Paper Title
#AllLivesMatter, #NotAllMen: Backlash against Social Justice Movements
Location
Room 217, DiGiorgio Campus Center (DiGs)
Keywords
social justice movements, feminism, intersectionality, backlash, equality
Start Date
April 2016
End Date
April 2016
Abstract
Just as today’s continued efforts for equality and social justice have evolved, so too has the form of backlash against such efforts. In the guise of wanting to represent the interests of all, those with power and privilege have developed new and more insidious ways of silencing those working toward equality in society. This presentation will explore this phenomenon through analysis of works such as Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women (Faludi, 2006) and The New Jim Crow (Alexander, 2012). Rather than embracing qualities espoused by theories of intersectionality, these new forms of backlash demand that we equate concepts of “sameness” and “equality”; they simultaneously try to put all on the same level without the recognition that society is far from accomplishing that goal. The declaration of reverse racism and the antifeminist and male rights advocate (MRA) movement illustrate backlash poignantly. This presentation will explore these forms of backlash and stimulate conversation about how we persevere in the face of contention and opposition.
#AllLivesMatter, #NotAllMen: Backlash against Social Justice Movements
Room 217, DiGiorgio Campus Center (DiGs)
Just as today’s continued efforts for equality and social justice have evolved, so too has the form of backlash against such efforts. In the guise of wanting to represent the interests of all, those with power and privilege have developed new and more insidious ways of silencing those working toward equality in society. This presentation will explore this phenomenon through analysis of works such as Backlash: The Undeclared War Against Women (Faludi, 2006) and The New Jim Crow (Alexander, 2012). Rather than embracing qualities espoused by theories of intersectionality, these new forms of backlash demand that we equate concepts of “sameness” and “equality”; they simultaneously try to put all on the same level without the recognition that society is far from accomplishing that goal. The declaration of reverse racism and the antifeminist and male rights advocate (MRA) movement illustrate backlash poignantly. This presentation will explore these forms of backlash and stimulate conversation about how we persevere in the face of contention and opposition.
