Smith and Cotera -Min

For me, one of the most interesting topics in this week’s reading is how resistance strategies can become oppression for others. Cotera points out that the terminological cluster “women of color” or “people of color” suggests likeness of experience, identity, and epistemic standpoint. Smith also notes that the way of framing “women of color” lead the inadequate assumptions that all different communities and people have been impacted "by white supremacy in the same way” (p. 67). Also, some binaries that group people, such as white/black, expose not only how diverse ethnic groups have been racialized, but also reveal that how they have been further oppressed by ignoring tensions between different communities.  It is "a kind discursive corral that diminishes the key insights of” theorizations of oppression and “erases the historical and the ideological differences" between people (Cotera, p. 7). 

Also, Smith’s discussion on heteronormative formations makes me think about the alignment of homosexuality with conservative and national discourses in liberal democracies. The discourses, such as ‘war on terror,’ show how queer subjectivities are further framed with racist formations. For instance, the homophobia of Islamic countries has been profiled with the anti-Muslim rhetoric in the post 9/11context. It is interesting to see how gay and lesbian subjects are aligned with conservative and libertarian ideologies and how homosexuality has become a part of white supremacy project. Also, it is important to acknowledge that all of us somehow benefit at others' expense (and vise versa).

Questions:  There are some certain subjects, who have received higher attentions than others. How can we include more subjects and voices relatively invisible?