On casual elitism in the knitting and crochet community
You know that person. You’ve probably run into at least one of them in a comments section, looking for yarn suggestions in a facebook craft group, or even in person at a local stitch-and-bitch circle.
No Janet, not everyone can only (or ever) get handspun locally sourced wool, silk, or any other natural fiber for $30 per hank.
“But synthetics are bad for the environment.” And yet, acrylic yarn works as well as any other for making a reusable tote that can replace countless plastic grocery bags over a lifetime. Interesting. See also how going green in the individual scale is also elitist, because capitalism isn’t conducive to that if you don’t have money.
“I just don’t like how acrylic feels.” First, no one’s making you use it so tough shit, and second, its texture depends on how it’s pulled and spun. Natural fibers are fine and good, but not when your preference includes turning your snoot up at the selection at Michael’s, Joann, etc.
Not everyone has the same access to materials you do. Not everyone has the time/money/energy to look beyond what they can find in their town, which may or may not have a cost-prohibitive LYS. In devaluing synthetic fibers, you dismiss the majority of the fiber community, whether they seem that present in the online space you may have curated for yourself. Since no real life issue is an island, elitism also means racism. By excluding poor people, you also exclude and discourage people who are marginalized beyond just their class, and many BIPOC creators.
If this makes you feel personally affronted, attacked, or otherwise uncomfortable, it should. Question yourself, question why your preconceived notions exist and how, and look at the company you keep. I urge you to sit and think.
I am white, and as such could’ve continued to be silent about this without it affecting me, but I’m not going to. Fellow white people, the same goes for you – stop being complacent, because complacent becomes complicit. I’m open to comments and questions here, but not performances of “awareness” without learning. If I can’t help, then 👏 there’s 👏 always 👏 google. 👏 Plenty of BIPOC fiber artists have publicly spent their energy addressing white supremacy in general, so do some reading rather than demanding personal attention via DM. Their words can offer a lot more than my talking about how one specific aspect ties into it. Again: don’t deflect or project, rather reflect. Change takes work.
