Respectability Politics

Thursday February 13, 7pm - 9pm, at the Social Atelier.

When someone yells and throws stuff, when someone does not use words to communicate but "impotent" anger, or when groups riot, do you recognize the mechanics that suppress their message? Do you recognize why their displays are uncomfortable, and why you look away because you feel shame or anger?

We constantly assess which messages are worth listening to, and which messages are not worth our attention. We all use unconscious rules to determine which messages are worthwhile. Most privileged folks use the same rules to determine to which messages they listen. This is not a coincidence, as these rules are taught to us, through respectability politics.

There is a political battle happening right now, where groups are pushed out of the political theater, because they do not present "respectable" enough. And also in our day-to-day life, we meet many people who try hard to communicate, only to be disregarded by us because we do not find them "respectable" enough.

"Respectability" is a bias of privileged folks, that seriously impedes our ability to see and experience the world through the eyes of marginalized folks.

In this workshop we will discuss how communication between privileged folks and marginalized folks is hampered by respectability politics, and present a few tools to overcome this bias.