#marginalisation

im afraid of being misery porn for westerners. (and other first-world countries). because whatever i create, the things that hit the best in terms of engagement and acclaim are all related to being ukrainian and my country being invaded and oppressed, and my identity as a ukrainian being marginalised.

one of my recent posts to pop off and escape containment was about my frustration of the lack of understanding of the ukrianian condition. out of like… four scripts and three short films, what gets the interest of producers the most is a script about a ukrianian immigrant living through the aftermath of the start of the full-scale war.

it’s not just me , either.

at a « ukrianian shorts » event two thirds of them were about the war. a series of theatre events in paris are all about it. photography exhibits show the fallout from the drones and the bombs, and faces of dead or imprisoned people. even the work that breaks stereotypes still somehow speaks about the same things.

i just don’t want to be reduced to a « poor sad ukrainian ». of course, i want the pain and trauma to be acknowledged, but it’s not all that i am, that we are. for one, i come from an incredibly privileged background (the capital city, high income parents with graduate degrees, one of the best public secondary schools, left ukraine straight out of high school instead of being forced to flee because of the war) so i can’t claim all the suffering.

for two, i am more than a sum of the « typical ukrianian hardship ». I have both personal issues and personal joys. i have mental health struggles, i hate dating apps, can’t stand some foods because of the texture, and despise doing the dishes. i like kdramas, obscure indie music, drinking wine outside, going dancing, the way the light turns blue for twenty minutes after the sun has set. i cook a few dishes well, wear too much blush and write porn on ao3.

i want to be seen as this person. i want my work about topics far away from my nationality and the war to be recognised. but i guess it’s supply and demand, and what everyone wants is the ethnicity-defined misery. i know so many talented ukrainians who speak of other things. the supply is there, but no one wants to « buy » it.

« you will be seen as the other and you will like it ».

I don’t have the solution to suddenly make ukrainian perspectives be seen as equal. this isn’t even something that happens that often interpersonally, and it is not exclusive to ukrianians, but applies to all marginalised groups and vulnerable communities.

it’s just something to consider when engaging with the cultural media zeitgeist. let’s make more occasions to use this meme.

Yes. We noticed. You were talking to everyone and just assumed 'everyone' didn't include us.

How do you know that? Do you think having one possibly privileged identity protects you from being marginalised in other ways? How do you quantify the suffering of people who you do not know? Of people you can only conceive of through generalisation? You’re gonna solve intersectionality like it’s only been about you all along?

Also, how is this relevant? It seems to me that most discussions about who is really the most marginalised of a marginalised group, or what marginalised groups are most marginalised etc. Are blatant attempts at trying to establish a hierarchy of oppression.

Hierarchies of oppression are almost exclusively used politically by people who want to suck up to the powers that be and throw people they deem less worthy under the bus.

If you are part of a marginalised community and you spend most of your time on here arguing about who in your community is actually more privileged than you and actually quasi oppressive just for being less maligned etc.

Then you are wasting your time, the time of your community members, and you are actually undermining community solidarity.

Please look further than your own struggles and the need to be the moral of the story. Your enemies are people who are actively moving the levers of power to hurt you. Not people who might still be on the chopping block but only later than you.

Even more so if you are doing so for a black or indigenous trans or nonbinary person, tbh. Even more so if they are disabled.

I was listening to someone talk about Congo and they were passionate and angry and I totally get that.

And than they made a comment about Indians and call centers and...I just saw red.

Now I'm not Indian, I'm Pakistani but I felt like I'd been slapped.

They were talking about America and the government's involvement with the enslavement and suffering of the Congolese... that racist comment was unecessary.

And I feel bad because they were talking about something important but I couldn't pay attention because I was just so mad.

I can't stand people using the Palestinian Genocide to be Antisemitic and Islamaphobic.

And for anyone who thinks oh its a harmless comment.

It's not.

A six year old Palestinian Muslim boy in America was killed by his landlord, because the man was mad about what was happening in occupied Palestine.

He was stabbed 26 times.

And he's not the first nor the last to be killed because for such reasons.

You have every right to be angry.

But aim your anger towards those that deserve it, not innocents that have nothing to do with it.

Remarks such as “if you believe in something keep going even if everybody is against you” or “you are not doing it for external recognition” or even “you have nothing to prove to other people but just to yourself” are romantic and bold until they are not, until they start to hinder our growth and achievements.

Because human beings do not exist in isolation. We do not and cannot make everything on our own. Emotional and mental support from friends, family, parents, partners, teachers, etc. are as crucial as money, time, energy, education, societal background…

This becomes even more evident when we come from that portion of society that rarely sees itself depicted or portrayed in all spaces humans created for humans to consume, enjoy, use, develop, entertain, whatever.

I can talk from a disabled and chronically ill woman’s point of view because that’s what I am, but it can be applied to a lot of situations.

We need supporters, we need people to believe in us, encourage us, uplift us.

A lot of other more practical things can be found, money, time, energy. We can find ways to get those. There are many outlets nowadays.

Emotional and mental support have a huge impact on the mindset and the mindset is the first key to reveal our full potential. Lacking those, we could really be hindered and held back from seeing opportunities (or even making opportunities) and chase our aspirations.