Rethinking the Relationship Between The Words We Use, The Actions We Take, and the Thoughts We Think Part 3. The Thoughts We Think ~~~ Continued from Part 1. The Words We Use and Part 2. The Actions We Take ~~~ Civil Rights vs. Human Rights Legal rights ground legal claims to protect already established legal entitlements. Human…
Rethinking the Relationship Between The Words We Use, The Actions We Take, and the Thoughts We Think Part 2. The Actions We Take Continued from: Part 1. The Words We Use ~~~ Charity vs. Mutual Aid The dictionary tells us that poor is the opposite of rich, and we often think of poverty to mean simply that –…
Rethinking the Relationship Between The Words We Use, The Actions We Take, and the Thoughts We Think Part 1. The Words We Use ~~~ I spend a lot of my waking life in my head. I like to think. And I give a lot of thought to the words that I speak, and the ways I…
Apologizing can be one of the most difficult acts, and one of the most powerful in showing our ability to empathize, to care, and to hold ourselves accountable. Apologies are often empty words, focusing on intention rather than reception. When we acknowledge that we were wrong–regardless of intention–that we hurt someone, that we acted out…
Sexism and gender-based violence is normalized in a number of ways in Western culture; one of the most accepted and unseen way is our language itself. For example, it has become widely acceptable to refer to a mixed-gender group of people–or even all women–as “guys.” It may seem harmless, but we must consider the potential…
To be an ally is to assist in other people’s struggle. To be a turncoat, one must acknowledge that their struggle is to foment insurrection within a privileged class. Oppression does not just happen to some people, it is systemic in part because privilege has been internalized and efforts to create equity are resisted. If…
Just as the male-as-neutral form of our language invisiblizes numerous demographics of people, the way that language casually infantilizes women perpetuates rape culture and normalizes sexism. To refer to a woman–a female-identifying person over the age of 18–as a “girl,” is not only disrespectful, treating them as a child, removing agency and autonomy, but it…
“The rule against using singular they is enforced neither because it preserves some consistent, objective grammatical standard, nor because it serves our communication needs. It is enforced because enforcing language norms is a way of enforcing power structures. Our pronoun problem isn’t just about gender — it’s about power.” Language is both a reflection of…
