• pulaskiwasright@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    arrow-down
    7
    ·
    1 year ago

    It seems like it just ends up killing a group’s momentum though. Instead of finding the common problems that affect everyone in the larger group me, you spend time talking about all the small issues that only effect some people in the group and then nothing gets done about the issues that actually affect a superlative or majority of the group.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      1 year ago

      Nobody is just one thing. Intersectionality is about finding common ground where everyone feels like an island. Discussing the small stuff doesn’t prevent anyone from talking about the big stuff.

      Case in point, being a man with a part time, invisible disability, there is a cultural expectation that I will lift heavy things, engage in sports, or give up my seat to a woman or elder. And I do these things, sometimes with great physical pain, because it’s easier than explaining to people why everything hurts without sounding like a whiny malcontent.

      My experience is not universal, but many men can relate to the societal pressures to conform to what a “man” is supposed to be. Sharing my experience might help another person recognize their own biases and expectations, and to empathize with people who might exist in another space.

      • pulaskiwasright@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        That is a good way to go about intersectionality, but this other comment from another Lemmy user is how I’ve always seen it go:

        As someone with a learning disability, a history of trauma, neurodivergence, and is part of a racial minority, I really don’t give a fuck if the majority are kept quiet for five minutes lol

    • spinnetrouble@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      1 year ago

      As someone with a learning disability, a history of trauma, neurodivergence, and is part of a racial minority, I really don’t give a fuck if the majority are kept quiet for five minutes lol

      • pulaskiwasright@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        6
        ·
        1 year ago

        That’s the problem. You want to keep the majority quiet instead of finding common ground that will help everyone in the greater group.

        • spinnetrouble@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          Seems weird to me that you think helping marginalized people wouldn’t help everybody. That’s the whole point, finding solutions to problems that work for everyone, not just those in the middle of the bell curve.

          • pulaskiwasright@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Helping everyone helps everyone. Helping just some people helps just some people. And it divides your group inter ever smaller segments, diminishing your power.

            • spinnetrouble@sh.itjust.works
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              1 year ago

              You can be short-sighted and wrong, but it’s better to re-examine your beliefs and the way you understand the world. It’s a good thing to grow out of this phase.