I grew up half Jewish and half Italian-Catholic. I made jokes about how these different identities left me mostly confused. Had Jesus risen again or not? I thought I had to choose one side rather than celebrating all the parts within myself, so I almost erased my Jewish half. I learned how to make risotto, but not matzah ball soup. Christianity is the dominant culture … [Read more...]
A Heartbreaking Vote: The Implications of #Brexit For Equality and Social Justice
Editor's note: In light of the December 2019 Conservative electoral landslide in the UK and its impact on the future of Britain, Brexit, and the EU, we are re-publishing this article -- originally written July 3, 2016 -- to provide important context about what Brexit means today. Thursday 72% of the adult population of the UK voted in what has been dubbed one of the most … [Read more...]
10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Being an Immigrant
In the past year or so it has come to my attention just how little non-immigrants know about what being an immigrant is like. This is a serious problem, and its repercussions are becoming more clear as the world, fuelled by events like Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, becomes more blatant in its anti-immigration sentiments. But knowledge is power, and I want to do … [Read more...]
6 Ways to Love Yourself When You’re Undocumented in the US
From one immigrant to another, I know many people will say you could've done "it" differently. We are judged, demonized, and under constant attack. The broken US immigration system, meanwhile, tries to intimidate us into believing we have no choices left, that we must accept whatever fate a judge decides for us. But remember that your migration to this country meant choosing … [Read more...]
5 formas de apoyar a personas indocumentadas
Como nación estamos viviendo en tiempos que dan miedo. Y aun cuando esa afirmación es la obviedad del siglo hay un grupo demográfico en particular que está bajo ataque en estos momentos. Como persona que trabaja educando estudiantes de color, cuyos padres pueden o no ser indocumentados, así como estudiantes indocumentados, he notado un cambio de actitud de su parte. He notado … [Read more...]
Too “Politically Correct”?: Why It Matters for Comedy To Punch Up Instead of Down
For a large portion of my childhood, I believed that the Spanish were incapable fools, the Germans were evil dogmatists, and the French were bumbling, puffed-up nincompoops. Given these attitudes, it can come as little surprise that I'm English and grew up with comedy that relentlessly mocked foreigners, the upper classes, the lower classes, the disabled, the neuroatypical, the … [Read more...]
5 Ways to Support Undocumented Folks
As a nation, we are living through a very scary time. And while that may be the understatement of the century, there are particular demographics under attack right now. As a person who works in educating students of color, whose parents may or may not be undocumented, as well as educating undocumented students, I have noticed a shift in their attitudes. I’ve seem some … [Read more...]
Transicionar como persona no binaria
[Descripción de imagen: dos fotos, una al lado de la otra, de le autore de cintura para abajo. Elle está de pie. Es una persona joven, delgada y blanca. En la foto de la izquierda está vistiendo camisa de cuadros con rayas azules, moradas y grises, un reloj verde, vaqueros negros, y zapatos con formas azules, moradas y grises. En la foto de la derecha lleva un vestido rosa con … [Read more...]
6 Formas de quererte cuando sos indocumentado en los EE. UU.
1 Recordá que tu existencia es valida Cuando sos constantemente objeto de leyes, enmiendas y especulación mediática, es fácil olvidarse que sos más que un número. Tu existencia es válida, sin importar cómo cruzaste la frontera, de donde sos o donde estas hoy. Los seres humanos no pueden ser “ilegales”, especialmente en un país cuyas leyes se construyeron sobre la esclavitud … [Read more...]
Uma Feminista Interseccional Contra o Feminismo Imperial
Recentemente, durante uma sessão de treinamento do meu setor trabalhista que ocorreu em um país de maioria muçulmana, um colega, branco, deu início a uma conversa sobre projetos de desenvolvimento sob uma perspetiva de gênero. “Estas mulheres ainda sofrem muita opressão”, disse, “Devemos tomar a iniciativa de iniciar estes projetos de mulheres, e temos de começar junto das … [Read more...]
Cuidarse a uno mismo y el trabajo social
Si le preguntases a mi madre o a mi novia cuándo hice algo equivocado, te dirán algo como, “Bueno, conociendo a Quita, ella nunca hace nada equivocado”. Pero incluso la Princesa de la Perfección tiene que admitir cuándo se equivoca. Mi viaje de cuidarme a mi misma está en un proceso en el que estoy haciendo más cosas mal de las que no. Como alguien que se ocupa en el trabajo … [Read more...]
No soy tu muestra
No soy fan del discurso del Dr. King “Tengo un sueño” y del modo que la mayoría de la gente lo interpreta. Muchos olvidan que el principio del discurso se centra en el fracaso de la supremacía blanca del gobierno americano para cumplir la promesa de la proclamación de emancipación y la democracia para toda esta gente. Pero realmente me avergüenzo de la frase “Tengo el sueño de … [Read more...]
7 Ways To Resist Eurocentric Beauty Standards and Move Towards Radical Self-Love
Representation matters. When beauty is a standard and the only standards of beauty are Eurocentric -- and aggressively mired in sexist, cissexist restrictions of the gender binary -- we all lose, especially those of us who do not, cannot, and will not conform. It breeds a culture of toxicity, other-hatred, and self-hatred that we must fight. We can fight it … [Read more...]
5 Ways West Indian Women Reinforce Patriarchy
This article was originally published on West Indian Critic and is republished with permission. One of the aspects of weaving intersectional feminism into your life as a Caribbean woman involves a lengthy process of unlearning the damaging ideas and beliefs thrust upon you by Caribbean society. Even if I once had a West Indian teacher wrongfully assert that the Caribbean is … [Read more...]
