Labels, Colorism, And Decolonizing Language with Maria Paz Amaro
We have been conditioned to believe calling “things” by their name is disrespectful, exclusive, and even racist. This has brought the onset of labels to help put people and things into boxes to create a layer of comfort, such as using terms like “people of color” and “LGBTQ”.
However, our identities cannot be so simply defined by labels. And that’s why we needed to check ourselves and dive into how the English language continues to colonize and oppress non-white folk and non-heterosexual folk (aka the “majority” or mainstream).
We are here to challenge this paradigm of language and explore the origins of our existing labeling system, their original intentions, and the emotional, social, and psychological repercussions on us humans.
In this episode, Maria Paz Amara joins us to explore the irony of “inclusive language” while sharing her personal experiences as a Chilean woman raised in Mexico.
“We live in the middle of contradictions.” - Maria Paz Amaro
We have been conditioned to believe calling “things” by their name is disrespectful, exclusive, and even racist. This has brought the onset of labels to help put people and things into boxes to create a layer of comfort, such as using terms like “people of color” and “LGBTQ”.
However, our identities cannot be so simply defined by labels. And that’s why we needed to check ourselves and dive into how the English language continues to colonize and oppress non-white folk and non-heterosexual folk (aka the “majority” or mainstream).
We are here to challenge this paradigm of language and explore the origins of our existing labeling system, their original intentions, and the emotional, social, and psychological repercussions on us humans.
In this episode, Maria Paz Amara joins us to explore the irony of “inclusive language” while sharing her personal experiences as a Chilean woman raised in Mexico.
Maria is a Doctor of Art History, a teacher, and a writer. She is the author of Anatomía De Un Fantasma.
During her postdoctoral stay, she had the opportunity to reflect on issues of ethnicity and identity within our diverse, global world from the lenses of phenomena through contemporary art and gastronomy.
Maria is also the co-host of the Imperrfectas podcast, exploring culture and identity of Spanish speakers across North America.
In this episode, we’re diving into:
- Where these terms within the English language originated from and how it has shaped and conditioned society.
- What labeling has done to our perception of self and others.
- The manipulation of concepts and how they perpetuate oppression.
Connect with Maria on Instagram and Twitter.
Continue the conversation with us on the Conscious Bad Asses Facebook group and follow along at @curatedconsciously.