Comments for Cycads

Comment on Feminisme: Antara mitos dan fakta by Jha

Jha — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:42:38 +0000

A Feminism 101 article in Malay. You are made of WIN, cycads.

Comment on Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses by Jha

Jha — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:42:05 +0000

…. A minority? XDDD

Comment on Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses by cycads

cycads — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:19:27 +0000

To be honest, not yet!! It does sound depressing, but if you look at it another way, NOBODY wants to be a subaltern. By gaining the authority to speak and be heard, the subaltern is liberated by no longer being subaltern and is (or rather should be) on a level playing field with those who dominate language/culture. Hhmm.. what would the subaltern become at this stage then?

Comment on Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses by Jha

Jha — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:55:35 +0000

Have you read the Spivak essay on that? I haven’t. But what I’ve heard of it is depressing: apparently the subaltern cannot speak because if the subaltern has the ability to speak, it no longer is subaltern. I’ve got it printed out for reading, but I’m trying very hard to have fun for NaNoWriMo. *sigh*

Comment on Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses by cycads

cycads — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:53:07 +0000

This shit happens way too often:

http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/2009/11/take-racism-more-seriously-when-white.html

Comment on Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses by cycads

cycads — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:17:15 +0000

“Can the subaltern speak?”

Subjectivity (often confused with ‘authenticity’) is a big issue here, especially for a subject so personal and emotionally-charged as race and ethnicity. I suppose we’re so used to and fatigued by being spoken for by other people who have the authoritative voice about something, first it’s our parents and elders, then straight men, white people, people with money and influence, etc. I too feel wary about people who claim “authority” on issues and experiences that they have never experienced first hand.

Any academic pursuit is driven by the desire to know. Historically, “scientific” studies on race and early ethnography have been about knowing more about the ‘Other’, usually based on racist assumptions. Thankfully, theoretical studies on ethnicity have become part of gender and feminist studies. In contrast, for people interested in gender studies, it’s usually driven by the need to know how to overturn the patriarchal system of thought and discourse, more than just a venture into the undiscovered. Though there are cases where MRAs join a gender studies programme in an effort to prove women wrong. There will always be weirdos out there.

But we have seen arrogance and patronising attitudes before: when a commenter on this blog nullified any ‘moral and academic ascendancy’ on feminism and feminist theory of any person outside the world of academia, that commenter labels the experiences and views of real women as cheap and pretty much worthless, because those experiences need to be passed through the lens of culture and learning, of power and control – almost always dominated by men.

Restructure has a great article on this:

http://restructure.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/white-people-like-writing-as-experts-on-non-white-cultures/

Comment on Looking at religion through white-tinted glasses by Jha

Jha — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:18:55 +0000

Urk! That’s really annoying, and one of the challenges I’m facing in seeking out texts on race theory. A prof of mine, who is deeply supportive of me, can only recommend white lecturers and writers, and I am so leery of seeing these charged discussions through a white lens at this point. Yet there seems to be no discourse where PoC take charge and set the terms for discussion. Rough =/

Comment on From the crypt: A most “nebulous” concept that national unity by From the crypt: A most “nebulous” concept that national unity « Cycads | Malay Today

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:14:57 +0000

[...] is the original: From the crypt: A most “nebulous” concept that national unity « Cycads Share and [...]

Comment on From the crypt: A most “nebulous” concept that national unity by cycads

cycads — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:53:44 +0000

Stop right there with your scalpels! I do feel a little differently now, and to be honest, I could barely re-read this post without thinking, “I must’ve sounded really stupid back then!”. Come to think of it, I can hardly read the stuff I wrote on this blog just a year ago without hitting myself in the head.

Not to say that my politics have changed that much though, but rather how I’ve worded it and condensed it into one article. Writing is hard business, man.

Comment on Confronting Malay privilege by T-Boy

T-Boy — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:23:38 +0000

Oh, ha! Preach it, sister!

As a Malay man, I’ve seen my privilege work. It actually managed to deform a conversation I had with people online, like a massive object deforms space-time. It is a hideous, horrible thing, and it’s even worse when you know it’s a part of you.

And we have it worse than Malay women, actually. You know how family law favours us like gila.