labels – Spectra Speaks

Afrofeminism - Blog - Diversity - Diversity - Gender and LGBT Issues - Race, Culture, Ethnicity - The Political, Personalized

Straight Allies, White Anti-Racists, Male Feminists (and Other Labels That Mean Nothing to Me)

May 29, 2013 - By Spectra Speaks

If my detest for words and definitions stems from anything at all it's the "allies" I've experienced in both my personal life and my work as an activist. I've met hundreds of "white allies," for instance, many of who profess their "consciousness" via some digital channel (e.g. an overly serious…

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Afrofeminism - Blog - Diversity - Movement-Building - Thought Leadership

A Word to the Wise On The Culture of Naming (and Divisive Labels)

March 21, 2012 - By Spectra Speaks

I decided to tweet about "The Culture of Naming" one evening, and am sharing the archive via this post. My main point was that naming can be as powerful as it can be silencing, and that we should consider the purpose of them before blanket use; for affinity groups, naming…

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Blog - The Political, Personalized

Becoming iQWOC

February 8, 2010 - By Spectra Speaks

The name, iQWOC, came to me after I founded Queer Women of Color and Friends (QWOC+ Boston) and, all of a sudden, felt invisible in my own community. It seemed I had succeeded in creating a safe social space for black lesbians, asian queers, white allies, latina friends, young professionals,…

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