Some suggestions for allies:
1. Playing oppression olympics is a waste of everyone’s time. Know and acknowledge where you stand on the privilege pyramid but don’t undermine anyone else’s struggle by trying to bicker about which of you is worse off. (Here’s a hint: if you’re white/cis/able-bodied, you need to be doing more helping than asking for help.) 2. If you want to help, you need to listen. Ask what you can do, and follow through. 3. If you are not within the demographic of the group(s) you hope to support, you do not deserve leadership priority. (i.e. don’t be a white savior.) 4. Get better at being called on your shit. If someone from an oppressed group criticizes your methods, treat it as an opportunity for learning and growth rather than a personal attack on your character. I know it’s hard, but suppress the urge to turn the dialogue into a personal defense unless you are specifically called on to explain yourself. 5. Learn the difference between intent vs. impact. 6. Do not confuse guilt with action. Deal with your guilt on your own time. Don’t ask anyone to forgive you. Forgive yourself, move on, and focus on doing better next time. 7. Educate yourself on the issues you want to defend rather than asking oppressed groups to explain their history to you.
And in regards to depictions of reproductive organs at protests… Listen, we already know gender is a social construct. Trump has succeeded in bullying feminism backwards by using language that reduces women to an assemblage of body parts. In our furious attempt to simply reclaim our own bodily autonomy, we have regressed into cis-centric feminist politics–something I thought we were just getting the heck over. Doing this shuts trans voices out of the conversation, or relegates them to a level of lesser priority. As a cis person it is very easy to forget that genitals do not dictate one’s gender. Not everyone with a vagina is a woman, and not all women have uteruses. This fight is about reproductive rights, and women’s rights, yes, but most importantly it’s about individual bodily autonomy for all genders. Let’s not forget that the next time we raise our voices in outrage.
