KALW 20 reports that https://www.kalw.org/show/crosscurrents/2020-02-10/sexism-in-high-school-debate According to a study, female debaters are twice as likely to be called out for aggression. And if this happens, and they’[a]re much more likely to lose. Nearly 70 percent of public forum debaters who make it are male. Crook 18 corroborates, finding that https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09612025.2018.1450611 Consciousness-raising diverged from, challenged and coalesced with conventional therapeutic approaches to women’s mental health. I argue here that it played a role in nurturing a feminist language that brought the self to the fore as well as acknowledging the oppressive effects of the social and political contexts in which women lived their lives. In this way, it laid the ground for the founding of grassroots women’s mental health projects in three ways: it brought local women together; it legitimized and recognized their experiences and distress; it prompted an acknowledgment that existing structures were not adequate. Suttie 18 wirtes To understand the forces at play in this unfolding drama, I suggest reading author Soraya Chemaly’s new book, Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger. It’s an enlightening read about the insidious ways women are socialized to stifle their anger, often to placate others—at the cost of their own mental and physical health. The book makes a strong case for why women should wake up to their anger and push for social and political change to correct injustice instead of “playing nice.”“Women should be angry about the violence and fear that inform so much of our lives,” she writes. “Anger is the emotion that best protects us against danger, unfairness, and injustice. Understanding it and learning to think about its methodical uses in response to threats like these allows girls and women to move from passivity, fear, and withdrawal to awareness, engagement, and change.”What’s the point of getting angry?Why anger—or rage, as the title suggests?Because anger is what psychologists call an activating emotion—one that propels us to engage rather than withdraw—and this is what is needed to drive society forward, claims Chemaly. Though there are clearly benefits to being calm rather than angry, especially over time—like less physiological stress, better immunity, and a lower risk of heart disease, for example—Chemaly argues that repressed anger is not beneficial and, in fact, may lead to poorer health or depression. Though women are often uncomfortable expressing anger, that doesn’t mean they don’t feel it, she insists; instead, their anger—often triggered by unjust treatment or a lack of reciprocity in relationships, according to researchers—is misread or discounted.While research clearly suggests that being open to all of our emotions is good for us, children are still often steered toward certain emotions over others, based on gender. Girls are socialized to repress their anger and act submissively, while boys are socialized to suppress their sorrow and act tough—often from an early age. This probably isn’t much of a surprise to anyone, but it does show that the disparities start early on, potentially disadvantaging girls.“Anger, not sadness, is a way to actively make change and confront challenges. Anger, not sadness, leads to perceptions of higher status and respect,” Chemaly writes. Why is this a problem? Maybe because women have a lot to be righteously angry about, says Chemaly. Though gender equality is increasing in the United States and elsewhere, women still do more housework, child care, elder care, and service work than men, often for free or reduced wages. Whether it’s the problems women encounter when standing up for themselves at work, the frightening statistics around domestic violence and rape on college campuses, or simply the everyday stress of facing discrimination and ubiquitous sexual harassment, it’s hard not to feel one’s blood boil when reading Chemaly’s list of injustices and inequalities. Mine certainly did. No doubt, that’s her intention—to wake women up to the ways they are being discounted and to incite more action.“We are so busy teaching girls to be likable that we often forget to teach them, as we do boys, that they should be respected,” says Chemaly. She points to the ways that women are systematically kept out of the public eye—rarely on our currencies or on public statues—which works against having a sense of self-worth and efficacy. Women are less likely to be the protagonists in stories or movies, and are often portrayed in media as sex objects, unidimensional, or all-giving, rather than as heroes or complex characters. Anger makes people visible; repressing anger reinforces invisibility. And women, Chemaly forcefully argues, need to be more visible. McGregory 4 Sara Ahmed writes about the “feminist killjoy,” who refuses to orient herself towards a normative happiness. Rather than creating negativity or killing happiness, however, Ahmed suggests that the killjoy merely reveals it and puts it in the open The feminist subject "in the room" hence "brings others down" not only by talking about unhappy topics such as sexism but by exposing how happiness is sustained by erasing the signs of not getting along. (Ahmed 2010b, 66) In this analysis, “getting along” is key to happiness, which relies on not “bringing others down” by discussing sexism, for example Although this means that it is difficult to reveal such affective tension, the revelation of negativity can both unite communities and allow for a reorientation away from conventional