#RaceAnd: Kay Ulanday Barrett

Summary

The speaker emphasizes the importance of intersectionality, highlighting how their identity as a brown, transgender, disabled individual is not seen in isolation but as a complex interplay of identities. They discuss the unique challenges faced at the intersection of race, gender, and disability, such as being misgendered or having their needs overlooked in various social settings. The speaker calls for a deeper dialogue that acknowledges these intersections to address the systemic issues affecting marginalized communities.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Intersectionality is crucial as it recognizes that multiple aspects of a person's identity, such as race, gender, and disability, intersect and influence each other.
• 🏥 The speaker experiences discrimination not only for being transgender but also for being a person of color and having a disability.
• 🚇 Public spaces like trains often bring challenges due to societal perceptions of vulnerability and masculinity, which are complicated by the speaker's identity.
• 🩺 Healthcare settings frequently misgender the speaker, highlighting the lack of understanding and respect for transgender individuals' identities.
• 🏢 Employment and societal structures often marginalize people based on race, gender identity, and disability, leading to a lack of opportunities and support.
• 🌈 White individuals are often treated differently within the trans community, suggesting systemic biases that favor certain racial groups.
• 💼 The speaker emphasizes the importance of resources and support coming from within the community to address the specific needs of marginalized groups.
• 🗣️ Dialogues that challenge our comfort zones are necessary to address the depth of discrimination and marginalization faced by people with intersecting identities.
• 🔍 Recognizing that race does not exist in isolation but interacts with other aspects of identity is essential for understanding the full scope of discrimination.
• 🌐 The speaker calls for a more comprehensive approach to addressing the needs of communities, which includes acknowledging the interconnectedness of race, gender, and disability.

Q & A

What does the speaker emphasize as critical to their identity?

The speaker emphasizes that their identity is not singular but intersectional, including being brown, trans, and disabled, which are all aspects that contribute to how they are perceived and treated.

Why is intersectionality important to the speaker?

Intersectionality is important to the speaker because it acknowledges that their experiences and challenges are multifaceted, influenced by the interplay of their race, gender identity, and disability.

What are some of the daily challenges the speaker faces due to their intersectional identity?

The speaker faces challenges such as being misgendered, not being taken seriously due to their youth and perceived disability, and experiencing discrimination in various spaces like public transport and medical offices.

How does the speaker describe the treatment of white people in the trans community compared to people of color?

The speaker notes that white people are treated very differently in the trans community, often receiving more attention and resources compared to people of color, which highlights racial disparities within the community.

What does the speaker suggest about the representation of people with disabilities?

The speaker suggests that people with disabilities are often represented by white, cissexual, and wealthier individuals who have access to healthcare, which does not represent their own community's experiences.

Why is it pivotal for the speaker to acknowledge that race does not just move everything along?

It is pivotal for the speaker to acknowledge that race interprets and informs all other parts of their identity because it shapes how they experience and navigate the world, including how they are perceived and treated.

What does the speaker mean when they say that certain identities 'inform each other'?

The speaker means that being brown, trans, disabled, or black are not separate experiences but are interconnected and influence each other, affecting how they are perceived and treated by society.

How does the speaker feel about engaging in dialogue that might make people uncomfortable?

The speaker believes it is critical to engage in dialogue that might make people uncomfortable because it is through such conversations that deeper understanding and meaningful change can occur.

What does the speaker suggest is necessary to address the needs of their community?

The speaker suggests that it is necessary to address the depth of harm and limitation experienced by their community, which includes acknowledging the intersectionality of their identities and working towards innovative solutions.

Why is it important to not see race in a vacuum, according to the speaker?

According to the speaker, it is important not to see race in a vacuum because doing so would ignore the complex ways in which race intersects with other aspects of identity, leading to a more nuanced understanding of the experiences of marginalized individuals.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Intersectionality and Personal Experience

The speaker emphasizes the importance of intersectionality in understanding their identity and experiences. They discuss how they are perceived and treated differently based on their race, transgender status, and disability. They mention the challenges of being seen as 'brown,' transgender, and disabled in various social settings, and how these identities intersect to shape their experiences. The speaker also highlights the need for resources and support from their community and the importance of acknowledging the intersection of race, gender, and disability in discussions about social issues.

Keywords

💡Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe the way different aspects of a person's social and political identities, such as gender, race, and class, combine to create unique modes of discrimination and privilege. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of intersectionality by stating that they are not just attacked for being transgender but also for being a person of color and disabled, highlighting how these identities intersect to shape their experiences.

💡Misgendering

Misgendering refers to the act of referring to someone using a gendered term that does not correctly correspond to their gender identity. In the script, the speaker mentions being misgendered at the medical office, which is a form of disrespect and invalidity of their gender identity. This term is crucial as it illustrates the daily challenges faced by transgender individuals in being recognized and respected for who they are.

💡Ableism

Ableism is discrimination against individuals with disabilities or people who are perceived as not conforming to societal standards of physical or mental ability. The speaker in the video describes ableism as one of the 'tools' or 'weapons' used against them, particularly when they are assumed to be incapable of work due to their disability, which is a form of discrimination based on stereotypes and misconceptions about disability.

💡Cissexism

Cissexism is the belief or assumption that cisgender individuals (those whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth) are more 'normal' or 'natural' than transgender individuals. The speaker in the video mentions cissexism as a form of discrimination they face, where they are unfairly judged or treated based on their transgender identity, rather than being recognized for their individuality and capabilities.

