Notes: Mia Mingus
Feb. 21st, 2010 06:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Here is a great YouTube clip of Mia Mingus receiving an award at 2008 Creating Change
She started with a moment to recognize that we all bring histories and stories.
"To be as able-bodied as possible is to be as white and straight as possible."
She is not a fan of criminalization-- we know who gets imprisoned first, so let's think about that re hate crimes legislation.
"Queer" is both a descriptive and political term which is confusing.
Fighting white supremacy is queer liberation! No one org. is responsible for ending oppression *but* we can do something about it! If you have privilege you can not be neutral. There is no neutrality because everyone is privileged in some way.
Intersectionality is a big fancy word for LIFE.
Fighting for justice is queer. Justice not equality: we don't want to be "like you" because how you are depends upon oppression.
Re Disability: Most social justice movements are inaccessible. And the disability movement by and large is white male veterans.
Ableism dictates how bodies should function. The Normal Body. Ableism set the stage for other oppressions (reproductive oppression, queer people classed as mentally ill, etc etc)
Leadership and who gets to tell the story shows you a lot about privilege. Must actively resist racism and be intentional because it's so entrenched.
"How could I not want to be able bodied? How could I desire to be disabled?" (AWESOME, yes) Talking about how disability is also Queer!!! "The wrong body, the public body" that she must daily fight to claim. We are uncomfortable talking about bodies in the queer community.
Question what family means.
Who do we desire to be? As queer people and community? Fight for community at all costs. Don't let others divide us.
Q&A starts
Re: intersectionality: You don't have to give up one thing to fight another. This is very important! We who live with multiple oppressed identities know this.
Q: "What do we do?" re racism.
A: Confront own privilege, hang out with other white radical allies, study and read.
Q: Transnational and Transracial Adoption.
A: Tied to reproductive justice, tied to prison-industrial complex and the military, tied to population control. Relates to children as commodities that one can shop for. Tied to colonizing wars and natural disasters, in which we have no business removing kids from their communities (ie Haiti). Stories of unethical adoptions in S. Korea and Mexico where people are selling kids and making huge profits. Why do this when there are children here? Also this serves the best intent of the parents, not the kids. Funnels kids out of poor countries, out of POC families, breaks apart communities, ie Native American boarding schools.
The next person in line for Q&A, also a transnational/transracial adoptee, gives a dissenting opinion and says he is glad he got a loving home and feels himself a success story. Mentions being a minority within a minority.
Q: How to stress inclusivity, how to get people to come to events not their own interest area?
A: Takes generations. Build coalitions.
audience member: Fight with me, even if it's not your fight.
Q: Where do poly people fit into the queer community?
A: Movement has been struggling with this and must keep evolving. Must be more written and spoken.
Q: Calling people out and getting upset and how that is OK.
A: People aren't perfect. We're living in the machine. Take responsibility and work through our shit - everything is useful, nothing is wasted. Leave a situation if you are unsafe. It's a life long process.
Q: Physical location and Geography.
A: She talks about living in Atlanta.
Q: Educational privilege. Reconciling scholarship and activism.
A: Very hard! Rigid lines in academia, but exciting work being done there.
Q: Being informative vs. being annoyed by people (being in the hot seat)
A: Advocates self-care. Personal choice every day.
Q: Immigration and citizenship.
A: So important for queer community! Think about connections with photo IDs, trans issues, and the outsider identity. Think about who gets demonized, blamed, and thought of as dirty.
She started with a moment to recognize that we all bring histories and stories.
"To be as able-bodied as possible is to be as white and straight as possible."
She is not a fan of criminalization-- we know who gets imprisoned first, so let's think about that re hate crimes legislation.
"Queer" is both a descriptive and political term which is confusing.
Fighting white supremacy is queer liberation! No one org. is responsible for ending oppression *but* we can do something about it! If you have privilege you can not be neutral. There is no neutrality because everyone is privileged in some way.
Intersectionality is a big fancy word for LIFE.
Fighting for justice is queer. Justice not equality: we don't want to be "like you" because how you are depends upon oppression.
Re Disability: Most social justice movements are inaccessible. And the disability movement by and large is white male veterans.
Ableism dictates how bodies should function. The Normal Body. Ableism set the stage for other oppressions (reproductive oppression, queer people classed as mentally ill, etc etc)
Leadership and who gets to tell the story shows you a lot about privilege. Must actively resist racism and be intentional because it's so entrenched.
"How could I not want to be able bodied? How could I desire to be disabled?" (AWESOME, yes) Talking about how disability is also Queer!!! "The wrong body, the public body" that she must daily fight to claim. We are uncomfortable talking about bodies in the queer community.
Question what family means.
Who do we desire to be? As queer people and community? Fight for community at all costs. Don't let others divide us.
Q&A starts
Re: intersectionality: You don't have to give up one thing to fight another. This is very important! We who live with multiple oppressed identities know this.
Q: "What do we do?" re racism.
A: Confront own privilege, hang out with other white radical allies, study and read.
Q: Transnational and Transracial Adoption.
A: Tied to reproductive justice, tied to prison-industrial complex and the military, tied to population control. Relates to children as commodities that one can shop for. Tied to colonizing wars and natural disasters, in which we have no business removing kids from their communities (ie Haiti). Stories of unethical adoptions in S. Korea and Mexico where people are selling kids and making huge profits. Why do this when there are children here? Also this serves the best intent of the parents, not the kids. Funnels kids out of poor countries, out of POC families, breaks apart communities, ie Native American boarding schools.
The next person in line for Q&A, also a transnational/transracial adoptee, gives a dissenting opinion and says he is glad he got a loving home and feels himself a success story. Mentions being a minority within a minority.
Q: How to stress inclusivity, how to get people to come to events not their own interest area?
A: Takes generations. Build coalitions.
audience member: Fight with me, even if it's not your fight.
Q: Where do poly people fit into the queer community?
A: Movement has been struggling with this and must keep evolving. Must be more written and spoken.
Q: Calling people out and getting upset and how that is OK.
A: People aren't perfect. We're living in the machine. Take responsibility and work through our shit - everything is useful, nothing is wasted. Leave a situation if you are unsafe. It's a life long process.
Q: Physical location and Geography.
A: She talks about living in Atlanta.
Q: Educational privilege. Reconciling scholarship and activism.
A: Very hard! Rigid lines in academia, but exciting work being done there.
Q: Being informative vs. being annoyed by people (being in the hot seat)
A: Advocates self-care. Personal choice every day.
Q: Immigration and citizenship.
A: So important for queer community! Think about connections with photo IDs, trans issues, and the outsider identity. Think about who gets demonized, blamed, and thought of as dirty.