When I was an undergraduate Women’s Studies student, I learned a great deal about how oppressive psychology permeates our minds, and our communities, and the institutions that govern our day-to-day lives. As a student, myself and my peers were intellectually ruthless – tearing ideas, and identities, and experiences apart to understand the deeper meanings and to interpret our lives through the theories we were learning and developing. Since graduating from school, my thinking has shifted a bit, becoming a little more open, a little less academic.
Now, back in my community and in a non-intellectual job and workplace, I often find myself in situations that I would identify as oppressive. Often, these moments are fleeting and ambiguous – a quick comment or “joke,” a momentary action, or merely an absence of commentary or representation. Usually, these moments are not intentionally malicious. Usually, the person saying or doing oppressive things is simply unaware of the implications of their words or actions. Sometimes people are genuinely malicious, strategically working to gain power by acting in oppressive ways. Sometimes people think that being oppressive is funny for its contrariness and seeming edginess. Thus, bringing anti-oppressive dialogue into my day-to-day life has been a complex experience. Responding is largely dependent on the way that oppressive attitudes are being expressed, by whom, how i interpret their receptivity, and what safety risks might be involved.
How, as a community of people invested in social change and equality, do you initiate these conversations? Do you try to ensure that they happen in a constructive way? Why or why not? How do you connect with people in a way that honours differences in experience, education, and exposure to ideas? What are some ways that we can begin effectively disseminating the language and ideas of anti-oppressive politics, so that a larger population of people has the tools to express their experiences?
