identity – The Orbital

By Kiera Garcia When living in an age where identity is everything, the idea of fluidity appears to be a perilous game. We're expected to know who we are, our desires, and our beliefs, and know exactly how to articulate those thoughts. I know that I fell victim to the idea that if I hadn't had my whole life figured out by the time I was 18, I would have failed at life. After coming to university and having the subsequent almost quarter-life crisis of realising that I did not have my entire self figured out already, I realised how dull and colourless life would be if I never changed. The idea of being the same as I was when I was 13, and even the same as when I was 17, frightened me. This does not make the process of evolving and developing your identity any easier. The cliché of ...

Activism depends on allies. As we search for broader coalitions against social injustice, the importance of minority “allyship” has become more and more apparent. Though allyship can mean many different things, most definitions center on combatting systems of oppression that target bodies other than your own. But if we’re to truly adopt allyship as a way of life, we must look beyond our actions and begin thinking like better allies as well. Fighting for others’ equality—not just your own—demands a rigorous reevaluation of our perspectives on empathy and identity. Inherent to the theory of allyship is the idea that apathy plays a central role in preserving established systems of power. Social progress slows when outright hostility to advocacy lands on communities left isolated by the ind...

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Loosen Your Stitching

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