The Need for Control and Belonging: The Zeitgeist of Social Media

Explicit content warning

10/31/19 • 23 min

Blaming LGBTQ and People of Colour for the ills of the world demonstrates ignorance and a lack of critical thinking skills.

This morning I read a tweet by someone I follow referencing Tucker Carlson and another right-wing pundit blaming the forest fires in Los Angeles on diversity programs and LGBTQ people:

"Tucker Carlson and Dave Rubin Blame California Wildfires on ‘Woke’ Public Utilities Focused on Being Pro-LGBT and Racially Diverse."

I had to ask myself, why. Why do people think like this? What is the cause of this? I realized it is nothing more complicated than the various stages of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I think the core issues that are bothering people are a lack of control and a lack of belonging; specifically, how do I feel safe, secure, supported, loved, and respected.

In this episode I discuss:

When you feel like you have no control over your ability to earn enough income to keep a roof over your head, or when you feel like you have no control of your physical safety as an LGBTQ person, what is life like for you?
Why belonging is a far more complex issue but still has connections to a lack of control.
Why the practice in seeking first to understand before reacting is very challenging.
How you can challenge yourself to be the change you want to see in the world.

Read the complete post: "The Need for Control and Belonging: The Zeitgeist of Social Media."

Support The Way of Queer Leadership.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Blaming LGBTQ and People of Colour for the ills of the world demonstrates ignorance and a lack of critical thinking skills.

This morning I read a tweet by someone I follow referencing Tucker Carlson and another right-wing pundit blaming the forest fires in Los Angeles on diversity programs and LGBTQ people:

"Tucker Carlson and Dave Rubin Blame California Wildfires on ‘Woke’ Public Utilities Focused on Being Pro-LGBT and Racially Diverse."

In this episode I discuss:

When you feel like you have no control over your ability to earn enough income to keep a roof over your head, or when you feel like you have no control of your physical safety as an LGBTQ person, what is life like for you?
Why belonging is a far more complex issue but still has connections to a lack of control.
Why the practice in seeking first to understand before reacting is very challenging.
How you can challenge yourself to be the change you want to see in the world.

Read the complete post: "The Need for Control and Belonging: The Zeitgeist of Social Media."

Support The Way of Queer Leadership.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

LGBTQ Diversity Demonstrates that Dualities Are Artificial Constructs

If we continue to argue against each other from completely opposite ends of the spectrum, one person firmly on the left and the other on the right — one person on the right side of the equation, the other on the wrong side — we will be forever stuck, unable to affect progressive, evolutionary change to social diversity and LGBTQ equality. We will remain in a stalemate or destroy ourselves and the planet completely.

Seeing the world through a queer perspective helps us understand that there is no real living, breathing binary.

Rather, the binary is a way for us to describe something that we observe, to articulate something that is not exact. Exactness in and of itself is an intellectual construct, a product of the mind in an attempt to describe what the mind observes. The binary is a relation, neither a finite description or something that takes form in existence.

Read the complete post,

"LGBTQ Diversity Demonstrates that Dualities Are Artificial Constructs."

Support The Way of Queer Leadership.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Gender Identity Discussion on Toronto Radio Show, Rainbow Country

Recently, I was a guest on the radio show, Rainbow Country on CIUT 89.5 FM. The creator and host, Mark Tara invited me back for a second show to talk about various aspects of gender identity along with my colleague, scholar and activist, Jeffry J. Iovannone. We discuss the history, definitions, and societal progress for how we understand gender in modern-day terms.

What We Cover in the Episode

Starting at 7m 05s we begin by looking backwards with a brief review of the history of gender identity, LGBTQ — and specifically transgender activism — and how society seems to have changed with the advent of the internet.

We then delve into the definitions, political, social, and linguistic history of terms like biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, cis-gender, transgender, intersex, gender non-binary, genderqueer, and more.

Finally, we discuss where progress is happening in the world, from changes to medical terms at the World Health Organization, some of the simple shifts in certain languages that can make trans and gender non-conforming people feel more welcome in everyday situations, and the different ways we could consider identity that has nothing to do with gender.

Originally aired on Rainbow Country on November 05, 2019

Follow

Listen to Rainbow Country, Gay Talk Radio Toronto-style, Tuesday's from 11 pm to 1 am on CIUT 89.5 FM in Toronto. Follow Mark Tara on Twitter and Instagram.
Read Jeffry J. Iovannone’s work on Medium and follow him on Instagram.