On the identity of "identity politics"
Aug. 27th, 2014 12:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zeeth_kyrahAll of identity politics comes from three places:
1. That of oneself which does not change, no matter what one does or tries: The immutable self.
2. That which one chooses.
3. That which is forced on one, gently or otherwise.
Of the first, it is unstoppable. Racial origin, sexual tendencies, and inner nature (such as transgender or otherkin) are all breaking down boundaries the other two sources put up. If a person does not live their immutable self in some way, they are weakened and made less; while if they live what is true regardless, they are strengthened. Essentially, hating oneself destroys oneself, while loving oneself makes one whole and powerful. Identity can be internal (mind and spirit) or external (flesh and ability), but some aspects of it are never chosen in life.
Of the second, humans are tribal beings. We evolved to want to belong to groups with a specific identity, and to stand against our rivals in order to strengthen our tribal bonds. Here is where the behavior of politics is mostly played out, where we root for the local team (or our chosen favorite) for life, where (in a multi-party political system) we stand with a political party because someone in it was nice to us and their rival was not (even as the party's choices don't always support us), where we decide what sort of life to live from the many options available.
Of the third, this is the inevitable pressure of government, society, culture, and the group-unity of our choices. We are always born into culture (aside from those who are raised by wild animals), and we can choose to live it or not; but our environment will push us to conform to it. Economic options are enforced by the laws we build and authorities (legal or not) we face. Social options are limited by what government and authority will allow. This is how rape culture perpetuates itself, how racism crushes the so-called other, how authoritarianism bullies everyone who isn't a sociopath.
Identity politics is about how we navigate the pressures of the first and third sources by our actions from the second, how we balance our inner natures and immutable forms against the forces arrayed to direct and control us.
I am a white person with a male body, feminine and otherkin nature, attraction to females, a bias toward thoughtfulness and spiritual health, and a strong liberal tendency. I chose Paganism because it fit my inner nature better. I chose independence from the two-party system of the US (though it is not really available). I chose to rebel against those who desire a destructive conformity of me. What can I say of the forces arrayed to guide me? Only that they are present, and that I stand with or against them as I find necessary to stay true to myself.
And staying true to oneself against even the most subtle and imperative of socioeconomic forces is how one creates a new society. Not always better, simply different; our natures are not always in our favor.
1. That of oneself which does not change, no matter what one does or tries: The immutable self.
2. That which one chooses.
3. That which is forced on one, gently or otherwise.
Of the first, it is unstoppable. Racial origin, sexual tendencies, and inner nature (such as transgender or otherkin) are all breaking down boundaries the other two sources put up. If a person does not live their immutable self in some way, they are weakened and made less; while if they live what is true regardless, they are strengthened. Essentially, hating oneself destroys oneself, while loving oneself makes one whole and powerful. Identity can be internal (mind and spirit) or external (flesh and ability), but some aspects of it are never chosen in life.
Of the second, humans are tribal beings. We evolved to want to belong to groups with a specific identity, and to stand against our rivals in order to strengthen our tribal bonds. Here is where the behavior of politics is mostly played out, where we root for the local team (or our chosen favorite) for life, where (in a multi-party political system) we stand with a political party because someone in it was nice to us and their rival was not (even as the party's choices don't always support us), where we decide what sort of life to live from the many options available.
Of the third, this is the inevitable pressure of government, society, culture, and the group-unity of our choices. We are always born into culture (aside from those who are raised by wild animals), and we can choose to live it or not; but our environment will push us to conform to it. Economic options are enforced by the laws we build and authorities (legal or not) we face. Social options are limited by what government and authority will allow. This is how rape culture perpetuates itself, how racism crushes the so-called other, how authoritarianism bullies everyone who isn't a sociopath.
Identity politics is about how we navigate the pressures of the first and third sources by our actions from the second, how we balance our inner natures and immutable forms against the forces arrayed to direct and control us.
I am a white person with a male body, feminine and otherkin nature, attraction to females, a bias toward thoughtfulness and spiritual health, and a strong liberal tendency. I chose Paganism because it fit my inner nature better. I chose independence from the two-party system of the US (though it is not really available). I chose to rebel against those who desire a destructive conformity of me. What can I say of the forces arrayed to guide me? Only that they are present, and that I stand with or against them as I find necessary to stay true to myself.
And staying true to oneself against even the most subtle and imperative of socioeconomic forces is how one creates a new society. Not always better, simply different; our natures are not always in our favor.
