Abstract

There are many oppressive norms that we take for granted when it comes to identity and the patterned social arrangements of society. Because these unjust ideologies are entrenched within dominant culture, it can be difficult to identify the harm in these ideas, especially when you aren’t a member of a social group marginalized by this status quo. When those from marginalized communities seek to disrupt and transform these norms, there’s a tendency to disparage these efforts as “identity politics”—a term intended to pejoratively identify political deviance that defies political structures we’ve been conditioned to accept. I explicate why trivializing sociopolitical efforts to create a more just society displays a shallow understanding of identity as well as functions to obscure and maintain an oppressive social order.