain (white people) occupied and conquered what was then India (today India, Pakistan, Bhutan, etc.) There is a big difference between the fair indians and the darker indians. To be light skinned is considered beautful. Therefore, that region of Asia does see itself as poc for they were treated as second class to the gori British.

Hey, I appreciate you writing in! I’ll explain my thinking behind the term here.

I too grew up in a former British colony, so while I did have a concept of whiteness and therefore do not see myself as “white”- I want to emphasise that the term “person of colour” does have different political and cultural implications than “non-European” or perhaps “non-white”. Simply, I do not see myself as “white” because of British colonialism, but I does not mean I see myself as a “person of colour”. I see myself as Han Chinese, East Asian or Asian. “ In general, I believe the term should not be used carelessly outside the US due to different ideas of whiteness between the US and Europe, as well as other countries in the Americas, where race isn’t perceived the exact same way. I don’t believe it should be used at all in the non-Western context.

1. Person of colour is a term that specifically originated in the context of the United States’ system of colourist racism, of Jim Crow, of slavery, where the idea of “white” became a vehicle to confer privilege. I say “vehicle” because whiteness has always been a social construct. in much earlier parts of US history, several light-skinned European ethnic groups were not allowed to access whiteness, like Irish people. Today, they are seen as white. Although the term has been used carelessly by many people on tumblr, “person of colour” is first and foremost a racialised identity taken on to organise against white supremacy- in Western contexts.

2. I don’t believe it should be applied to non-Western contexts firstly, because the history of Asian colourist discrimination has actually long-predated European colonial rule. Further, it doesn’t quite just exist as a marker of racial otherness, but as a class division. Fair skin has been prized in China, Japan and Korea for thousands of years due to classism. I believe it is the case with India too- from what I know, it was very much tied to the ancient Indian caste system or other class/regional divisions. That is not to say that Western beauty standards don’t help to reinforce this preference today, but it would be inaccurate for us to ascribe this obsession for light skin all to recent European imperialism. Recognising its ancient roots is crucial: as a light-skinned East Asian, nobody has ever tried to sell me skin-whitening cream, unlike my other Han Chinese friends who were darker-skinned. 

3. As “person of colour” is an organising tool against white supremacy, I do not believe it has much relevance in non-Western contexts because we are no longer under European colonial rule. This is not to say its legacy doesn’t still affect us, but that the fault lines and tensions that matter are very often not going to centre so much around whiteness anymore in day-to-day life. I feel white privilege can be discussed there without us defining ourselves as “persons of colour”. 

Primarily, I am against the term because it posits a false illusion of solidarity that erases local oppressor-oppressed dynamics, and centering on whiteness very often becomes a tool of deflection for their own crimes (like in Mugabe’s ZImbabwe, when he appropriated land from white farmers but mostly gave it to his cronies who didn’t utilise the land properly, causing food shortages that hurt thousands of black Zimbabweans.) On another level, I don’t wish to centre around whiteness all the time because I think the fixation on it at the expense of other fault lines is in of itself a perpetuation of Eurocentic/whitecentric history and narratives.

To me, the attendant notions of solidarity underpinning the idea of POC have very little relevance when outside the Western world, our oppressive structures and systems of privileges are very often run by other non-Europeans. Whiteness is the “default” in the US, but in mainland China? It’s being Han Chinese. Han Chinese supremacy is the reason for continued racism and Sinicisation of non-Han minorities like Uighur Muslims and Tibetan. And this racism has a history in Chinese imperialism that long-predates European colonialism. To call all of us “POC” flattens the power structure and posits false solidarity between oppressor and victim- it allows the oppressor to wrongly occupy the space as the victim: as if the Han Chinese general is the same as the non-Han people he has captured for human sacrifices to the gods during the Shang Dynasty. Minorities in the Middle-East and North Africa like Kurds, Amazigh are very often marginalised by Arab supremacy- such as when Saddam Hussein enacted a genocide against Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s, using chemical weapons. The Nigerian government’s slow response to the Boko Haram crisis despite angry protests by Nigerians? The government not caring when people in Northern Nigeria, which is much more impoverished- die. For my own family history, some of the deepest grievances stem from how the Japanese mistreated my grandparents during WW2.

