The Secret Life of Antlered Girls

so. there’s a lot of good commentary out there on the repeatedly dismaying state of the union address. the highlight was probably nancy pelosi standing there. does that make you think about feminist essentialism? i understand why it could. still, i will always advocate for people with the lived experience of race and gender oppression to be moved into positions of power with the hope that they change the structures they are entering. i just don’t trust oppressors to make excellent decisions for oppressed people. i think sometimes we need to speak for ourselves. of course this raises the question of women entering fundamentally oppressive and horrific institutions, which i would argue ought to be torn down, rather than have more women or people of color joining the ranks of the oppressors. so, when considering whether an institution, like an art museum or top government positions, or universities ought to have more women and people of color in leadership positions the answer is ‘yes.’ when considering whether to have more women and people of color prison guards at guantanamo or more women and people of color CEOs or arms manufacturers the answer is ‘no.’ it takes some case by case assessment of course. condi is a good example of how representatives of oppressed people can be put into positions of power and simply be tokens. that’s not acceptable either. but in the end we can be sure that people of color and women coming from the lived experience of race and gender oppression will do a better job of explaining that experience and understanding it than those who have not come from these places. therefore, onward nancy pelosi.

(rambling. apologies. it’s late)