Pride and Privilege - Where Do We Stand?
Asisa & Dorea explore the nuances of personhood and how the ‘oppressed’ exist in community and in difference.
Responsibilities?
Living under the weight of isms is not a universal experience for all those categorized as ‘oppressed’. There are ways of existing at the margin of society which facilitate the space for a privileged minority among the oppressed of whom do not experience the world from the same position. Naturally, it is assumed that privilege is the inherent opposite of subordination- and as such are not social capacities that can exist within the same individual. However, this is not as obvious a dichotomy as traditional perspectives suggest. Within the intimacies of our personhood lies luxuries created and advertised by the same systems of oppression that - superficially, subjects the whole collective. Of course loopholes do not disprove the structure- western social systems are designed to propagate inequality. The few who achieve social mobility and can exercise either equitable or superficial privileges as evidence of a meritocracy are just exploiting clauses in the contract. Consciously and subconsciously, there are components of our personhood, intangible currencies of capital, capacities of privilege that can set us apart to our advantage. Thanks to our human tendency to form hierarchies, even at the very bottom of the totem pole some have it better than others. What this piece seeks to probe is the complexities of privilege- how both the ignorance and active use of these advantages is weaponised and what are the responsibilities of those with social resources beyond awareness.
Recognising privilege means confronting how one is capable of impacting how another person experiences their humanity. Thus distinguishing between types of privilege means interpreting which ones are consequential and being critical of social norms from a collective viewpoint. Ultimately many social advantages have both a superficial and political essence. Though math is largely a universal practice independent of cultural phenomena, being good at math increases your economic potential in a society driven by sectors orientated around numeracy such as the STEM sectors. Having naturally long hair on its own is a flattering trait but not objective considering how hair length legitimizes femininity- not to mention how incompatible this logic is with black hair and the legacies of slavery. With respect to attraction and beauty, the ‘woe is me’ discourse on ‘pretty privilege’ demonstrates an awareness of privilege in a manner that is individualistic and fruitless by focusing on the perils of those who fit the standard of beauty; the perpetual struggle of finding a suitable partner, long lasting friendships and being judged as unintelligent or mean. Regarding the same subject of beauty, there are superficial outcomes such as those cited above, however, there are material consequences to conventional attractiveness that are gendered, racial and institutional. Therein, not only are we to consider what privileges are worth critical engagement, but how constructs burden us with the responsibility of resisting the desire to exploit privileges that are based on the premise of inequality.
Much of this argument is predicated on the using evil for good trope- the evil being structures of oppression. The extent to which we are responsible for how others around us experience the world depends on whether we are willing to actualise loyalty to each other whenever we observe injustice. Drawing on the notion of the ethical witness, we can demote the idea that advocacy is only engaged in a corporate or formal environment and recognise how these discursive ideas affect our everyday.
‘Ethical witnessing, however, requires that subjects undergo a change in perspective at the very least, if not a change to an understanding of their own subjectivity. Oliver suggests that ethical witnessing produces an affective stirring that disrupts the terrain of the “already known” (Oliver, p. 181). Testifying to that which cannot be seen, but rather can be felt on a deeply visceral, embodied level occurs when that which is witnessed leaves traces within us, and our material identity is never the same’
Oliver, K. (2004). Witnessing subjectivity. In S. Gallagher, S. Watson, P. Brun, & P. Romansky (Eds.), Ipseity and alterity: Interdisciplinary approaches to intersubjectivity(pp. 180–204). Le Havre, FR: Publication Univ Rouen Havre.
Ethical witnessing extends our responsibility as social beings -encouraging us to action community in a way that is not contingent on emotion but on obligation.
Furthermore, in the same way we encourage being able to identify our love languages, it is just as important to know what our privileges are. Notwithstanding the large scale implications of these advantages as a people politicized, it is for the sake of our friendships, families, relationships and our future selves that we are to be conscious of our positionality. If love languages makes us better friends, partners and more comfortable in the bodies we exist in, knowing how we exist in the lives of those we care about is precisely why the personal is political.
How are relationships affected?
As mentioned before, the acknowledgement of one’s role as the privileged, is integral to an increased ability to figure out where we stand and ameliorate the dynamics between ourselves and others. Interracially, the acknowledgement of our ‘Ethical Witness’ is incredibly important, because of the way in which one's racial presentation so severely impacts life experiences. Here, the very visible ‘Ethical Witness’ is typically found existing amongst an oppressed group because of the relationships that led them here.
In ‘The Hidden Education Required for Modern Dating’, there was an emphasis on the ways in which recognising drastically different life experiences in the context of romantic relationships is almost a necessary component of dating in our contemporary world. The decreased prejudices surrounding the interactions between different demographics almost demands an increased level of consciousness as we engage in them. The alternative gives way to circumstances where we’ll end up fostering relationships that lack the key component of understanding that encourages mutual respect. At the end of these stories, are underlying issues, or in the worst cases; children who have at least one parent who is unable to cope with having a child with an entirely different outlook on life;
“One doesn’t simply fail to learn about the social, economic and political mechanisms that govern the world we live in and then suddenly become all-knowing once they have a child. Ignorance and implicit biases will always find ways to ‘show up’ in our management of ALL of our relationships with others, and don’t merely arise selectively as we choose.”
