Thread by @BBModularSynth

/1 Problematic language, meaning ableist, fatphobic, sexist, homophobic and transphobic language, is pervasive even in leftist communities. Here's a thread on how we can all be better about using less harmful language in our dialogue:

/2 Ableism as defined below, is not only the use of ableist language but the perpetuation of a culture/system that places a value on human life based on appearance/ability. The use of ableist language allows this culture/system to thrive in our communities.

/3 As with all problematic language there are less harmful alternatives, such as those offered in the graphics below.

/4 Problematic language used against opposition is also harmful. For example talking about Trump in fatphobic terms. Trump isnt opposition because hes fat, but because hes a fascist. Using fatphobic terms against him only promotes a fatphobic culture that harms our fat comrades.

/5 Articles about fatphobic terms used against opposition:

huffpost.com/entry/anderson…

medium.com/adios-barbie/s…

/6 The below graphic shows less obvious ways fatphobia is exhibited.

/7 Sexist, homophobic, and transphobic language is also frequently used by our comrades against our opposition. The below graphic exemplifies how this perpetuates a culture and system of oppression in our communities. Using this language only hurts our comrades!

/8 We as a community, not only need to do better than our opposition by not using language that harms our comrades, we need to be clear in our messaging. Using language that harms the people we are fighting for blurs our message of liberation for all people!

/9 Below are some resources and action items to help comrades from the various communities discussed above.

/10 Fat activism groups to support:

FattiesAgainstFascism
fatrose.org

/11 Disability activism groups to support:

DisabledInAction
disabledinaction.org

CripCamp
cripcamp.com

/12 LGBTQ+ activism groups to support:

TransWomenOfColorCollective
twocc.us

/13 If you know of any other groups from these communities that need support, tweet links below!