So. As some of you know, I co-facilitate a monthly feminist discussion group here in London. At our last meeting, one of our members suggested we focus our June discussion on racism and white privilege, and I thought it was a brilliant idea.
But here’s the thing. The majority of our group, as it stands, is white. And what at first seemed like a great idea for a challenging conversation now seems ripe with the potential for clueless white person-ness.
At the same time, I also feel like white people not discussing race is a bit of a cop out. A way of fencing off a huge and important political issue as something that is relevant only to “other” people (people of colour, and other, more racist whites). One of the things I love about the concept of white privilege is that it drags white people back into the conversation, serving as a reminder that a) they/we have a race, and b) whether you like it not, race and racism are issues that affect us all.
Ideally, I’d like the conversation to get our members engaging deeply and honestly with their experiences of race – whether as beneficiaries of white privilege/invisibility, victims of racism, or someone who has occupied both positions at different points in their lives.
The question is, how do you do this well? Without people clamming up, and deferring to one another (and thus denying their own engagement with race) and without tokenising anyone, or pushing our POC members into the unwilling role of teacher?
Thoughts?
And do you agree with my premise above: that the discomfort many white people seem to feel when it comes to discussing racism is a manifestation of white privilege in and of itself?
Photo via. And the Avenue Q song it references.
“The web is really fertile ground for experimentation because it is rapidly becoming the format that we spend most of our time staring at.”
Kelli Anderson, designer, maker, tinkerer
speaking at CreativeMornings/NewYork(*watch the talk)
Delaware Today
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This is a piece for Delaware Today about young girls losing interest in science,technology, engineering and math related studies. The state’s schools and businesses are hoping to turn all this around. I love it when I come up with a few sketches that I still want to use for something and this was one of those times. A big thanks to AD Kelly Carter!
A. O. Scott, “Gatsby, and Other Luxury Consumers” NYTimes, May 16, 2013
(via ottyvonbismarck)
(via erichcanvogue)
05.18.13 ♥ 14Photographer Gabriele Galimberti’s grandmother said something similar to him before one of his many globetrotting work trips. To ensure he had at least one good meal, she prepared for him a dish of ravioli before he departed on one of his adventures.
“In that occasion I said to my grandma ‘You know, Grandma, there are many other grandmas around the world and most of them are really good cooks,” Galimberti wrote via email. “I’m going to meet them and ask them to cook for me so I can show you that you don’t have to be worried for me and the food that I will eat!’ This is the way my project was born!”
The project, “Delicatessen With Love”, took Galimberti to 58 countries where he photographed grandmothers with both the ingredients and finished signature dishes.
He acted as photographer and stylist during each shoot with the grandmothers, taking a portrait of both the women and the food they made for him.
From top to bottom:
Inara Runtule, 68, Kekava, Latvia. Silke (herring with potatoes and cottage cheese).
Grace Estibero, 82, Mumbai, India. Chicken vindaloo.Susann Soresen, 81, Homer, Alaska. Moose steak.
Serette Charles, 63, Saint-Jean du Sud, Haiti. Lambi in creole sauce.
The photographer’s grandmother Marisa Batini, 80, Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. Swiss chard and ricotta Ravioli with meat sauce.
Normita Sambu Arap, 65, Oltepessi (Masaai Mara), Kenya. Mboga and orgali (white corn polenta with vegetables and goat).
Julia Enaigua, 71, La Paz, Bolivia. Queso Humacha (vegetables and fresh cheese soup).
Fifi Makhmer, 62, Cairo, Egypt. Kuoshry (pasta, rice and legumes pie).
Isolina Perez De Vargas, 83, Mendoza, Argentina. Asado criollo (mixed meats barbecue).
Bisrat Melake, 60, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Enjera with curry and vegetables.
(via draco-maledicte)
A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO NOT TELLING PEOPLE HOW TO LOOK
(six pages, half-sheet sized, drawings + writing)
My first zine is available
for freeeee! You can just message me with your name & address & I promise I won’t stalk you but I will mail you a copy!It’s a handy dandy manual to stop trying to control other people’s appearances. It focuses mostly on teenage girls, although I’d like to think everyone can learn from giving it a read, & I can’t deny it also makes an excellent passive-aggressive Christmas gift.
I do ship all over the world, just let me know if you’d like a copy!! :)edit: due to an overwhelming response I am no longer sending out free copies: you can still order a copy here (on etsy, still worldwide shipping) or read a free online version here. I also might be up for a trade.
“If you just stop to listen, you’ll hear it. The jokes about someone’s clothes. The gags a “gross” body. The speculation on eating habits or sex life based on a few unreliable visual dues. You’ll start to hear what’s not even said aloud, the underlying aggression in ever unintended attacks on appearance.
This is what we hear, each day, relentlessly and it builds up. Everyone is attacked by this beauty-obsessed society or ours, but no one is as affected as young women. We are both the targets and the perpetrators But we can change the way we critique one another, we can come together and support each other, if we just take a moment to stop. Listen. Notice. And change.”
Because I’ve been feeling heavy conversation on how I don’t care if my eating habits are healthy. Because I like wearing big clunky boots and to people who’ve never held a conversation with me, it’s because I have a chip on shoulder. Because right now everyone’s commentary is making me feel like there is something wrong with me. Self reflection is making me realize that I have been doing the same thing to others and I need to knock that shit off. “Bodies belong to the people inside them”. Sometimes I really need little zines like this.
(via introverts-unite)
‘Sometimes you just have to tell people what you want. And what this smart, affecting and original story wants is some well-deserved attention’
‘Mary Wrightly, So Politely,’ by Shirin Yim Bridges - NYTimes.com
(via s-m-i)
04.21.13 ♥ 1