#marginalized groups

[pansexualdemic]

[alethianightsong]

"The prince with a thousand enemies" quote hits different when you're marginalized

The full quote is like 80% despair and 20% hope. Basically, God says to the semi-divine Prince of Rabbits "everything in this world wants to catch and kill you. But while you are powerless, you are not helpless. Run fast, hide well, warn and help others like you and you will never be erased from this earth." El-ahrairah is not given weapons but tools to help him and his people survive (claws to dig havens, ears to listen, legs to run, feet to thump and warn). And despite how hard it is for him to survive, despite all his enemies, he is still noble, admirable and possessing dignity. He is a Prince.

[crazycatsiren]

You should be an ally to and advocate for marginalized people because it's the right thing to do and because you should care about people.

Not because it gives you an ego boost and makes you look cool to whomever you want to impress.

[cacodaemonia]

As we're all very aware, we live in a time when open hatred of many marginalized groups has been growing. And as many others have said, it's super fucking important that we stop fighting amongst ourselves over relatively minor issues when there are people who quite literally wants us dead, or at the very least, silent and subservient.

Punching down and sideways to attack the people who are 99% on our side might make us feel superior for a little while, but it's important to ask ourselves if attacking other marginalized people helps anyone.

With that in mind, I wanted to remind all of us that language, culture, and iconography all change over time, and not everyone keeps up with those changes at the same speed.

As an obvious example, 'they' is now a much more commonly used singular pronoun than it used to be. It's meaning has expanded and changed subtly.

Another example is the comedy genre in general: movies and TV shows from even a few years ago relied on humor that many of us now see as tasteless at best and dehumanizingly cruel at worst.

Then you have things like reclaimed slurs. For some of them, their meanings have changed multiple times.

We've also got all of the microlabels among queer folks, which are rapidly multiplying and evolving. Many of them didn't exist 2 or 5 or 10 years ago, but now they might be the most central part of someone's personality.

Pepe the frog is an example of an image whose meaning has radically shifted in a short period of time. What was originally a harmless cartoon was appropriated by the US alt-right movement and is now considered a hate symbol (though the ADL acknowledges that 'the majority of uses of Pepe the Frog have been, and continue to be, non-bigoted').

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have characters like Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat, who were designed to be minstrels. Now, of course, almost no one associates Mickey Mouse with blackface or racism.

Those are just a handful of examples involving the English language and the internet's largely American-centric culture, but there are obviously many, many more. All of this is difficult enough for native English speakers to keep up with, but we should also bear in mind that, for many folks, English isn't their native language.

I've seen awful harassment by queer people against another queer person just because her English wasn't perfect and she used a term that, at that time, wasn't considered the correct one by the people who attacked her.

We should also keep in mind people who have other language or cognitive difficulties (I'm honestly not sure how to phrase this, so please don't assume I'm being derogatory or cruel—I am one of those people).

Even for those of us with the best of intentions, all of this can make online interactions feel like navigating a minefield because many people exclusively engage in paranoid reading of everything from novels to shitposts.

I think all of us would be better served if we stepped back for a moment to consider questions like, "Does this person have malicious intentions?" and "Is this something that causes real harm to real people or does it just bother me, personally?" and "Will calling this person out or shaming them help anyone?"

A lot of us are on the same side, and we might have slightly different beliefs, but we don't need to be enemies. Wasting our outrage on each other is exactly what our real enemies want.

[pratchettquotes]

A Personal Note: Celebrating 500 Quotes

"Aren't you going to talk to the men, sir?"

Vimes looked at the assembled...well, multitude. There was no other word. Well, there were plenty, but none that it would be fair to use.

Big ones, short ones, fat ones, troll ones with the lichen still on, bearded dwarf ones, the looming pottery presence of the golem Constable Dorfl, undead ones...and even now he wasn't certain if that term should include Corporal Angua, an intelligent girl and a very useful wolf when she had to be. Waifs and strays, Colon had said once. Waifs and bloody strays, because normal people wouldn't be coppers.

