empowerment

Pride!

I love the film ‘Pride’. It explores the interconnectedness and importance of advocating for all rights, in the context of sexual identity equality. The film has a strong foundation of people advocating for Lesbian and Gay rights in the 1980’s in conjunction with advocating for miners and workers rights. The theory behind this being that when advocating for rights you don’t just care about one set of rights, all rights are important. Recently we celebrated Mardi Gras in Sydney. I didn’t attend any parade or celebration in person however, I did see a number of posts online. Something which I noticed and found a bit more unique to this year was the intersectionality explored and represented. What I mean by ‘intersectionality’ in relation to Mardi Grass was the advocating of LGBTQIA+ rights in union with certain minority groups. Some images which come to mind are of a group of people with Amnesty International who were a part of a Mardi Gras parade; with banners advocating for LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. I found this intersectionality replicated in a number of social media posts. I am seeing increasing recognition of intersectionality of rights across many campaigns, parades and protests. This recognition that inequality doesn’t impact everyone in the same way is crucial for change. I think many of us have heard people say similar things to “don’t we have equality now?”. When people say things like this I feel that maybe they are thinking of a very specific image of equality and who they feel may have been previously impacted. Perhaps they have an image of the fact that initially same-sex marriage was not legal and now it is … in some places. However, as many of us know, same-sex marriage is not legal everywhere and genuine equality for people reaches far beyond the right to marry. When I see the images of people associated with Amnesty International holding flags to shed light on refugees, asylum seekers and migrants who are part of the LGBTQIA+ community, it draws attention to the complexity of equality, rights, and how many people are impacted in different ways and to varying extents. There are a number of issues which are considered “invisible” as there is not always as much media attention, interest or because of stigma. I am grateful that organisations like Amnesty International and others who are able to continue advocating for groups considered hidden, invisible and for people who may not have a voice or who have had their voices snatched. By shedding light in these areas we have a better chance at enacting change and reminding people that the fight for equality and LGBTQIA+ rights continues. It is so important to continue the fight for rights for all and to work to represent and empower the many LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, who do not always have the accessibility and capacity to advocate for themselves and/or others. Only by recognising the complexity of issues and the intersectionality of rights can we work to challenge social norms and create genuine equality.

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The Grind

Personally, when I think of the word ‘lazy’ I think of mess, disorganisation, tiredness and boredom. I recently read this article in Smith Journal about laziness and how laziness is something which should be valued. I agree with this. I am agreeing with the argument made that the constant need or feeling the need to be productive actually isn’t as important as it’s made out to be. We live in a period where there’s this glamourisation of ‘the daily grind’ and ‘the hustle’, where overworking is often viewed as the way to success and happiness. I would like to acknowledge that there is a slow shift to appreciating our mental health, slowing down, mindfulness and investing in relationships more. I do however still see the ever-present overworking riddled in so many spaces, and I don’t just mean at the office. Even as I’m writing this I am trying to hurry so I can get on with completing some standard life admin tasks. I’m not talking about when we have important deadlines where there are serious consequences to not completing something and when things need to be completed in order to meet needs and get fed. What I am more referring to is the culture as a whole of valuing “productivity” over self-care. It really can be a challenge when people as individuals try to balance everything. It is good to want to pursue a career and do well in that career, and because the workforce is so competitive the expectation of how people have to work is by hustling and working themselves into the ground. What often gets sacrificed is personal wellness and the maintenance of our general sanity. Too often I hear about people needing to complete a Bachelor’s degree, whilst working part-time or casually in some café or store, volunteering and completing and internship at some point. This is pretty normal and sometimes considered the average amount of work. I remember struggling to stay afloat during my uni days and I was very privileged in terms of living at home and not needing to work full-time, on top of uni in order to stay alive. How much harder many people have to work if they do live out of home, are carers for other people or have children, or any other consuming responsibilities, is pretty unimaginable. What is the value of this? Is it really a greater output? There is this guilt which lives inside a lot of people if they choose to do “nothing” on the weekend, perhaps watch some tv or alike. Many times I’ve heard people feeling pressure to give an exciting answer when asked what they have planned for their weekend, when lots want to enjoy their weekends genuinely relaxing. However the perception of doing “nothing” is concerning, not just from outsiders but also the self-perception of not doing enough. In reality many people have to work 9:00am-5:00pm Monday to Friday each week at a minimum so is it really so bad if on our weekends we actually slow down? Most of the time plenty of us have to get organised like meal planning, cleaning our homes, washing our clothes, cooking and/or exercising. Only after this, if we even manage to get these tasks done, do we have a chance to do nothing; often the pressure can kick in for us to do something. So it’s back to the good old grind.

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Welcome to Stepford!

