December is a short month for us at TOB HQ as we’re closing our doors for the festive period for three whole week so that we can rest and recoup from the year that has been 2020.

But that doesn’t mean we’ve taken it easy with the Diversity Dictionary offerings! This month, we covered words and concepts that negatively impact the work of social justice and equity. Behaviours that seek to uphold the systemic inequality that creates marginalisation.

As we approach the holiday season, we think it’s just as important to speak up when possible against the overt as well as the covert forms of everyday oppression we witness around us. December’s words will help us understand why.

Complicit

We’re in the midst of some greatly important historical moments, while many injustices continue to sweep the globe, on a local and international level. At times like these, the feeling of overwhelm, confusion or helplessness can begin to creep in. If you’re unsure of how to make a difference at this moment, it may help to find your social justice ‘persona’.

A persona in this context is a social role a person can adopt, that aligns with their values, strengths and capabilities, in order to show up for social justice, equity and inclusion.

Personas are the chance to identify and re-centre ourselves, particularly in sustained or intense periods of social upheaval when we may feel like we are losing our sense of self amidst the campaigning, media reporting and onslaught of information from every direction.

The process of finding your persona in this context is the opportunity to explore the question: ‘What role can I play?’ and ‘How can I be most useful?’ In short, your persona can be your purpose.

There are a number of different persona ‘models’ or ‘maps’ that exist. One model that people may find particularly useful for November 2020 and beyond is the #SocialChangeMap developed by @deepaviyer, Director of Movement Building at @buildingmovementproject. This map comes with a worksheet and is for any individual looking to make a difference. You can find more info and all downloadable information via the link in their bios.

As we say at @_TheOtherBox, not everyone can do everything but if we’re all doing what we can, we will have a positive impact at an individual and societal level.

emotional labour

The term ‘emotional labour’ was first coined in 1983 by American sociologist Arlie Hochschild.

In her book The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling, Hochschild uses it to describe when someone is required to suppress or adapt their emotions to suit certain workplace environments.

Examples of emotional labour can range from a barista having to keep a fake smile on their face all day for customers, to a club bouncer who has to act tough even if they’re feeling sad.

However, more recently, in the context of diversity and inclusion, the term has taken on an additional dimension, specifically to describe the experience of the workplace for people from marginalised backgrounds, such as Black people and people of colour, LGBTQIA+ employees and disabled colleagues.

For people from marginalised backgrounds there is often the unspoken expectation that they must suppress or adapt their emotions in order to remain ‘professional’, even in the face of everyday oppression, microaggressions and offensive situations.

Otherwise they risk being labelled ‘aggressive’, a ‘troublemaker’, they may have their tone policed or face other discriminatory responses that are unfortunately well reported within the workplace.

There is also the added expectation that people from marginalised backgrounds must repeatedly, yet politely, correct and 'teach' the offending colleague on why their behaviour is problematic.

For example, throughout 2020 we have heard many accounts of Black employees having to take on the extra load of educating their employers and colleagues on why Black Lives Matter, even when those colleagues could have looked it up for themselves.

This can be exhausting and has the potential to negatively impact a person’s emotional, physical and mental wellbeing.

How can we counteract the expectation of emotional labour from employers, colleagues, friends or family?

co-opt

For the final #DiversityDictionary post of 2020, we offer: Co-opt. Which is when a person or organisation appropriates or takes control of an idea, created by and for others, and uses it for their own purposes.

One of the reasons we share a word a week for Diversity Dictionary is because it can be difficult to understand the nuance of diversity, equity and inclusion language and ideas, especially once they enter the mainstream.

This is understandable. When we start hearing a word over and over again, it begins to lose its potency. We could even take the words ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ as a case in point. They’re used so often that they almost end up losing their meaning altogether.

It then becomes very easy to co-opt language and ideas to create the illusion of action without actually creating any meaningful, structural change. At best, this can be seen as an innocent mistake. At worst, it leads to the complete erasure of social and political struggles.

Here are some examples of co-opting:

Straight, white, middle-class, white men co-opt the language of intersectionality to draw attention to their needs.

The argument that ‘all lives matter’.

People using the argument of ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘safe spaces’ to discriminate and spread hate.

These types of co-opting of language and ideas ignore the structural power imbalances that create the need for equity and justice in the first place.

Part of our mission at The Other Box is to educate as many people as possible in the language of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). On all our social channels, we share weekly words and their definitions, with a different theme each month.

These terms are a taster and have been taken from our Diversity Dictionary™ module in our Know Your Bias™ course. If you'd like to learn more, check out our courses page and fill in the contact form. 

Is there a theme you’d like to see covered in Diversity Dictionary? Let us know! Our work is co-created by our community to work towards creating a world that is more inclusive and safe for everyone.

Words by Roshni Goyate

Header image by Jonas Jacobssono on Unsplash