1/
Both postmoderns and Critical Theorists (who were Marxist) make a huge deal about how naming a thing makes it "visible" or "real."
It's a really hard point to grasp, but it's *VERY* important for understanding how wokeness understands reality.
"Making visible"
A thread🧵
Both postmoderns and Critical Theorists (who were Marxist) make a huge deal about how naming a thing makes it "visible" or "real."
It's a really hard point to grasp, but it's *VERY* important for understanding how wokeness understands reality.
"Making visible"
A thread🧵
https://twitter.com/ConceptualJames/status/1477474531832967171
2/
To understand this we need to unpack a point about language and especially "categories." This is the hardest part of this thread, but once we have this point nailed down the rest is easy.
Wokeness thinks that all categories are "socially constructed." What that means is...
To understand this we need to unpack a point about language and especially "categories." This is the hardest part of this thread, but once we have this point nailed down the rest is easy.
Wokeness thinks that all categories are "socially constructed." What that means is...
3/
We use categories to carve up the world and organize our understanding of reality. We use names, labes, descriptions, and other linguistic tools to break apart to world, to divide it and draw lines so we can understand it
This is hard, so here's an example:
Think of a forrest
We use categories to carve up the world and organize our understanding of reality. We use names, labes, descriptions, and other linguistic tools to break apart to world, to divide it and draw lines so we can understand it
This is hard, so here's an example:
Think of a forrest
4/
We can understand a forrest using categories:
The forrest contains many objects. Suppose you're the first person to discover a forrest and you want to understand how ot works. Whst you might do is try and figure out all the things that exist in the forrest.
So you go walking
We can understand a forrest using categories:
The forrest contains many objects. Suppose you're the first person to discover a forrest and you want to understand how ot works. Whst you might do is try and figure out all the things that exist in the forrest.
So you go walking
5/
You see a lot of really tall things thst have a brown trunk and green leafy things on top. You decide that all the things that are tall with brown trunks are categorized as "trees."
Then you see little objets running about chirping and roaring and growling. They are alive...
You see a lot of really tall things thst have a brown trunk and green leafy things on top. You decide that all the things that are tall with brown trunks are categorized as "trees."
Then you see little objets running about chirping and roaring and growling. They are alive...
6/
So you decide to call them "animals." You further notice that some of them fly and chirp and make nests, so you categorize those as "birds."
The annoying little ones that buzz, sting and bite get called "insects."
The rest of themyou categorize as "mammels."
See the point?
So you decide to call them "animals." You further notice that some of them fly and chirp and make nests, so you categorize those as "birds."
The annoying little ones that buzz, sting and bite get called "insects."
The rest of themyou categorize as "mammels."
See the point?
7/
We can categorize these things in a variety of ways and at diffrent levels. Look at trees. The toplevel is the category "tree." The next level is the things that make up the tree that might be categorized as "leaves," "branches," "bark," and "roots." Then we can move to...
We can categorize these things in a variety of ways and at diffrent levels. Look at trees. The toplevel is the category "tree." The next level is the things that make up the tree that might be categorized as "leaves," "branches," "bark," and "roots." Then we can move to...
8/
And even lover level to the part of each of those. So the parts of a leaf get categorized as shown in the picture below.
See how it works?
We start at the highest level with the category "forrest," move down a level to"trees," move down to "leaves" and then to the pic below
And even lover level to the part of each of those. So the parts of a leaf get categorized as shown in the picture below.
See how it works?
We start at the highest level with the category "forrest," move down a level to"trees," move down to "leaves" and then to the pic below
9/
Now in wokeness, the idea is that we can construct any category we want, and we can organize things however we want.
Lets use books as an example.
You can organize you books in order of author, genre, length, publisher, fiction/non-fiction, or by the colour of the cover...
Now in wokeness, the idea is that we can construct any category we want, and we can organize things however we want.
Lets use books as an example.
You can organize you books in order of author, genre, length, publisher, fiction/non-fiction, or by the colour of the cover...
10/
We can divide up the forrest just like the library. We can divide it using whatever categories we want to invent. It's up to us. There is no objectively right way to do it.
So the woke say that "tree" is just a category we invented, and the things we categorize as trees...
We can divide up the forrest just like the library. We can divide it using whatever categories we want to invent. It's up to us. There is no objectively right way to do it.
So the woke say that "tree" is just a category we invented, and the things we categorize as trees...
11/
Are only "trees" because we put them in that category.
The key insight is this: the woke do not think our categories are made to helpbus get a TRUE picture of the world. They think we invent categories ACCORDING TO OUR OWN INTRESTS. We categorize things according to what...
Are only "trees" because we put them in that category.
The key insight is this: the woke do not think our categories are made to helpbus get a TRUE picture of the world. They think we invent categories ACCORDING TO OUR OWN INTRESTS. We categorize things according to what...
12/
We care about and, matters to us.
Don't forget that, we'll be coming back to it.
We use categories to understand and organize, and also to communicate. So we tend form categories as a group. We make them by discussing, revising, and agreeing on what's best for our purposes
We care about and, matters to us.
Don't forget that, we'll be coming back to it.
We use categories to understand and organize, and also to communicate. So we tend form categories as a group. We make them by discussing, revising, and agreeing on what's best for our purposes
13/
In this view category creation is a social process that we do together, so this mean that categories are "socially constructed."
I know that was hard to grasp. It's difficult stuff. But now that we have that on the table we can describe what it means to "make 'X' visible"
In this view category creation is a social process that we do together, so this mean that categories are "socially constructed."