Technically they were all in uniform, too, except that mostly they weren't wearing the same uniform as anyone else. Everyone had just been sent down to the armory to collect whatever fitted, and the result was a walking historical exhibit: Funny-Shaped Helmets Through the Ages.

Terry Pratchett, Jingo*

*A Rare Personal Footnote: I don't know if Sir Terry Pratchett intended to describe his fans when he saw the growing Watch arrayed before his imagination, but he may as well have. I also don't know if he was thinking of his own absurdly-shaped and deliberately disordered creations when he described the Watch regalia; but if there was ever a literary exhibit rightfully captioned "Funny-Shaped Helmets Through the Ages", surely it is the Discworld.

Over the years of personal reading and the last year of sharing this beloved series with others around the world, I must acknowledge that this man's work does collect waifs and strays like few others ever managed. There are no normal people here. There is no uniform. We started in different places, remain for different reasons, and reach for different aims. We are wearing whatever fits. And yet here we stand assembled with one thing in common, for the moment, in a chaotic multitude, hanging on the words of someone who, though gone, still seems to see us clearly.

My life looks very different now than it did fifteen years ago, when I first plucked Jingo off the shelf of the public library and fell headfirst into a mind and world that I loved. I met myself on those pages and found a voice that sounded like the one I practiced in my head. I still love these books, and I still catch glimpses of myself and the people around me every time I crack open the spine of a Discworld novel.

Many things have changed since I began this journey, but one thing remains true: Whoever you are, wherever you're going, I'm glad to be standing next to you in this strange multitude. And, may I say -- I like your hat.

[starfishinthedistance]

One time in therapy I was talking about how I feel like I have no purpose in life and my (white cis straight abled woman) therapist said "Oh your purpose is to educate people! You've taught me so much about social problems and you're so articulate!"

And I get what she was going for, but I wish privileged people understood that educating is goddamn exhausting, and we have no choice but to be good at it. If I could make sure that I'd never have to educate anyone on anything again I totally would.

Systemic oppression is such a complicated thing to explain to people, and that's not even mentioning all the people you have to debate who are arguing in bad faith because they want you and everyone like you to literally die. You have to remain calm as they call you slur after slur, or bring up shitty talking points that have been debunked a million times, or call for genocide, or use logical fallacies, or victimize themselves, or misinterpret sources all while they act like they're oh so superior to you. Because otherwise you lose credibility in the eyes of everyone else, because no-one likes an angry leftist. Of course they don't lose credibility for doing all of those things though.

Even to the most patient and kind people who want to be educated, having to detail the violence and prejudice that you face in every aspect of your life that you will most likely have to keep facing until your death sucks. It makes you depressed and hopeless. And you can see how it sucks the joy out of life when you have to educate multiple people basically every day.

Having my purpose in life be that would be an actual nightmare. I would never go through with living a life like that. It would be a miserable, exhausting life filled with panic attacks and death threats. I tried to explain that to my therapist but she didn't get it and persisted that "it's a good thing!!"

I never wanted to educate her anyway. I had to because I needed to talk about how my marginalization effects my mental health, and she needed to fully understand the issues to be able to help me properly. I shouldn't need to be wasting time in my therapy sessions that I pay for with my own money explaining that yes, these hateful beliefs are getting made into laws, yes that does actually effect me, and no, these aren't new things, there's a long and intense history here. No I can't just ignore it. Yes it is actually harmful to say or do that. No it isn't speculation that these things lead to violence, yes it has happened before.

This isn't to shade my therapist or other people with privilege, I just wish people understood that educating people isn't this super fun thing that we've gotten good at because we just love doing it so much! It's exhausting, it sucks, and most of us absolutely hate it. But we need to do it, otherwise people remain complacent in violence against us.

Marginalized people don't educate for the fun of it, we educate because we have no choice.

