HOW DO WE RELATE
HOW DO WE RELATE? The Relationships Between Forms of Oppression
| | | | | | |Adapted from: In Our Best Interest, Pence, Ellen. Minnesota Prog., Inc., 1987. | |
| |People of Color |Elders and Youth |Poor People/ |Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual |Undocumented Immigrants|Women |People with Disabilities |
| | | |Low-income |and Transgender people | | | |
|Isolation |Police abuse us, rarely |High rises become |We can only afford |Forced to stay closeted |We are limited in |Dominant culture says |We are forced into |
| |ever help us. We lose our |ghettos for Elders. |low-income housing—are |at risk of violence. |ability to travel, |women need a man for |institutions, supposedly |
| |homes through |Youth are separated |kept away from everyone |Many neighborhoods are |forced to work jobs |protection. Women out |separated from other |
| |gentrification. Many |from each other by |else. Lack of access to |unsafe for us. |under the table, and |alone are seen as |communities for “our own |
| |neighborhoods are unsafe |race and class. |transportation. | |forced to live in |whores, looked down |good”. |
| |for us. | | | |partial hiding at all |upon. | |
| | | | | |times | | |
|Emotional Abuse |We are called lazy and |We are ignored, our |We are called lazy and |We are seen as having |We are seen as less |We are seen as stupid |We are seen as stupid, |
| |stupid, seen as having low|ideas are not |stupid, seen as having |low morals, and as being|than citizens, people |and treated as sexual |assumed to be inferior in|
| |morals, our cultures are |listened to. We are |low morals. We are |perverted and sick. We |who don’t deserve the |objects. We are seen as |physical, mental, and |
| |made invisible. |patronized and made |blamed for our poverty. |are taunted in public. |rights of citizens, as |virgins or as whores. |emotional ways. |
| | |invisible. | | |intruders to the US | | |
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| |People of Color |Elders and Youth |Poor People/ |Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual |Undocumented Immigrants|Women |People with Disabilities |
| | | |Low-income |and Transgender people | | | |
| |We are the last to be |We are low |Welfare regulations keep|Discrimination in |We are forced to work |We get paid less for the|We are discriminated |
| |hired, and the first to be|priorities for |us down, because we are |employment, lack of |for terrible wages, |same work, we often do a|against in employment, we|
| |fired. We mostly get poor |government funding. |poor, the government |benefits for our |long hours and in bad |lot of work we are not |are denied services we |
|Economic Abuse |paying jobs. | |works to control all |families. |conditions under fear |paid for—taking care of |need. We are among the |
| | | |aspects of our lives . | |of deportation |people emotionally, and |poorest people in this |
| | | | | | |childcare. |country. |
|Sexual Abuse |Racism tells us we are |We are at much |We have little or no |We are assumed to be |We are not protected |We are at high risk for |We are at much higher |
| |either sex-crazed or not |higher risk for |police protection from |child molesters and |against sexual violence|rape, incest, sex |risk for sexual abuse |
| |sexual at all. We are |sexual abuse than |sexual violence. Higher |sexually sick. Little or|at work, and police do |trafficking. We are |than people who do not |
| |survivors of racist |adults. When we are |risk for sex |no police protection. |not protect us from |constantly sexually |have disabilities. We are|
| |pornography, and sexual |abused, we are often|trafficking. |Our intimate |rape because we fear |objectified |told that we can never |
| |objectification. Police do|told we are lying | |relationships are not |deportation | |have healthy sexual |
| |not protect us from rape. |and not helped. | |seen as being as real or| | |relationships because we |
| |Higher risk for sex |Children are high | |valid as heterosexual | | |have disabilities. |
| |trafficking |risk for sex | |ones. Many trans folks | | | |
| | |trafficking. | |are forced into sex work| | | |
| | | | |because of being poor | | | |
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| |People of Color |Elders and Youth |Poor People/ |Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual |Undocumented Immigrants|Women |People with Disabilities |
| | | |Low-income |and Transgender people | | | |
|Giving Us Less |We have less access to |We are seen as |Middle class values are |Heterosexual |We pay taxes but we |We are constantly told |We are told that we are |
| |education, work |unimportant because |seen as most important |relationships are |cannot attend many |we are subservient to |not fit to make any |
| |opportunities, and equal |many of us do not |and right. We have less |celebrated and seen as |schools, or have access|men, that we exist to |decisions about our own |
| |treatment in the court |bring incomes into |access to education, |normal, our |to equal work |serve men. Some |life, and are denied work|
| |systems. |the house—our |work opportunities, and |relationships are seen |opportunities or social|religions use their |and educational |
