White/Het/Male Privilege, Identity Politics & Progressivism

January 27, 2013 / no comments

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This is a slightly revised version of an essay I posted on DailyKos.

A refrain that I’ve heard again and again—primarily from white, or male, or heterosexual progressives in response to identity-based organizing—is that “identity politics” is counter-productive, and distracts “us” from the real issue. Often, in their opinion, the real issue is class warfare. They often blame the alleged fragmentation of “the left” on identity-groups who impede “our” progress. At best, they argue, identity is a “distraction,” and, at worst, a cynical tool of manipulation. The “neutral” position—consciously or unconsciously—assumes that the majority group (white, male, and/or heterosexual) is normative (the standard by which the behavior and ideas of all other groups should be judged).

First of all, I want to say this is an essay about pragmatics, and not theory.  Theory is wonderful and important, and I write about it all the time, but that’s not what I want to talk about now.  I want to discuss the myths that are impeding our progress as progressives. We’ve indulged them for a long time, but we have to put a stop to them now if we want an ice cube’s chance in hell of pushing a progressive agenda in the U.S. To make my points, I’ll use examples from my own life, because I think it’s easier to understand this particular problem if we personalize, rather than theorize.

Much has been written about “identity politics,” and I’m not going to try to recapitulate it here.  I will say, though, that if you’re not familiar with the various schools of thought on identity politics, you’ll likely miss some of the nuances of the essay, because I’m discussing a common reaction to a frequently misunderstood phenomenon.  Hence, I suggest that you turn to the very good article on Identity Politics in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy if you need background for the discussion. I don’t entirely agree with the author, but the article provides an excellent theoretical overview of the uses and the problems of identity.

I start with the assertion that there isn’t a single one of us who doesn’t define ourselves based on both conscious and unconscious, and chosen and imposed, identities.  To paraphrase Kurt Vonnegut, “We are who we think we are, so we must be very careful who we think we are.” I don’t care if your primary identifications include “left-hander,” “African American,” “Catholic,” “gay,” “Irish,” “Muslim,” “geek,” “middle child,” “Marxist,” “sports fan,” or “normal guy/gal.”  We all have identities, and multiple identities at that.  Who can fit themselves into just one or two simple categories and be satisfied? Individually, we all want our personhood acknowledged from our head down to our little toes. Continue Reading…

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One in Five Women in the US Has Been Raped: The War on Women

January 27, 2013 / no comments

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This is a slightly revised version of an essay I published on DailyKos.

The results of the CDC’s National Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Survey for 2010. The figures are stunning:

  • 35.6% of women have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner
  • 24.3% of women have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner
  • 18.3% of American women have been raped in their lifetime.
  • 51.1% of those rapes are by an intimate partner
  • 40.8% are by an acquaintance
  • 79.6% of rapes took place before women were 25
  • 42.2% of rapes took place before women were 18
  • 16.2% of women have been victimized by stalkers
  • 66.2% of stalkings were carried out by former partners
  • Across all types of violence, the majority of both female and male victims reported experiencing violence from one perpetrator.
  • Across all types of violence, the majority of female victims reported that their perpetrators were male.
  • Male rape victims and male victims of non-contact unwanted sexual experiences reported predominantly male perpetrators. Nearly half of stalking victimizations against males were also perpetrated by males. Perpetrators of other forms of violence against males were mostly female.
  • 1.4% of American men have been raped in their lifetime. Most of them were raped by other men. 44% of men who were stalked were targeted by other men.
  • 4.8% of American men reported being forced to penetrate someone else.

There’s a war being waged against American women, and we’re taking casualties every single day. And now the Republicans want to force us to carry rapist’s babies to term. Continue Reading…

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