Hi guys,
Just wanted to share an episode of Code Switch that came out a couple of weeks ago that made me think of this class! This episode was about “POC” as a term—who’s included/excluded in it, what role it takes, alternatives and other great discussion of its historical reach too. There’s a chunk where they get into the history of the term and mention its origins in the National Women’s Conference in 1977 for WOC and I couldn’t help but think of our exploration of multiple feminisms. Even more generally, I thought it fit into our conversations about language and connotations and demilitarization. It got me thinking about my own opinions on the term and whether its scope should be widened/narrowed. I thought about it just meaning all non-white people, but who does that serve and how can it be limiting? They have a linguists on as well as Naseeb Bhangal and Oiyan Poon (co-authors of Are Asian-Americans White? Or POC?) and I just found it interesting and applicable to our class!
Is it time to say RIP to “POC”?
Are Asian-Americans White? Or POC?
KP
Thanks for sharing! This is a good point what work does POC do in other languages? How is it said in French for instance?
Please change your profile name so we know who this is and to receive credit.
[EXTRA CREDIT]
This was such an interesting episode! I loved when they interviewed individuals about what terms (or strategic essentialisms, perhaps, as we’ve discussed in class) they’re naturally drawn to or repulsed from and hearing their gut reactions. This use of language to describe a group of people makes me wonder when the next evolution of the word BIPOC will be, what does it mean to use acronyms when describing identity/marginalisation/demographics and who/when we use(s) these generalising labels versus the specific identities they encompass?