- The Hidden Education Required For Modern Dating, Her Issue.
So I suppose we can conceive ‘Ethical Witnessing’ as an active and repeated effort, where acknowledging one’s place amongst those around them becomes almost habitually, so that in interactions with new individuals; the presence of mutual respect is there from the beginning.
Who plays the central figure?
It’s crucial to consider the perspective of the mistreated person/s here. From this we can see where we might be encroaching on the lives of others. But what happens when the ‘Ethical Witness’ is confronted with the fact of their privilege by those around them. Is it then that we centralize their feelings?
Is there ever room for this?
Naturally we’re inclined to answer …no…
Of course the feelings of the one who might be (intentionally or otherwise) imposing upon others doesn’t matter here. At the very least their feelings don’t matter against the feelings of the victimized. We see this sentiment all the time. For example, we’re so easily able to recognise that the uncomfortability a white person might feel in the event they’re confronted about the realities of their privileged position are irrelevant in the context of a discussion surrounding the subjugation of racially marginalized groups. In fact, there’s an argument to say we’ve made a concerted effort in the past few years to shake the ground underneath their feet a little - to pluck them from their places of comfort so that they might sympathize (even to the smallest extent) with the uncomfortability frequently felt on the other end. In addition to race relations, we see this project play out in discussions surrounding class and gender also. This slight disregard for privileged stories evens things slightly, and where marginalized voices have for so long been muted under tones of denial and varying objections; this new structure really just gives us room to respond.
In an interview for ‘SWAY’S UNIVERSE’, actor Jesse Williams shared a similar sentiment when asked about ‘Light-skinned storytelling’ in pop-culture, as somebody who is mixed-raced.
“I know I’m gonna have a better deal so I’m gonna be more sensitive to that fact. I’m not gonna whine about how dark skinned people treat me worse… That's just a weird way to expend my energy. And who’s that for? I’m more interested in black liberation than light- skinned storytelling”.
Where mixed-race people are seen for the most part integrated within the black community, it’s fair to argue that as a demographic they’re the most representative as holding the potential for adopting the role of the ‘Ethical Witness’. It’s become commonplace at this point to hear (and proceed to disregard) proclamations of feeling “caught between two worlds” in the way that many have suggested, and as we find ourselves more appreciative of the Ethical Witness, we maintain that the time won’t come where we centralize their feelings.
Still we have to imagine how this ordering becomes more complicated as the conversation becomes more nuanced. For example, let us consider a situation where you have two darker skinned women who’s only difference is their hair textures. Is the one with looser textured hair excluded from the conversation in the sense that she is now the more privileged? Outside of this discussion, and in wider society; the two will be regarded as being largely the same, viewed through the same lens that attacks them for their femininity as black women. However, within the black community, and their immediate social circles; their varying hair textures become more consequential in impacting how they’re being treated. In a discussion between the two, should the feelings of the looser textured girl be disregarded in the same way as the a mixed person when she is confronted about her privilege? Is this fair when she has faced similar life experiences, similar emotional turmoil and similar expectations to advocate for herself?. I feel that we still have to lean towards decentralizing her experience, because ultimately she might still learn something by acknowledging her privileges and even if they are slight, she might still have to commit to the role of the Ethical Witness, even if this might reduce her experience. Largely I think we’ll find that our sympathies with privilege increase as the ‘marginalization gap’ decreases between them and their more marginalized peers. I also think we’ll find that as this same gap decreases, the tone in the conversation is seemingly less accusatory. The sentiment feels less like ‘You’re the villain from my perspective’ and more like ‘Here is my perspective’. This distinction might be entirely necessary though. There’s a point at which given that anyone can become an ethical witness, and the gap isn’t always so large; we could turn accusatory tones into a material conversation.
(depending on the context of course)…
We can only expect that there might be different perspectives on this particular issue. There will be those of you that consider the project to ‘witness ethically’ a necessary component of social interactions. But the more skeptical might find themselves wanting to throw out the entire concept together. Where there is a witness at all there is the potential that the other side might choose to opt out of being ‘watched’; demanding that their relationships aren’t the stage for any self-righteous quest for self improvement and we can’t say this isn’t entirely unfair. In addition to merely informing about this seemingly more considerate role; we have to ask ourselves whether we can ever witness ethically?
Asisa & Dorea
I love this piece, can you guys suggest how one possessing privilege, may go about ethical witnessing in a practical way? How’s does one affirm an experience of the oppressed in the micro context of social and informal dialogue? How do we teach the privilege to not centre themselves as naturally self interested beings, and do you feel shame is inherently a part of the development of an ethical witness?