| | |contributions are |equality in the court |as sick and unimportant,|services. We cannot |texts to justify our |opportunities--- all the |
| | |not appreciated. |systems. |and we are told we are |even fly on a plane |second class status |while being told it is |
| | | | |flaunting them when we |without fearing | |for our own good. |
| | | | |are open about them. |deportation | | |
|Threats |We are survivors of police|Threats of violence |The government threatens|Police brutality, daily |We are threatened with |Threatened with labels |Constantly jeered at and |
| |brutality, and hundreds of|due to our assumed |to take our benefits all|threats of violence on |raids by the government|like ‘lesbian’, ‘slut’, |harassed for the way our |
| |years of terrorism by the |weakness. Complaints|the time, telling us we |the streets |and by anti-immigrant |and ‘bitch’ when we do |bodies look or the way we|
| |white power structure |not taken seriously |are unworthy. | |vigilante groups |not allow ourselves to |are. |
| | | | | | |be controlled by men, | |
| | | | | | |and by a society of | |
| | | | | | |sexism | |
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| |People of Color |Elders and Youth |Poor People/ |Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, |Undocumented Immigrants|Women |People with Disabilities |
| | | |Low-income |and Transgender people | | | |
|Taking Our Children/ |The government takes our |For elders, having |Welfare threatens to |We are considered ‘unfit|We constantly live in |If we are women who in |More often than not we |
|Being Taken from our |children and says that |children taken |take our children when |parents’ simply because |fear that, though most |any way break out of the|are considered ‘unfit |
|families |white people would be |because we are ‘too |we do not do what they |of our sexuality, our |of us came to the US to|white, middle class |parents’, we are rarely |
| |“more fit” parents |old’ to care for |want us to do. |kids can be taken from |give our kids a better |conservative idea of |offered help with our |
| | |them, for youth not |If there are problems in|us at any time. |life, we will be |what it means to be a |kids, instead they are |
| | |having a voice in |our homes, we don’t get | |separated from our kids|good parent, our |just taken away. |
| | |where we will live. |help solving them—they | |across national |children can be taken | |
| | | |just take our kids. | |borders. We fear our |from us for ‘moral | |
| | | | | |deportation or theirs. |reasons’. | |
|Intimidation |Police stops and threats. |Many elders fear |We are not welcome in |Homophobia rarely |We are threatened at |Police will just as |We are threatened with |
| |More arrests. |being out at night, |middle class spaces, |challenged publicly. We |grocery stores where we|likely hurt us as |having our services taken|
| | |feel that we are |threatened if we try to |are threatened whenever |can find food from |protect us. We are |away when we act anything|
| | |easy targets for |‘move up’ the class |we show pride in who we |home. We are blamed for|threatened with sexual |less than grateful for |
| | |attacks. |ladder |are. |US econ. problems |and physical violence |our second class status |
| | | | | | |for “acting out”. |in society. |
|Violence |Genocide, slavery, |Mugging, physical |Death by lack of health |Torture, queer bashing, |We die everyday |Domestic violence, |Death in concentration |
| |lynchings, Trail of Tears,|abuse, the brunt of |care, world wide deaths |murder, death in |crossing into US, we |murder by our batterers |camps, torture in |
| |torture, ethnic cleansing |our families’ anger.|from hunger, poverty, |concentration camps |are murdered & sold out|and rapists. Bear the |institutions, physical |
| | | |and homelessness | |by smugglers and US |brunt of men’s anger |abuse |
| | | | | |authorities | | |
|Human Rights | We are |Seen | And |Treated |As Less |Than |Human. |
FOR FACILITATORS USING THE TOOL
• Why would the lines in the graph be dotted? Could any of the statements for any of the groups fit in a different box? Which ones? Why? What would be an example of a reality discussed for one oppressed group that could be moved to a different box? (Example: People of Color with Disabilities are experiencing all these things at the same time, or “Lack of benefits for our families” under the LGBTQ column could just as easily go under the People of Color or Low-income column)
• Discuss words in bold: gentrification, sex trafficking, sexual objectification, terrorism. Ask if anyone in the group know what these terms mean.
• Pull out the emotional abuse column (in bold) to use as an example of how many similarities persist in the ways that oppression plays out, while at the same time acknowledging to the group how different oppressions are from each other—find an opportunity to ask the group about the differences between forms.
o What’s an example of a difference?
o How does it play out?
o Is it hard to believe that it “really is that bad” for groups that we are not part of? What could that be about?
o What could be at risk if we do see oppressions as inter-connected?
o What could be at risk if we don’t see them as connected?
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