This thought came to me through a few different channels. The first was after I attempted to find like-minded individuals in my city by checking out a local meet-up forum where people get together and plan activities, whether leisure or politics. About 90% of the groups that I found were for upper-class outdoor enthusiasts that likely spend disturbing amounts of money to get a ski pass. Of course, there were knitting circles, new-age meditation groups and a few eco-groups, but nothing that is actively being organized and interested in getting their hands dirty in politics.
I found a few that stated they were interested in political and social change, however, I noticed they had not organized for at least a year. Frustrated with my lack of luck, I dropped one of the only political organizers a tweet, but he has not been online. Clearly, I should just look offline, but there's no where to look in this oil thirsty, incredibly conservative and Christian city that I call home (for now).
It is apparent, despite the huge environmental damage that my province takes part in, no one cares that much about social justice. This is not the city you will find picketers, protesters or unions marching outside of any place of work or government. On occasion you'll find a group of anti-racist anarchist marches rioting against the local skinheads. Luckily, the skinheads dismantled, for now.
At any rate, this is not a city for anyone who cares about anything that isn't a black, sticky, smelly and expensive substance called oil.
Once this bachelors degree of mine is complete, perhaps i'll plan my escape, but until then I'd love to meet some like-minded friends. Pathetically, too, my university is politically deactivated for some reason. Texting frantically in class, drinking until one's liver is charred and playing pool with some of the BMW-driving suburban dood-bros are the top priorities of the majority of the student body. Maybe it's the times or perhaps it is this false sense of hope that some character in celebrity-land will save us all from ourselves. This brings me to the second channel: a post about the "It Gets Better Campaign" put together bymy favorite privileged, academic misogynist, Dan Savage. The post was written by Laurie Penny and is about Savage's campaign and Katy Perry's Fireworks video that attempts to deliver the same message.
It got me thinking that this campaign and similar spawns of it ultimately examines this idea that life will get easier and things will get better as long as you finish high school and move out! From first glance, it seems like a great idea; let's give kids a boost to feel confident in themselves in the hope that someday they will be treated like human beings. In some respects, it is a good campaign in that it helps some young people feel better. However, it does not address all young people and it does not address the society that fuels homophobia, sexism and hatred. It merely focuses on those with the privilege to move out on their own when they finish high school, assuming they even were able to get a high school education at all.
Laurie Penny puts it perfectly in her critique,
Firework", which Meyers insists is a solemn attempt to "articulate... what it means to be an underdog", was rather hastily dedicated to the It Gets Better project, set up this autumn to console gay teenagers considering suicide with the knowledge that their lives will improve. It Gets Better is a worthy and necessary initiative in a world where LGBT youth invariably face savage bullying at school, at home and in their communities.
The problem with this approach is that it entirely evades responsibility to change the situation, accepting homophobic hostility as something young people just have to suffer through until they're old enough to move somewhere with a passable scene. The notion that personal resilience is the only possible response to injustice is burnt into the retinas after a single viewing of "Firework". There is something distinctly counter-revolutionary about the exploding tits hypothesis of personal transformation.
The serious message that "Firework" seems to be sending is that you can't actually fight the social structures that put obstacles such as homophobia, body fascism or street crime in your way. All you can do is find the strength to battle against the odds, possibly with the help of a go-getting attitude and a pair of fantastic jugs -- you're not supposed to question why the odds are stacked against you in the first place. "Show 'em what you're worth".
Laurie is exactly right in that we as a society should be challenging such social structures instead of passively allowing them to wreak havoc on our lives.
The campaign, to the rest of the world, sounds a lot like this to me: "It Gets Better" but until then, let's accept bullying, sexism & homophobia as a normal part of adolescence!
What can come of such an apathetic and dare I say, lazy approach?
Nothing much! Well, maybe some kids will feel hopeful, given that they are presented with the privileged opportunity of leaving high school and going off on their own. Dan Savage is coming, along with Katy Perry, from a very white-privileged and class-privileged perspective that speaks for some kids.