The film ‘The Stepford Wives’ examines a number of important issues in terms of gender equality and women’s liberation. I remember hearing the term ‘Stepford wife’ prior to seeing the film, prompting me to watch it. I was interested in how women’s rights were explored by designing women as robots subservient to their husbands. Whilst the film explores the idea and practise of forced submission to a power figure within marriages and as a community, it’s a model which I’ve noticed filtered throughout society in other ways. The film also explores the concept of diversity, how the idea of someone being different, relative to the group norm, is condemned. In the film condemnation is expressed through a pseudo welcoming, to then encourage force moulding of the outsider wife into a robot. This concept of diversity, along with The Stepford Wives, remains extremely relevant today in many settings. Rarely is there a genuine appreciation and respect for people’s differences. There is so much emphasis in the social conversation of diversity about ethnic, religious, class, gender, sexuality, age and disability diversity and having this physically represented within spaces. This is not to say that this diversity is not important, it absolutely is and I even find that diversity amongst these groups is not effectively executed. What I am more referring to is genuine diversity amongst people where inclusion of certain groups or people is uncomfortable, or requires creative change to include them. For example, when modifications need to be made to effectively include people so that they can apply themselves and reach their full potential; whilst successfully contributing to a group’s goals. I recently read a post on LinkedIn about an experience of a young lady who was trying to gain employment but continued to face barriers of employers who were unwilling to accommodate someone in a wheelchair. Unfortunately, unwillingness to make positive changes for people is riddled in many spaces. The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on issues where inclusion of certain people is more uncommon. For example, people suffering with mental illness and managing mental health, and people who have more unique and introverted personality types. What became clear was that society and workplaces are often structured and catered to accommodate more extroverted personalities. Much of the mental health care which was provided from employers during the pandemic was to ensure that people were managing ok with lockdowns and the lack of social mobility. Whilst it is a positive thing to see improved access to mental health care services, mental illness is rampant outside of a global pandemic. I often hear how mental illness and mental health care is more accepted today however, in instances where modifications need to be made to someone’s schedule, environment or way of living, it can sometimes be more unaccepted or perceived as an inconvenience. Similarly, the pandemic saw plenty of people working from home which was quite energising for many introverts out there. This sort of flexibility is something which should be respected a lot more. The genuine appreciation for diversity is also the creation of environments and spaces which allow people to reach their full potential. In turn ultimately benefiting the organisation or group which someone is part of. Modifications for people can be so simple and overall contribute to wellbeing. For many people having the ability to work from home can allow them to properly focus on objectives and work to their maximum potential, as they are separate from social politics and distractions. This sort of setting should be better understood as productive and not as disinterest in the organisation, group or people. An enhanced understanding about personality types and what they need is essential for sustainable relationships. If working from home meant that a person was able to maintain their personal wellness and uphold the best work performance for themselves, then this should be valued and permitted. The wellbeing and sustainability of people is critical in achieving goals, maintaining healthy relationships and generating positive output. Overall, the Stepford model of forced moulding for everyone to be the same is outdated and unproductive. Modifications is a key element of success and should be highly regarded as a tool for organisational and personal success.

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A Humanist Approach to Change

I’ve always thought that a platform for storytelling could be a powerful tool. Many cultures have a strong appreciation and tradition of storytelling. When I was fourteen, I knew then that I wanted to be involved in writing and using different forms of expression to share and develop ideas. Initially I thought I would have to write fiction in order to effectively evoke ideas and emotions. I believed that fiction was the way to go as I did not see myself as having a unique perspective or experience. This idea that a person’s experience or perspective has to be somewhat unheard of in order to have value is not something I agree with. I found myself questioning ‘what does it mean to be unique?’. I kept trying to find out if I was unique but that was the wrong question. I realised that examining the world and going through certain challenges which I didn’t know how to manage was reason enough to write and share. I found that people genuinely appreciated this sharing and would respond with “I’ve never thought about it like that”. Fast-forward to now and I couldn’t think further from my fourteen-year-old self. I started to slowly write down anything that interested me, from cringeworthy attempts at screenplays to titles of band names. All of this contributed to ongoing critical assessments of the world and people, to then formulate into written reflections. I believe that many of us who feel isolated, small or that our experiences are sometimes insignificant can gain a lot from sharing and storytelling. I wanted to be a part of this sharing and collaboration, which is when I teamed up with Inspireflix. I will continue to post content here about Inspireflix’s campaigns, documentaries and on social issues. As a humanist myself I definitely appreciate the value of people, their capabilities and contributions. At times what I write can be interpreted as pessimistic of people and the world, however I am an idealist and I know that humans are capable of incredible things and positive change. I want these blog posts to encourage thinking, unlearning, and ultimately contribute to shifting the way people interact with each other. I believe within the world that a sense of community is important and by maintaining this structure we can incite more storytellers to come out and share their experiences. Talking about each other’s hardships and triumphs is something which can give each of us hope. I believe that from this people can better understand how to manage challenging times without falling into a downward spiral. Sharing also has such an impact to de-stigmatise many topics and concerns which some of us may not have heard of, or have no idea how to deal with. I recognise that not everyone has the appropriate or desired support structures around them and by creating a positive space for sharing and change, I hope that Inspireflix and the content it produces can provide some solace, support and inspire change for the better.

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