'Filling the Gaps' - the 'calling out' culture and feminist blogs

[thisglasnost]

You have a right to be respected in feminist spaces, but you do not have the right to constant and full validation. It is not the job of any blogger to cater fully and comprehensively to your particular interests and perspectives. It is not their job to represent Feminism exactly as you want it represented; it is not their job to do Feminism

Comments

[insane_duckfish]

I think calling out is a good thing when it is used in this way - like you mentioned, god knows there's little enough of it in the real world, even when it would be entirely appropriate.

But one thing I have sort of been noticing a bit is people "calling out" opinions that they disagree with, even if there is nothing inherently wrong/privileged about the opinion. In these situations it's often people within the oppressed group being "called out". While I certainly don't think an oppressed person can never perpetuate oppression, they ARE more likely to have personal experiences upon which they're drawing.

I guess I think calling out is a good thing when it is used to shut down derailment (people voicing the same tired old arguments) but not when it is used to shut down a valid point of discussion. Like you said, some people who really need to be called out will never be called out IRL and it would be terrible if people became reluctant to do so online as well. But on the other hand, call outs are a fantastic way to entirely dismiss a person's argument. When used correctly, this is as it should be, because the argument is not worth listening to (for the fifty millionth time :/). But when used in place of "I disagree with you", I think it can be a problem.