But, don't get me wrong, I have no qualms with such campaigns existing. I get what they are trying to do, but as a radical social justice activist, i feel inclined to critique these campaigns. They are a positive step in the right direction, but my problem is with the fact that the campaign does not include all youth. It does not call youth to action, but rather, tells them to wait it out and accept such an intolerant and hateful society in the meantime.
Have we lost our spirit? Our willingness to defeat, or attempt to defeat such hatred that is deeply ingrained in our society? Dan Savage certainly wouldn't be the one to ask, so i'll leave you all with a quote from Laurie Penny's piece, her final point on Katy Perry's boob-shooting-fireworks video:
"Clearly, come the revolution, the boobs-on-fire brigade will be the first against the wall."
I really enjoyed this post. You said a lot of what I've been thinking about the "It Gets Better" campaign.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm really glad you're blogging! I regularly watched and enjoyed your videos on YouTube, and I stumbled upon your blog just a few days ago.
Rachel,
ReplyDeletethank you! i am glad you found my blog and are enjoying it. I think a lot of people are afraid to speak up about the campaign because they don't want to be labeled poorly. But these campaigns, like all others, are not above critique, particularly when they don't get much done.
That's cool you were on my youtube! I definitely prefer this blog, less drama that's for sure!
I'm torn about this. I'm not gay, but I was pretty hideously bullied throughout my childhood. I'm female, btw. Anyone who says females are somehow exempt from bullying can kiss my butt, btw! (It's usually dudes who say this.)
ReplyDeleteI did have plenty of relatives tell me kind of the same thing as It Gets Better. But of course, since I was a know-it-all teen, I dismissed them and remained mired in my misery. But they were right, it does get better once you get out of the tiny high school bubble. So I think It Gets Better is good in that it shows teens so many other stories from so many different people. Because teens are more likely to listen to outside sources than family.
I wish they had It Gets Better for regular bullying, too. But something separate, because I wouldn't want everyone to appropriate this important gay rights awareness.
OTOH, you make really good points. Now that I have a son of my own, I have already informed his school counselor that if I get wind of ANY bullying happening to him, I will become the faculty's worst nightmare. They laughed and agreed I was right to do so. Luckily, his school takes a zero tolerance approach to all bullying, so, so far, so good.
Because "ignore it" doesn't work. It is not "just the way kids are" or a "right of passage". I do think more schools are adopting the zero-tolerance stance, and this is good.
However, as long as gay people remain second class citizens who can't enjoy the same rights as straight people, I fear that even in zero-tolerance schools gay bashing might be swept under the rug due to the climate of bigotry surrounding being gay.
Jt,
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting! I was also bullied (i'm also not gay) to the opint where i had to drop out of high school and do homeschooling. Threats etc...not fun times. It did get better, but I shouldn't have, nor should anyone else, have to endure such hatred and nastiness during adolescence and childhood.
My issue is that not all kids in the world even get to go to school let alone have the option to move out of their family home. The campaign is really targted at mainly privileged kids, leaving the kids who come from less privileged backgrounds to fend for themselves in their reality.
I am glad you are aware about your son and possible bullying - i think a lot of parents want to ignore it or pretend it doesn't happen.
In my ideal world, i want an end to kids and teens being treated like subhumans, not just a "wait until you move out and it will get better", i think that's not asking enough of society. If that makes sense!
This campaign is directed at kids who are contemplating suicide. It made no promises of stopping homophobia, and I can guarantee you that the organizers don't believe that tolerating and dismissing homophobia is the way to beat it. The only thing that they are concerned about right now is making sure that gay teens who are feeling like they have no other options don't kill themselves. I wouldn't say the campaign is above critique but the only issue they are trying to deal with is queer kids killing themselves.
ReplyDeleteIt is very easy to look at the work other people do and say that they aren't doing enough, or doing a good job. But sometimes we need to take a look and what they are doing right, and what they are trying to accomplish. For a kid in high school being called a faggot every hour, being threatened physically, and feeling alone knowing that someday their life won't have to be a constant torrent of abuse, violence and threats may be just enough for them to get through a few years of high school.
