gender
Why We Need to Talk About—and Recognize—Representation Burnout
This article talks about the issue of “representation burnout”, the stress that comes from being the “only one” of a marginalized environment within a given space. The author writes that while the “first” person from a group to do something, such as the “first” Native American congresswoman, is often celebrated, we need to do more to honor the stress and vulnerability that comes from feeling alone in a space. For more read here.
This is not a Diversity Report
The company Tala, which offers access to loans in the developing world, published this letter as an type of internal diversity report and a public-facing effort to improve equity within their company. This offers a helpful framework for how companies can think about presenting their own DEI efforts using a growth mindset. For more read here.
When Fashion Gets Gender Wrong
This article discusses how fashion designers and clothing producers use the male body as a basis for “gender neutral” designs, making them not functionally “gender neutral” at all. The author explores this in the subset of techwear, but ties this into a broader trend to use male bodies as neutral. For more read here.
Color Brave Space – How To Run a Better Equity Focused Meeting
This resource from Equity Matters provides a framework for how to create a equitable community norms in a meeting space. They argue that standard “safe space” norms for meeting spaces end up maintaining existing norms making white participants too comfortable, rather than challenging them to create an equitable environment. For more read here.
Beyond XX and XY: The Extraordinary Complexity of Sex Determination
We often talk about gender being complex, but rarely discuss how biological sex is equally complex. In this short article and great infographic, you can learn about the complexities of how biological sex gets determined. Access the article and infographic here.
Transforming a Movement: How foundations can support effective Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion capacity building efforts in environmental organizations
This report, compiled by the consulting group J.E.D.I. Heart, explores how funders and organizations can contribute to and more effectively engage in DEI efforts within the environmental movement. The report draws on research conducted with funders, DEI point people and staff of color at environmental organizations to analyze the limitations of ongoing DEI work and provide concrete suggestions for how to improve. Their findings suggest that environmental organizations view the act of beginning DEI efforts as a success in itself, rather than critically exploring the effectiveness of the work. For more read here.
relinquishing the patriarchy
This article is directed at people who identify as men and explores the impact that toxic masculinity can have on their relationships with people who identify as women. The author discusses reasons for toxic male relational approaches with women and offers a number of practices that can help “relinquish the patriarchy”. For more read here.
Relinquishing the patriarchy resource list
This is a terrific list of resources put together as tools for people who identify as men to learn how to “relinquish the patriarchy”. The list includes podcasts, articles, organizations, retreats and curriculum oriented around supporting people who identify as men to unlearn the internalized patriarchy. This resource list stemmed out of an article written by Adrienne Maree Brown on the subject. For more read here.
Two States. Eight Textbooks. Two American Stories.
This article shows how the differences between history textbooks produced for California and Texas present radically different narratives of American history. They present side by side examples from the textbooks to visually show the different history being taught in each state. They discuss the examples in thought provoking analysis that exposes how political ideology shapes historical narratives. For more read here.
The Intersectionality Wars
This article explores the history of the concept of intersectionality and its rise to prominence over the last 30 years. The article includes an interview with the term’s founder, Kimberlé Crenshaw. The author describes resistance to the word by the American political right, who fear a creation of a new racial hierarchy, and explains how Crenshaw is seeking to dismantle racial hierarchies through acknowledging intersection identities. For more read here.
Allies and Microaggressions
This article from an advice column provides suggestions on how to be an ally when you are in a space where a microaggression occurs. The authors describes the cumulative impact of microaggressions for their own mental health and provides a framework to engage in “microresistance” to microaggressions. For more read here.
“Why I use the pronouns ‘ki’ and ‘kin'”
This article discusses how using ‘ki’ and ‘kin’ pronouns when referring to the environment, rather than “it”, breaks down a human-centric world view and can prevent environmental exploitation. For more read here