Had a really good discussion on identity politics with my friends. 2 of us are hets and one is gay but we are all social activists in different fields (One is a Human rights activist, the other is an LGBT rights activist and me, a feminist)
-Identity is highly subjective and often seen as something isolated from the collective econ-political-social struggle of the marginalized and oppressed groups. When in fact, one can struggle for equality and social justice without separating identity struggles from the collective struggles.
Case in point- Should the plight of an oppressed and marginalized landless farmer be given more importance than the middle class LGBT/women who struggles for equality and acceptance?
Are the struggles of say for example, Michelle Obama, an educated upper middle class (or elite), as a WOC of more importance than the struggle of a white woman in the working class?
As social justice advocates, do we give more importance to either or do we recognize that our identity struggles are linked to decades of flawed system?
We become so engrossed with our individual struggles that we tend to disregard the other. Gender and race struggles go hand in hand with Class struggle.
Given these, people tend to ‘agree to disagree’ when discussing identity politics vis-a-vis socio-econ-poli matters. We sometimes choose to stick to our lane. It’s hard to talk about these things. But sometimes, it’s essential that we talk about this rather than going with the 'let’s not talk about this’ route. We become more potent catalyst of change when delve into these hard hitting questions and intersectional topics.
And lastly, pardon me, for I am sort of kinda drunk. And I’m actually just recording this here so that I can get back to these potential paper/thesis topics for my grad studies.