[disasterhimbo]

Being marginalized, especially in multiple ways, is just learning most people don’t give a shit about your happiness, health, or safety. It hurts the worst imo when even people in one marginalized group you’re a part of don’t give a shit about you bc you’re part of another marginalized group they don’t care about. And they’re not even honest about it, they pretend to care, and they think they’re good people as they’re hurting you.

[fashionlandscapeblog]

Debunking the dream: Who is allowed to succeed in fashion?

BY BELLA WEBB AND MALIHA SHOAIB

This story is based on an exclusive survey of over 600 fashion professionals, which sought to answer two key questions: what does it take to reach a certain level of success in fashion, and what does it take to stay happy at that level?

“The employees who are happy in fashion and reach a good position are the ones who have enough economic capital to work for free or for very little during their first several years in the industry,” says anthropologist Giulia Mensitier. Paradoxically, precariousness is a luxury that not everyone can afford, and talent has very little to do with long-term fashion careers.”

Survey respondents painted a picture of an industry obsessed with appearance — even in behind-the-scenes roles — where social connections and socioeconomic status are a form of currency few can succeed without. The idea that fashion has become more diverse and inclusive is misleading, survey respondents say. In fact, barriers to inclusion have become more sophisticated and covert. Many people from marginalised groups now feel disillusioned with an industry that promised to change but didn’t and are seeking opportunities elsewhere.

For marginalised people, trying to build a career in an industry that wasn’t created by or for people like them can be confusing and frustrating. Instead of community, many find that fashion is a clique.

In many cases, achieving success in fashion isn’t about what you know but who you know. Nearly half (47 per cent) of survey respondents with family in fashion said their socioeconomic status had a positive impact on their careers.

Personal connections count for a lot in an industry with notoriously opaque hiring practices, a penchant for nepotism, and a heavy emphasis on being seen at the right events.

“There is a strong beauty bias,” says one sustainability consultant who responded to the survey. “If I look around my organisation, everyone is conventionally attractive. No one has visible disabilities, and most are white.” A strategic consultant was told they didn’t have the “right look” for their career, which typically centres youth, Eurocentric features and a slim, visibly able body.

Colleagues from wealthy backgrounds openly mock what a [fashion assistant] from a lower socioeconomic class is wearing if they aren’t wearing emerging labels or trendy clothes. They look down on cheaper brands — but some of us can’t even afford Zara,” says the anonymous founder of Fashion Assistants.

Read the whole story here.

[a-linearis]

i think this is an experience for only people of marginalised communities, but do you ever find yourself mentally preparing yourself for discrimination/people's prejudiced ideas?? I'm so lucky to have not experienced micro-aggressions (that I was conscious of), but as I learn more and more about how Blackness is perceived, I'm constantly on guard for if someone might say a micro-aggression and I speculate as to how I would respond

Same with being trans/enby, it's like, I'm mentally planning on when someone is going to argue whether my identity is real/valid or not, and what I would do in that situation (especially when meeting new people, whether to come out or not, how to phrase it etc.)

It gets very exhausting, and if you can relate, then know you are definitely not alone.

[careforacacia]

¡ URGENT !

Acacia is in urgent need of funds by this coming Friday February 2, to be able to stay housed.

❤️‍🩹 raised so far $345 / $2,850 => $2,505 remaining <= they have just 3 days to raise $2,505 ! . ❤️‍🩹

Context: Because of Acacia's complex and extensive accessibility needs, suitable living spaces are extraordinarily rare; 99.99999% of the property market is completely inaccessible, and any accessible properties usually have a higher-than-average monthly rent ( which is part of why they've been unhoused for so long ).

They moved into this property just two weeks ago after never having a safe, stable, accessible place to live that meets their complex needs, and after fighting every day for their survival, all alone, while severely marginalized and extremely vulnerable, for over a decade.

This is the first time they've been safe, had a home, had stability, been comfortable, and had their complex array of accessibility needs met.