So really, no one is saying that we should just endure homophobia, they're just saying that it's a real problem that isn't going to go away over night and that until we finally overcome the alternative to enduring it just isn't worth it.
Gag,
ReplyDeleteI realize that it is directed at kids who are possibly suicidal, i think that's great! I know it is not trying to claim to end homophobia, i'm merely pointing out that we are accepting things more in society instead of rallying against them existing to begin with. No kid or adult for that matter should have to be bullied and just tough it out. No one should have to go through that, kids are not inherent assholes to other kids. I totally support helping kids, but if we really want to get shit done, we need real action and that means dismantling a system that puts people in such situations to begin with by promoting systematic hatred, sexism, homophobia and violence in society.
I really was not intending my piece to sound like I didn't support the campaign or didn't think it was a good step in the right direction. I merely felt that it wasn't addressing ALL kids, but merely privileged children living in the West who get to grow up and go to high school and experience that life. The campaign ignores many factors that contribute to such hatred in society that overreach sexual orientation as all discrimination, particularly class, race and sexual orientation are very closely linked with one another. Where do those kids go? Not all kids are appealed to or even aware of celebrity campaigns.
I do believe that i am looking at the good, as i addressed in my post.
Again "A few years of high school" what audience is this? This likely isn't the case for kids who aren't able to be educated, or merely kids who don't own televisions and computers so they can see the tweets and online campaigns telling them life will get better. It may not get better. In many cases, it doesn't get better. Why? Because the system is still existing - the systems of oppression, patriarchy and capitalism, religion and so forth are still existing.
Who said anyone will overcome homophobia? Not everyone is Dan Savage, living with class privilege, academic privilege, male privilege and white privilege. Not every kid, certainly not the majority, have parents who are so supportive, or who even give their kids the chance to go to school or go to post secondary. These factors are vital, we cannot focus on SOME kids and not others.
Owl Eyes,
ReplyDeleteI understand the point that you are trying to make, and I have to say that I agree with your sentiments. I just think that the cause you are fighting for would make more impact by addressing these problems on their own rather than critiquing a campaign that is trying to address one problem in a specific area. Not every campaign for social justice can encompass all of the fights that we know are worth fighting. To do so would over-extend small and often under-funded organizations. In a lot of ways the "It Gets Better Campaign" is fighting the idea that homophobia and bullying are just to be accepted simply by bringing the problem to light and stimulating discussions (like the one we're having). I agree with you that a lot more can and needs to be done, but the radical social change that people like us want to see in our world can't come from the same source. It needs to come from all different types of people and organizations and campaigns. Maybe it seems that this campaign is not addressing those who don't have the same access to technology as those with privilege, but your own blog is accessible to those same people. Maybe the "It Gets Better" campaign isn't perfect but it's reaching a lot more people than either of us can.
Also I was thinking about what you said in the beginning of your post about not being able to find organized political or social activism to take part in. Have you tried finding out if there is a local distress centre or women's shelter in your city? You may have more luck networking through a place like that or even volunteering. It would be a shame if you were to leave a city like the one you're talking about, it seems to me that they need more people like you and not less.
@Gag, that's why I was torn, because I agree with you 100%. But I also agree with Owl Eyes. :/
ReplyDeleteI guess it comes down to, Gag is talking about helping kids in the here and now who might be thinking of suicide, and Owl Eyes is more interested in the long-term dismantling of the systems that allow this kind of bullying to happen in the first place. Both are extremely important.
And I agree about the privelege. Some kids grow up with no love from anywhere, not from school or home. They have no friends, no prospects for a better life and no hope. I was lucky that my family, while not great, was not seriously abusive.
I used to be a "bootstrapper", before my feminist awakening, and I believed anyone could overcome a hardship if they mustered up...whatever...to defeat it. This was some naive idealism, because I didn't want to believe some people could be so thoroughly fucked by the system. I still don't sometimes. :(
In my ideal world, each day of everyone's life would be just a little bit better than the day before it. "It Gets Better" plus real feminist analysis are the kinds of things that help me believe the world is getting saner little by little.