happiness. As Deborah Gould writes, “the ability to evoke affective states and emotions, as well as to establish and enforce norms about feelings and their expressions- the power of an emotional habitus- is a dimension of power that we tend to overlook” (Gould 2009 40). Those who can dictate acceptable and desirable feelings, and can proceed to police the tones and expressions of others, have a great deal of power, as such affect shapes both actual actions and what actions are thinkable. However, Gould also more hopefully claims that affect also “has the potential to escape social control, and that quality creates greater space for counterhegemonic possibilities and for social transformation” . She asks: Does bad feeling enter the room when somebody expresses anger about things, or could anger be the moment when the bad feelings that circulate through objects get brought to the surface in a certain way? . Ahmed’s work reveals the ways that those who experience oppression are both more likely to be unhappy (feel “out of place”) and will be blamed for their own and others’ unhappiness if they reveal the ways in which they and their oppressors are “not getting along.” (Gould 2009 39). Despite the existence of emotional habitus, or sets of norms, there is still the potential for affect that eludes this structure, or subverts norms and works towards changing current emotional and social orders. Histories of unhappiness can similarly spark social movement and situate these bad feelings within larger structures that contribute to them. Heather tarrying with this negativity is crucial; at the same time, the aim is to turn grief into grievance – to address the larger social structures, the regimes of domination, that are at the root of such pain Love writes, " " (Love 2007 151). In what follows, I focus on negativity and positivity as two poles of political affect at work in ally culture. I aim to illustrate that policing negativity- through what is called “derailing” or through accusations of “straight hate”- is one way that the political power of ally and LGBT [queer] movements is flattened. At the same time, the 14 critiques of ally culture online reveal some of the political potential of negativity – as a way to challenge the discourse of positivity, individuality, and tolerance that depoliticizes LGBT [queer]-ally relationships and rejects critical engagemen Copenhaver 14 [Robert Copenhaver identified as a Queer person of faith, graduate of Idaho State University, whose interests include queer theory, politics, and theology. He will be starting a masters in theological studies at The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago next fall; “Queer Rage”; published 2/19/14; http://coperoge.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/queer-rage/] I hate straight people who can’t listen to queer anger without saying “hey, all straight people aren’t like that. I’m straight too, you know,” as if their egos don’t get enough stroking or protection in this arrogant, heterosexist world. Why must we take care of them, in the midst of our just anger brought on by their f—ed up society?! Why add the reassurance of “Of course, I don’t mean you. You don’t act that way.” Let them figure out for themselves whether they deserve to be included in our anger.¶ But of course that would mean listening to our anger, which they almost never do. They deflect it, by saying “I’m not like that” or “now look who’s generalizing” or “You’ll catch more flies with honey … ” or “If you focus on the negative you just give out more power” or “you’r e not the only one in the world who’s suffering.” They say “Don’t yell at me, I’m on your side” or “I think you’re overreacting” or “Boy, you’re bitter.”¶ ¶ - The Queer Nation Manifesto ¶ ¶ Last weeks post involved a quote from The Queer Nation referring to the way in which straight people have taught us that good queers don’t get angry. A good queer is one that accepts the “progress” that others have made for us the acceptance of progress is a form of passivity that forgets the importance of queers of the past who fought for our recognition while maintaining the uniqueness of queer identities. We forget about the politics of groups like ACT UP and the protests of Stonewall. These histories are ignored in favor of assimilationist strategies that we are taught are good because of straightness. Rather, we need to use our anger at straightness as the starting point for our politics. We need to stop accepting liberal progress narratives that keep us passive and have forced us to conform to what a “good citizen” should look like . According to straight people, and some queers who have accepted the straight position, we should be thankful for things like same-sex marriage and the repeal of DADT. However, . Benjamin Shepard writes, ¶ Thus, play intermingled with a full range of emotions—from despair to pathos, from pleasure to terror. Charles King, a veteran of ACT UP New York’s Housing Committee, which evolved into Housing Works, of which he is now president, explained that these combined feelings of joy and anger fueled the group’s work: I actually think it’s a combination of the two. . . . The AIDS movement in the fueled by this amazing combination of taking grief and anger and turning it into this powerful energy for action in developing this comradely love anger brought us together not just letting grief turn into despair. Bringing it into some sort of action was very cathartic, but also what was cathartic in the process was all the loving that was taking place. Anger can be transformative. Anger is a strategy