A belief in meritocracy is not only false: it’s bad for you. ‘We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else …’ Barack Obama, inaugural address, 2013 ‘We must create a level playing field for American companies and workers.’
Donald Trump, inaugural address, 2017 Meritocracy has become a leading social ideal. Politicians across the ideological spectrum continually return to the theme that the rewards of life – money, power, jobs, university admission – should be distributed according to skill and effort. The most common metaphor is the ‘even playing field’ upon which players can rise to the position that fits their merit. Most people don’t just think the world should be run meritocratically, they think it is meritocratic. Although widely held, the belief that merit rather than luck determines success or failure in the world is demonstrably false.
Updates on everything new at Aeon. Meritocracy is a false and not very salutary belief. How White Feminists Oppress Black Women: When Feminism Functions as White Supremacy. Monnica T.
Williams, Ph.D., ABPP Monnica T. Williams, Ph.D., ABPP, is a board-certified clinical psychologist and Associate Professor at the University of Connecticut. She has published over 100 articles on ethnic minority mental health, psychopathology research, and psychedelic therapy. Latest posts by Monnica T. In November, I participated in a panel discussion at a psychological conference in Washington DC. As I shared my observations and convictions, I was abruptly cut off by the moderator, a senior academic White feminist. Understanding White Feminism it is a racist ideology that claims to speak for all women while ignoring the needs of women of color and suppressing our voices True feminism has the power to transform society, but too often what is advanced as feminism is actually White supremacy in disguise – a counterfeit we sometimes call White Feminism.
As a researcher and educator, and I have seen White Feminism at work in nearly every facet of my career. Summary References. The problem with that equity vs. equality graphic you’re using. [NOTE: November 1, 2016.
This post has been updated based on the new things I’ve learned about these images since posting the original article.] I was doing some work for a colleague at the Family Leadership Design Collaborative, and she gave me a challenge: redesign the “equity vs. equality” graphic that’s been circulating on the web. You’ve probably come across a version of this graphic yourself.
There are a bunch of iterations, but basically it shows three people trying to watch a baseball game over the top of a fence. The people are different heights, so the shorter ones have a harder time seeing. In the first of two images, all three people have one crate to stand on. The distinction between equity and equality is an important one. The problem with the graphic has to do with where the initial inequity is located. This metaphor is actually a great example of deficit thinking — an ideology that blames victims of oppression for their own situation. Microaggressions: More than Just Race. In a previous blog (Microaggressions in Everyday Life), I indicated that most well-intentioned White Americans have inherited the racial biases of their forebears; that the most harmful forms remain outside the level of conscious awareness; and that making the "invisible, visible" is the first step to overcoming hidden prejudices.
Since that posting, many readers have asked me whether microaggressions can be directed at women, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered (LGBT) persons, or those with disabilities. The resounding answer is "yes. " Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership. Article continues after advertisement What Do Microaggressions Look Like? Sexual Orientation Microaggressions:• A Young person uses the term "gay" to describe a movie that she didn't like. Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life. Sask. tax changes hurting women, poor: CUPE - Saskatchewan.