Quote:
Originally Posted by rubecube
Yes, but what's inherent in any of those movements is that they were being treated differently based on their identities. How is that not identity politics?
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Because it's the
exact opposite. Identity politics is predicated on the notion that there's something about a group - blacks, women, whatever - that imbues its members with difference, often somewhat imprecisely justified on the basis of collective life experiences presumed to be shared by members of the group and that non-members are presumed not to have. The statement, "you can't understand what it's like to feel targeted by police because you're not black" is a statement predicated on identity politics. The statement, "you aren't sufficiently concerned about this new abortion restriction because you're not a woman" is a statement predicated on identity politics. It incorporates difference, and excludes people based on their non-belonging to the relevant identity.
What you're talking about is the precise inversion of identity politics. It says, "there's nothing different about me because I'm black, there's nothing different about me because I'm a woman, that's relevant to how society should treat me. Treat me the same way you'd treat me if I were white, treat me the same way as you would if I were a man. Judge me on my merits as an individual, not my racial or gender identity." That erases difference.