4. Lastly, the term “POC” outside the Western context tends to flatten the power structure between non-Europeans who live in the West or otherwise have a Western background vis a vis people from our ancestral countries. 

White privilege can reinforce Western privilege but they are not totally synonoymous: Because even people not considered white do benefit from citizenship in a Western country or a Westernised background. When it comes to global economic inequality, we are closer to the centre of the empire, to the position of those who benefit, not the exploited. People like myself benefit from speaking English, from appearing “more European” and generally Westernised. It’s the reason my friend, who is of Indian ancestry, was treated very differently by the immigration officer when his British accent became obvious- compared to Indians from India who were on the same flight as him. There would for example, be a huge power differential between an Arab-American soldier and the other Arab people in say, Iraq. I cannot in good faith say my experiences are the same as the Chinese workers who work long hours in factories, many of whom start working at 16. At 16? I wasn’t done with schooling. It was taken for granted I would get a university education, and so on. 

5. So, the term “person of colour” is meaningless to me in the non-Western context context, and I personally find it actively harmful when people lump us as “POC cultures” because it purports to create an illusion of solidarity that obscures the massive amount of racism and oppression Asians are enacting against each other till today. Further, I see it as a projection of Western race politics on a non-Western context, which is decentering from local dynamics.

In conclusion, I very much see myself as “non-white” in Asia due to growing up in a former European colony. But I do not see myself as a “person of colour” there. I see myself somewhat as a person of colour in Europe, because it is a Western context where light-skinned Europeans are the majority. Still, not entirely- because it is quite an American term and European racism has a lot of ethnicity dimensions. I tend to see myself as Han Chinese, most specifically.

[primordial-soupism]

[primordial-soupism]

no more guilty pleasures we enjoy things because we like them

[primordial-soupism]

what men call “logic” is really just a lack of empathy

[primordial-soupism]

history’s all about venerating these ancient “greatest minds of their time” but like….there was a lot less competition back then

[primordial-soupism]

[primordial-soupism]

[primordial-soupism]

fucking daddy fetishes are so disgusting and don’t even think for one minute that they aren’t based on fetishizing real incest. lemme tell ya’ll a story. when i was a cam girl, a lot of the men who wrote me were into DDLG and “simulated incest.” 

at least half a dozen of them eventually straight out asked me if I had ever fucked my dad, or if I would ever fuck my dad for money. one of them offered me a lot of money to send my dad “dirty texts.” as in, my actual father. that’s what i think of when i hear “it’s not real!” 

you go look at how many popular porn videos advertising step dad/step daughter there are, look at how mainstream DDLG is, look at all the men who want to be called daddy. you don’t think that’s based on fetishizing incest? seriously? it’s fucking nasty and ya’ll are nasty for defending it. 

[primordial-soupism]

It’s so interesting seeing average teens or people in general on Tik Tok, who are either neolibs or haven’t gotten into politics ask “What is Leftism?” Eye opening even, to see how many people feel the effects of a capitalist society but can’t put it into words. It’s so important to radicalize y’all.

[primordial-soupism]

Posted for all you “support ethical porn and make it safer” types. The sex industry doesn’t want your reform ideas.

[primordial-soupism]

[In the background, you can see the Southern Vietnamese flag (Yellow with red stripes.) There is a Vietnamese lady in traditional attire, ‘Trump Pence 2020’ is on her rice hat.]

This is so embarrassing, we really are the weakest link of the Asian community. The older generation is so scared of China that they ran to our other oppressors. The CIA installed a dictator in the South to stop the Vietnamese PEOPLE from democratically voting in a communist. Then when we rebelled, they dropped toxic chemicals that ruined families and land for generations to come, killed thousands, suppressed us from trading for years until we finally bowed to Capitalism and U.S imperialism. Educate your parents, aunties, uncles, y’all.

[primordial-soupism]

it's so weird that women are considered a minority (sometimes) due to our status and lack of representation but we are half of all people, everywhere

[primordial-soupism]

He is BUSTING these ads out this week:

Every single one of Trump’s prank channel esque clickbait ads (feel free to add more if I missed any)

[primordial-soupism]

this really hit me and I thought it was worth sharing

[primordial-soupism]

Every single one of Trump’s prank channel esque clickbait ads (feel free to add more if I missed any)