The language we use to describe systematic bigotry is important.
Only ever using the words 'minority' or 'minorities' to describe demographics that are subject to systematic bigotry and the inequality/lack of resources/widespread misinformation that comes alongside it can lead people to believe that to some degree the harms done are just an inherent thing that will always happen to a group that makes up only X percent of the population. Even people who know purposeful harms are being done are likely to subconsciously assign some part of the blame for the situation to inescapable ignorance by the masses because of the size of the group affected.
I’m not saying the word minority is not often accurate in these situations or that there aren’t any contexts where it is the best word to choose, but a lot of the time it is more meaningful to use language that reminds people that those with social/political power are purposefully choosing to say/do things and create societal systems that harm the demographic in question.
The two words I personally feel are the most productive and powerful to use when discussing systematic harm (and also apply if the demographic experiencing these things is not a numerical minority, ie women) are:
marginalized, which Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as “to relegate to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group”
or
disenfranchised (which Merriam-Webster dictionary defines as “deprived of some right, privilege, or immunity”)
Both of these terms can be used *both* to describe the groups being harmed (ie ‘people with marginalized identities are being attacked’ or ‘disenfranchised communities need your help’) OR to directly describe the harm being done (ie ‘the disenfranchisement/marginalization of X group is something everyone with privilege has a moral obligation to fight against in whatever ways they can’)
I say this all as a member of many demographics that are minorities, but more importantly that are being actively and purposefully marginalized and disenfranchised by people who want us to keep us from having any social, financial, or political power.
The language we use has the power to highlight the reality of privilege and power in our world or to inadvertently downplay it and allow people to just accept it as the unavoidable status quo.
We need to be as purposeful about the words we choose when explaining harm to our communities- the people with power trying to keep us down sure as hell are.
please help Dej! they are a queer, disabled artist on the way to self-employment. they need rent support while they work on covering back payments. they are at increased risk due to US fascism. anything helps!
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![The image is set on a crumpled white background. The image contains 4 rows of text and a corresponding row of squares, each representing a measurement. The first row states "YOUR FEELINGS WILL FLUCTUATE" with a row of squares underneath, each filled with a different amount of red color. The second row states "YOUR WELLBEING WILL FLUCTUATE" with a row of squares underneath, each filled with a different amount of green color. The third row states "YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL FLUCTUATE" with a row of squares underneath, each filled with a different amount of blue color. The fourth row states "YOUR WORTH WILL NOT" with a row of squares underneath, each completely filled with yellow color. The bottom right corner says "[@]WisdomMadeEasy".](https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/052/658/798/701/083/original/d89b24566729eeb6.jpeg "The image is set on a crumpled white background. The image contains 4 rows of text and a corresponding row of squares, each representing a measurement. The first row states \"YOUR FEELINGS WILL FLUCTUATE\" with a row of squares underneath, each filled with a different amount of red color. The second row states \"YOUR WELLBEING WILL FLUCTUATE\" with a row of squares underneath, each filled with a different amount of green color. The third row states \"YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL FLUCTUATE\" with a row of squares underneath, each filled with a different amount of blue color. The fourth row states \"YOUR WORTH WILL NOT\" with a row of squares underneath, each completely filled with yellow color. The bottom right corner says \"[@]WisdomMadeEasy\".")
Autistic Coach 