that allows us to develop creative strategies for resistance against heteronormative institutions and practices. Our passivity and acceptance of it makes us forget about the queer bashing that so many in our community face everyday. Anti-queerness is still just as prevalent as ever, but under the guise of tolerance we have covered up the physical and psychological violence that so many queers face everyday. There are homeless queer youth everywhere. There are queer people being assaulted in our streets. There are parents telling their children they are going to get AIDS and die, that they are perverts and should die, and are sending them to therapy to “make them straight.” Governments 1980s was . But the course of that, . Yes, the was the fuel. It’s what and taking that anger and not just sitting with it. . . I am tired, and we should all be tired of both straight people along others in our own community telling us t hat we should be happy about all of the progress that has been made. FUCK THAT PROGRESS. – state and local prevent us from having access to housing, jobs, and other material resources We should be angry that we pretend that it’s getting better. IT IS NOT! Stop pretending. Be angry. Utilize our rage to confront the ways in which anti-queerness continue to perpetuate violence against queer bodies everywhere. are complacent and strategically . Instead of being fucking happy about same-sex marriage, we should be fucking mad. [ROTB] Thus, the role of the ballot is to endorse the best strategy to disrupt oppressive normalcy. Rupturing the debate sphere with a method that combats civil in-round standards is a prerequisite to productive discourse about ethics or policymaking since the squo currently delegitimizes non-normative voices. They need to answer this in the next speech or concede it— ROB frames the debate and earliest possible discussions are key to stasis. AND if they don’t test the ROB, they need to prove their offense under the pre-fiat framework in the next speech or it moots first rebuttal. Also, cross-apply stasis. [Vaccaro 12] Debate matters. This is the training ground for people who end up in positions of power in business, academia, and politics – we need to hold people accountable in debate or else we’ll reproduce the squo structures of domination. Classrooms, such as the debate space, create a unique pedagogical experience where ideologies of queer identities can change. Vaccaro et. al. 12 [(Annemarie (Department of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Rhode Island), Gerri August (Department of Educational Studies at Rhode Island College), and Megan S. Kennedy (faculty member in the Department of Education at Westfield State University,). Inside the Classroom Walls, Chapter 5, pg 83-84) SK] Classroom walls create an impression of dichotomy—the academic arena within, the personal arena without students bring their personal experiences into the classroom and carry their classroom experiences with them when they leave coaches are present in our classrooms in the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs that students have learned from them classroom experiences spill over into family, extracurricular, and religious life classroom spaces leave their mark on all of us. We know what it is like to walk through the door of a classroom and wonder what is in store Students understand that classrooms are not neutral spaces—they are charged with emotion these moments shape attitudes and ideologies, and these attitudes and ideologies have physical and psychological consequences—particularly for [queer] LGBT youth. Classrooms lay the foundations for an inclusive and safe society: a just community where common interests and individual differences coexist embraced, students will be more likely to develop perspectives that result in respectful behaviors. Without the deliberate creation of an inclusive atmosphere, however, what happens inside classroom walls reproduces the prejudices that exist outside these walls: straightness and gender conformity are assumed; [queer] LGBT identity is deviant. Any adult interested in creating safe spaces for [queer] LGBT youth needs to consider the impact of schooling on the social and psychological development of young people . The reality, of course, is much more complicated. The walls are permeable: (and teachers) . Parents, , and religious leaders . In turn, . In this way, classroom walls, though they mark off a space distinctive in purpose and language patterns, are something of a fiction. Still, . Most of us have experienced the relief that comes from slipping into a saved seat (prime real estate for anyone in an unfamiliar setting) and the dread that comes from knowing that no such seat awaits. . Far from being beside the point, feelings of relief and dread are the point for young people. And we adults need to pay att ention because the stakes are high: . To the extent that teachers, school administrators, and college professors create an atmosphere in which difference is not only tolerated but expected, explored, and . Teachers and peers usher children from the relative protection and insulation of family life into the classroom, where (perhaps for the first time) children encounter cultural and ethnic norms different from those of their family. If our homes are incubators, keeping our children safe as they grow into the patterns of family life, schools are “outcubators”—places that introduce new ways of thinking and behaving. Social and psychological development progresses as young people move through our educational system—kindergarten through college.