I know that was hard to grasp. It's difficult stuff. But now that we have that on the table we can describe what it means to "make 'X' visible"
14/
Now, the same process we use to categorize the physical world is the process we use the categorize society. Our social categories, the categories we use to organize how society works are also "socially constructed."
Now, here is where the woke twist comes in...
Now, the same process we use to categorize the physical world is the process we use the categorize society. Our social categories, the categories we use to organize how society works are also "socially constructed."
Now, here is where the woke twist comes in...
15/
Remember that the woke think we create categories ACCORDING TO OUR INTERESTS. On their view we don't create catefories in order of get a "true" description of reality, we create categories for our own purposes according to our own goals, intentions, motives, and INTERESTS.
Remember that the woke think we create categories ACCORDING TO OUR INTERESTS. On their view we don't create catefories in order of get a "true" description of reality, we create categories for our own purposes according to our own goals, intentions, motives, and INTERESTS.
16/
This means all the categories that exist we use to describe how society works were constructed by the dominant group in society. That means the categories we use to both organize society and to UNDERSTAND society were created by the dominant group in society.
And that means
This means all the categories that exist we use to describe how society works were constructed by the dominant group in society. That means the categories we use to both organize society and to UNDERSTAND society were created by the dominant group in society.
And that means
17/
That the categories we have to understand society are made to understand society from the point of view of the dominant group in society: straight white males.
As such our understanding of how society works is restricted to the categories made by straight white males.
That the categories we have to understand society are made to understand society from the point of view of the dominant group in society: straight white males.
As such our understanding of how society works is restricted to the categories made by straight white males.
18/
Since the categories are made according to the intersests of straight white males anything in society that does not matter to the interests of straight white males doesn't get categorized, and is left out of our understanding of society: those things are rendered invisible...
Since the categories are made according to the intersests of straight white males anything in society that does not matter to the interests of straight white males doesn't get categorized, and is left out of our understanding of society: those things are rendered invisible...
19/
They are invisible because they cannot be understood because there are not categories that can be used to organize and understand them. There is no categories, no language, to understand things that are not in the interests of straight white males.
On the woke view...
They are invisible because they cannot be understood because there are not categories that can be used to organize and understand them. There is no categories, no language, to understand things that are not in the interests of straight white males.
On the woke view...
20/
Things straight white males do not care about are thus "invisible" and cannot be communicated or understood. Nothing that straight white males don't care about can be communicated, discussed, or talked about because there are no categories with which to discuss them.
Things straight white males do not care about are thus "invisible" and cannot be communicated or understood. Nothing that straight white males don't care about can be communicated, discussed, or talked about because there are no categories with which to discuss them.
21/
Because there's no language with which to communicate things irrelevent to the interests of straight white males those things do not exist in the minds of people who have not experienced them directly. The only way to know about things Straight white males don't care about...
Because there's no language with which to communicate things irrelevent to the interests of straight white males those things do not exist in the minds of people who have not experienced them directly. The only way to know about things Straight white males don't care about...
22/
Is through "lived experience." The ones who have that lived experience are those who are not straight white males. Those groups (lgbt, poc, women trans,etc) have experience according to their group which lets them experience things and "see" things strsight white males don't.
Is through "lived experience." The ones who have that lived experience are those who are not straight white males. Those groups (lgbt, poc, women trans,etc) have experience according to their group which lets them experience things and "see" things strsight white males don't.
23/
So the woke want to "make visible" all the stuff straight white males do not care about by giving those things names so that they can be categorized, that way those things can be communicated and understood. They want to make a language to categorize these things.
So the woke want to "make visible" all the stuff straight white males do not care about by giving those things names so that they can be categorized, that way those things can be communicated and understood. They want to make a language to categorize these things.
This is why we have terms like:
Mansplain
Himpathy
Manterrupting
Broproppriate
Manspreading
Male-gaze
Terf
Whitesplain
White tears
Hepeat
Brogressive
Microaggression
And a whole host of other terms they invent to describe things in society they think need to be "made visible."
Mansplain
Himpathy
Manterrupting
Broproppriate
Manspreading
Male-gaze
Terf
Whitesplain
White tears
Hepeat
Brogressive
Microaggression
And a whole host of other terms they invent to describe things in society they think need to be "made visible."
24/
This is what the woke mean by "making 'X' visible"
In practice what they are doing is inventing an entire vocabulary to describe everything they think is a social sleight real or imagined, no matter how small or inoffensive so they can raise hell and complain about it.
This is what the woke mean by "making 'X' visible"
In practice what they are doing is inventing an entire vocabulary to describe everything they think is a social sleight real or imagined, no matter how small or inoffensive so they can raise hell and complain about it.
25/
That's what they mean by "make 'X' visible."
Just remeber you do not have to live according to the invented terminology of people who make up words to complain about social minutia so they can grab power in society.
Not everything is a system and not everything is a sleight
That's what they mean by "make 'X' visible."
Just remeber you do not have to live according to the invented terminology of people who make up words to complain about social minutia so they can grab power in society.
Not everything is a system and not everything is a sleight
26/
Men sitting with open legs to avoid crushing their testicles doesn't require coining the word "manspread" and acting like men sitting legs open committed some great injustice
That said, we may need a word for the woke who invent silly jargon
"Ballbuster" comes to mind
/fin
Men sitting with open legs to avoid crushing their testicles doesn't require coining the word "manspread" and acting like men sitting legs open committed some great injustice
That said, we may need a word for the woke who invent silly jargon
"Ballbuster" comes to mind
/fin
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