💡Antiblackness

Antiblackness refers to the systemic and individual biases, prejudices, and discrimination against Black people. In the video, the speaker discusses how antiblackness intersects with their experiences as a transgender person of color, leading to unique forms of discrimination and marginalization. This term is highlighted to emphasize the racial component of the speaker's identity and the specific challenges it presents.

💡Vulnerability

Vulnerability in this context refers to the state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, both physically and emotionally. The speaker mentions that brown masculinity is not supposed to be vulnerable, yet they experience vulnerability due to their multiple marginalized identities. This term is significant as it underscores the societal expectations and the reality of the speaker's lived experiences.

💡Disability

Disability, as discussed in the video, refers to the physical or mental conditions that limit a person's movements, senses, or activities. The speaker identifies as disabled and talks about the challenges they face in accessing resources and being perceived as not 'really disabled' due to societal misconceptions. This keyword is central to understanding the speaker's advocacy for disability rights and the need for inclusive support.

💡Queer

Queer is a term that has been reclaimed by many in the LGBTQ+ community to describe individuals who do not conform to traditional gender or sexual norms. The speaker identifies as queer, and the video discusses the unique challenges faced by queer people of color within both the broader society and within the LGBTQ+ community itself.

💡White Privilege

White privilege refers to the societal advantages and benefits that white individuals have in a system that is structured to favor them. The speaker contrasts their experiences with those of white individuals within the trans community, highlighting how white people often receive different treatment and have greater access to resources, which is a form of privilege.

💡Radical

In the context of the video, 'radical' is used to describe individuals or groups that advocate for fundamental or revolutionary changes in the social order. The speaker mentions 'radical people of color spaces' where the needs of the disabled community are not discussed, pointing out a gap in the advocacy and solidarity within these groups.

💡Dialogue

Dialogue in this video refers to open and honest conversations that may challenge existing beliefs or make people uncomfortable. The speaker emphasizes the importance of engaging in such dialogue to address the depth of discrimination and marginalization faced by individuals with intersecting identities and to work towards innovative solutions.

Highlights

The speaker highlights the inescapability of being seen as brown, trans, and disabled in public spaces.

Intersectionality is emphasized as crucial, with the speaker refusing to minimize or dictate others' identities and experiences.

The speaker faces compounded discrimination, not only for being trans but also for being brown and disabled.

There is a critical need for resources within the marginalized community, emphasizing the importance of support from within.

Daily experiences of discrimination are described, including struggles to access disability seating and being misgendered in medical settings.

The societal expectation that brown masculinity should not be vulnerable is a significant issue for the speaker.

In queer and able-bodied spaces, the speaker’s intersectional identity is often ignored or inadequately addressed.

The speaker points out the differential treatment of white people in the trans community compared to people of color.

Wealth and access to healthcare are identified as dividing lines in the trans and disabled communities.

Race is described as a factor that informs and interprets all aspects of the speaker's identity.

The speaker critiques the intersection of ableism, cissexism, and racism in assumptions about their ability to work.

There is a call to engage in uncomfortable dialogues to address the depth of harm and limitations faced by marginalized communities.

The need to address race not in isolation but as intertwined with other identities is stressed as essential for impactful, innovative work.

The speaker calls for groundbreaking work that fully addresses the interconnectedness of race, disability, and gender.

A warning is given that failing to acknowledge these intersections limits the ability to address the community's needs effectively.

Transcripts

I can't go to a store, or a doctor's office, or a date, and not be seen as brown, trans,

with a cane. There's no way. And I'm not going to choose any of those things.

I do not want to minimize or dictate how people live, and experience, and identify. Intersectionality

is really super-critical to me.

I'm not just attacked because I'm trans, I'm attacked because I'm brown and disabled. People

are being imprisoned, criminalized, harmed, not given jobs, not given medical support.

They're not adequately being loved.

It's critical that we get those resources. And it's critical that we get those resources

from that community.

Every day I'll be on a train and someone will, you know, I'll try to get a seat at the disability

access seating. And depending on that person, depending on how they see me and my masculinity,

brown masculinity is not supposed to be vulnerable. Gender nonconformity, are you a boy? You're

a girl? And then I'm young, so "you're not really disabled."

So all of these things are coming into play, on a frequent basis. And it happens when I'm

at the medical office. When I'm at the doctor, how many times I'm misgendered.

So if they see my brown-ness, "we just want to talk about your brown-ness." When I'm in

white, queer spaces "let's just talk about you being transgender or queer." When I'm

in very able-bodied, fit, radical people of color spaces, they don't really want to discuss

access, or the needs of my community being disabled.

Real talk, white people are treated very different in the trans community than brown people,

than black people, than latino people. Real talk people with disabilities, often times

it's a lot of white people. Cissexual, rich people who can afford health care, and that

is not my community.

For me what's super pivotal is to acknowledge that race doesn't just move everything along,

but that it interprets and informs all the other parts of me. It's because somebody is

brown and trans, it's because somebody is physically disabled, or perceived as "crazy,"

and brown, and black.

And those things inform each other. When somebody says "oh that trans person of color is so

lazy, they don't know how to get a job, well

A) that's ableism, they think that they can't work

B) cissexism, and C) antiblackness or racism.

So all of those things are tools, are weapons, happening simultaneously on me, on you.

I think it's really critical that we engage in dialogue that might make us uncomfortable.

If we don't address that depth, our level of depth, and also the level of depth to which

we are being harmed and limited, I don't think we're gonna be able to really do groundbreaking

work, or innovative work to address our needs. And in order to do so, we have to not just

see race in a vacuum.