Kelly's Post Class Reflections

I really enjoyed the politics of difference argument put forth by Iris Marion Young!!!  I think that she was really pushing towards the essence of intersectional feminism, recognizing humanity of individuals and their ability to go beyond societal boxes and bounds.  However I felt that her argument was a too idealistic, specifically regarding her section about city life.  I thought that it did parallel Anderson's description of cosmopolitan canopies because of its open nature and underlying principles of tolerance and respect, but her lack of recognition for the racial lines that will STILL exist leaves her illustration incomplete.  Given the oppressive disparities tend to marginalize people subjugated to the label of other, and that are HIGH RACIALIZED, how can a politics of difference that is embedded in respect and tolerance really exist? 

I do think that in cosmopolitan canopies that this ideal is embedded in their framework, specifically within the context of a college campus such as Bryn Mawr.  I think that our commitment to diversity strives to represent a politics of difference framework, however our inherent feminist socio-historical context and background represses difference.  Therefore I believe that our society--"community"--attempts to define the individual's identity, unable to truly let intersectional identities to thrive.  I think that in recent months I have seen more of a shift on campus towards intersectional feminism, however the micro-aggressions experienced by many students of color go unacknowledged in our public sphere from the day to day.

How do we, I, facilitate the politics of difference?  I really do think it is through narrative.  I think that there is power in silence, but I also think that acknowledging--CELEBRATING--voices that have gone unheard will contribute towards a politics of difference.  By facilitating different voices together I think I would be able to illustrate a politics of difference, fragmented to crate space for other voices to contribute and enter.