They need to be able to stay here so they can stay housed, rest and recover from the extensive harm they've endured, generate income and serve their peers.

❤️‍🩹

Acacia shall reach their goal if:

5 people donate $500 10 people donate $250 25 people donate $100 50 people donate $50

by Friday February 2

❤️‍🩹

HOW TO DONATE Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/care4acacia PayPal: https://paypal.me/mxpapaya

Include "housing" in the message.

No donation is too small. All donations of all sizes welcome.

❤️‍🩹

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Care for Acacia is a collaborative project between vulnerable peer-in-need Acacia and peer supporter Asa'.

The aim of the project is to meet Acacia's most basic and essential needs, provide them with a baseline quality of life, create a pathway out of poverty, and build the foundations they need to generate their own income.

Acacia is very severely marginalized and extremely vulnerable. Their life has been a daily fight for survival in poverty, alone, navigating violence, in a perpetual and desperate search for safety, community and belonging.

Acacia is in great need of the care, love and support of their communities and to have their most basic and essential needs met. Let's give Acacia the care and quality of life they deserve.

Together we thrive ... one act of community care at a time ❤️‍🩹

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Due to Acacia's high support needs and burnout, this blog is ran by an anonymous volunteer on Acacia's behalf.

[nonbinarymlm]

Shout out to all marginalized people who've been treated as "Bad Rep." Who have been told that stories showing experiences of oppression and identity like yours aren't worth being told or are inherently offensive. Who have been erased or spat on for not fitting a dominant or politically convenient narrative. Who has been subject to rants or "correction" for your own personal labels or experiences. Who fit too well or too little into stereotypes. Who have failed to be the marginalized angel martyr

This post is for you

[lichenart]

I have implicit biases and you probably do too! The important thing is I do my best to recognize and work on them. I have an online friend who I chat with on discord. I turned on voice chat and realized they do not have an American accent. I then realized I would probably had thought differently of them if I had heard their voice first. Now I can fix that and go on as a better person. It is better to recognize you are not perfect. I believe it is more virtuous to start out imperfect and have to work to be a better person than start out golden, because working to being better shows you really care. AND DON’T YOU DARE TRY AND SAY YOU DON’T HAVE BIASES WHEN THE PERSON YOU ARE BIASED TOWARDS POINTS IT OUT. Refusing to acknowledge and work on faults is immature and shows you won’t fix it when you hurt people. “But I’m neurodivergent, or gay, or *insert marginalized identity here*” That doesn’t make you immune to bias and propaganda. Just be mature and accept you make mistakes and so you don’t hurt someone next time!!!!

[crazycatsiren]

Nobody has the time and energy to get to every single issue in the world. Some of us barely got enough to advocate for a handful at a time.

Just because people choose to focus on the ones that happen to affect them the most at any given moment, doesn't mean they don't care about the others.

Make your own posts. Talk about what you want to talk about on your own blog, and let others talk about what they want on theirs. It costs you nothing.

[glucose-god]

“Marginalized young people who encounter racialized punitive treatment are “not just humans-in-the-making, but resourceful social actors who take an active role in shaping their daily experiences.” I found that the young men in this study recognized, had a clear analysis of, and were resisting the criminalization they encountered. This resistance came in different forms. Some resisted by committing violent crime, others by organizing themselves and blocking off their streets with stolen cars and concrete slabs so police cars were unable to access them; and others resisted by becoming political organizers and returning to school. Much of the literature on mass incarceration has not been able to account for agency and resistance in the people most impacted by the punitive state.” (41)

- The Flatlands of Oakland and the Youth Control Complex by Victor Rios

[howifeltabouthim]

White boys . . . have no need to explore their identities, of course. What is there to explore? They are the neutral universal entity, the unhyphenated humans. I was pretty much all hyphen.

Siri Hustvedt, from The Blazing World

[fire-to-fire]

No offense but “taking the high road” is a luxury not all can afford.