Episode 4.01: Essentialism

My Racist Friend

Amy and Don return from a long hiatus to continue their conversations about relationships and the messy parts that make connection difficult. This week, the friends discuss Essentialism, which is found in many social movements and intertwines with racism, transphobia, and the roots of feminism. Amy provides a definition of essentialism and why it is so difficult for her to move through that blocker in relationships.

Additional resources:

• Gender essentialism and benevolent sexism in anti-trans rhetoric
  by S. Atwood, Thekla Morgenroth, Kristina R. Olson (2023)
  https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sipr.12099?af=R
  
• Challenging Race-Based Medicine Through Historical Education About the Social Construction of Race
  by Allison L. Skinner-Dorkenoo, Kasheena G. Rogbeer, Apoorva Sarmal, Cynthia Ware, and Jennifer Zhu (2023)
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10698761/
  
• Psychologist Carol Gilligan revises revolutionary 'different voice' work to include 'human voice'
  https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2023/10/04/carol-gilligan-human-voice
  
• My Best Writings of 2023
  by Julia Serano
  https://juliaserano.substack.com/p/my-best-writings-of-2023?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

Buy "Your Racist Friend" by They Might Be Giants on iTunes