Driving back to Sheffield

 I took Liz back to Sheffield today and in the car we discussed the fascinating subject of gender.  Liz explained to me why she, despite lots of persuasive criticism, will continue to write stories with gender neutral pronouns.

It reminded me of one of the main arguments in Emma's Dabiri's book, "What White People Can Do Next".  This book discusses the invention of the power politics of 'Whiteness'.  Dabiri notes that the concept of whiteness was used to explain why as the indentured white workers (aka slaves) on the Caribbean plantations were replaced by black enslaved people, an explanation was concocted to describe why the whites were treated better than the blacks.  The colour of the skin made a very useful defining distinction to justify this separation.  A ridiculous distinction of course, as humanity easily mixes, (especially with dominate white males in the picture).  A famous example is the story of 'The Black Count', or the father of Alexandre Dumas, also called Alex Dumas.  Alexandre Dumas' father was a French Count, who married a black Haitian enslaved woman.  Alexandre inherited the estate in Normandy.  His father was a general in Napoleon's Army and the inspiration for Dumas book, The Count of Montichristo.' For a while, the French state held that to be French, was to be Free.  Indeed, the etymology of the word Frank comes from the Latin 'to be free'.

My discussions with Liz reminded me of this, because we wondered about how the use of gender might also be used to create this distinction.  The 'power' associated with gender began to slip when farms became mechanised, and the power of an average woman became very similar to that of an average man.  The same applies for warfare, and virtually all other occupations.  Physical difference has lost any distinguishing difference.

We see how discrimination between gender and race actually has a subtle impact on the whole system and ultimately affects all sides.  Can similar principles be applied to other forms of discrimination?  What about the way prejudice in favour of beauty operates?   Is it important to define a difference in order to allow distinctions to be legitimised?  I do not see this with beauty, or disability interestingly.  It is the discrimination that can not be spoken.

On my drive home today, on a reasonably empty road, there was one hold up.  It was made by about 300 cars from the Free Palestine Protest, making a protest on the motorway- a very French experience.  

An interesting Picture from yesterday in London.
The Free Palestine Rally included Orthodox Jewry.

 .