Being impacts doing
I have noticed in my social policy classes in my MSW program there is a tendency to focus primarily on how to change the system to be more equitable, or how to engage in promoting policy changes that shift rules and regulations to actually meet the needs of those who are being left behind.
From the get-go I felt a pull to include the lens of individual wellness in these macro level change realms. I truly believe that regardless of what systems and accountability checks we have in place, if those with power (or folks in general) remain in a reactive state, carrying unprocessed trauma in their bodies, and are making decisions from wounding or to avoid discomfort, we are going to find ourselves continually missing the mark on what we are trying to create. In other words, what we do is intimately impacted by our state of being.
divisiveness - is it a symptom of a lack of relationship with discomfort?
I have an interesting mix of books I am currently reading, all of which share the theme of discourse around “woke” culture yet from varying perspectives. While I tend to do my best to not have multiple books open simultaneously, this is an intentional choice that is helping me steep in the arguments for and against, or in other words, the divisiveness around “woke-ness.” To be honest, it’s only been a couple of weeks since I felt my understanding of the term “woke” become clarified. And it is the book The Identity Trap by Yascha Mounk (2024) that helped crystalize this for me.
Mounk (2024) explains “woke” culture as synonymous with a term he has coined called the “Identity Synthesis.” This is to encapsulate the phenomenon in our society that has led to a growing tendency to categorize within groups of identity such as race, culture, body aesthetics or abilities, socioeconomic status, and the various array of gender specifications, to name a few (Mounk, 2024). He also makes the case for how this phenomenon has grown and been adopted so broadly, as well as what he deems as the plethora of negative outcomes that have resulted (Mounk, 2024).
“My concern about the identity synthesis is that, in its own way, it too makes it harder for people to broaden their allegiances beyond a particular identity in a way that can sustain stability, solidarity, and social justice” (Mounk, 2024, p. 14).
While I agree with some aspects of his argument, there are also some glaring deficiencies in his explanations for how we got here and what to focus on to move forward.
He says,
“The lure that attracts so many people to the identity synthesis is a desire to overcome persistent injustices and create a society of genuine equals. But the likely outcome of implementing this ideology is a society in which an unremitting emphasis on our differences pits rigid identity groups against each other in a zero-sum battle for resources and recognition—a society in which all of us are, whether we want to or not, forced to define ourselves by the group into which we happen to be born. That’s what makes the identity synthesis a trap” (Mounk, 2024, p. 16).
Mounk (2024) goes into depth about the rise of social media and a whole generation of young folks who have been infiltrated with messages regarding identity and institutional racism, and stepped into the business or professional world soon after demanding change. While I see how social media played an integral role in bringing “woke culture” to our doorsteps, what he doesn’t acknowledge is that what seems like new information to some people (like white folks discovering systemic racism) has been commonplace and seen as “the way things are” for many marginalized and BIPOC folks for generations (Reed, 2021).
I have been sitting with this conversation for some time now, trying to find my footing in this discourse and sphere of social justice activism that expresses with identity markers yet in the next breath acknowledges race and many markers of identity as a social construction (Mounk, 2024). I have written about this in several of my papers in my school program, exploring the literature and doing my best to listen to the arguments on as many sides of this discourse as I can.
Something clicked for me today while at the gym while listening to a podcast called Divesting from Whiteness (Reed, 2021). The host, Joquina Reed was interviewing author Pixie Lighthorse. Pixie Lighthorse floated into my ether a couple of weeks ago with her book The Wound Makes the Medicine (2024), which was a profound book to listen to. I searched her out on my podcast app, as I do when I find someone I want to hear more from. In this episode from December 3, 2021, they begin to speak about white guilt and the struggle many white-bodied folks were facing as they tried to get involved in activism and were either propelled by white guilt or overwhelmed and stunned into inaction.
Not only could I relate to that intense push/pull in my system when I reflect to that period of time, but it also dawned on me, perhaps what we are seeing today, the huge influx of the Identity Synthesis and how it is so often weaponized, misunderstood and a pathway to further separation, is because of how many white-bodied people are being moved into adopting language, ideology and action from a place of white guilt, and/or unprocessed grief and trauma.
Now don’t get me wrong here, I also think it is far more complex than one determinant factor to explain. And I am not saying white people are the only one’s with unprocessed trauma in their bodies (obviously), nor are white-bodied folks to be blamed for getting in the way of social justice movements and collective healing. But I do see how the unique nature of “white guilt” could propel a vital movement like the Identity Synthesis in a misguided direction. To me this encapsulates what I have been exploring for months….what are the various protective mechanisms we humans deploy when discomfort arises, and we are not taught or skilled to be with it? Some common defense mechanisms are to get into action to “fix it” or avoid and distract at all costs, or blame someone or something else to divert that discomfort elsewhere.
I do not agree with Mounk (2024) in his assertion that the Identity Synthesis, or woke culture, is the problem. I think the problem is we focused too much on the system we wanted to create, what we needed to “do out there in the world”, and we left out the necessity of turning inwards and focusing on who we are being before we got into the doing.
Those with the most power will continue to benefit from our confusion, our polarizations, our othering, our blaming, and until we do the work to look inwards and learn how to be with these states internally, we will have a hard time knowing how to grow and come together.
“…demagogues thrive when societies are deeply polarized and decision makers are out of touch with the views of average citizens. While the advocates of the identity synthesis often point to serious problems that do urgently need to be remedied, the principles they champion and the solutions they offer are likely to drive more voters into the arms of extremists” (Mounk, 2024, p. 18).
So, why share this now?
I am fascinated with what we humans do when we feel discomfort. To be clear here, what fascinates me is the shared experience of subconscious protective mechanisms that we deploy to evade, avoid, explain or blame our discomfort, when the alternative is to feel it, be with it, allow it, and remain grounded and connected while we feel uncomfortable.
For many of us, this is a skill we did not have modelled or taught to us in our youth. It is something we need to learn as adults, and find more ways to model and teach this way of being benefits future generations.
Let’s learn, practice and grow this skill together
Somatic Savvy is a series created to come together and get better at being with what we are feeling. We learn and practice ways to hold space for the intelligence that is our body and embody more fully our inherent ability to lead a heart-centered way of being.
Not sure if Somatics is for you?
Our symptoms of pain, stress, unrest, anxiety, depression, instability and disconnection from self and others are multifaceted and are often not the result of one thing we are doing or not doing. Culturally, systemically, historically, and globally, there is a lot to be stressed, anxious, angry, overwhelmed or defeated about. Somatic practices are not meant to be an avenue of taking personal responsibility for all the pain, heartache or struggle you experience in life - it is much more complicated than that.
However, when we feel incongruence inside or are struggling with chronic or recurring symptoms, we certainly do not have the energy, space and time needed to collaborate and problem solve the way we need to in order to guide our world in a more harmonious direction. Somatic practices guide us back to our inherent flexible and resilient state where healing and growth occur as human nature. The question becomes, once you feel stable and connected in your being, what will you do?
Are you ready to explore, experiment and get more comfortable with the very real discomforts of life?
WHERE:
ZOOM/ONLINE
WHEN:
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26 (6-715PM MT)
SUNDAY OCT 13 (10-11:15AM MT)
THURSDAY OCT 24 (6-715PM MT)
SUNDAY NOV 3 (10-11:15AM MT)
THURSDAY NOV 7 (6-715PM MT)
THURSDAY NOV 28 (6-715PM MT)
Investment:
$175
To register, or inquire, send me an email at marinmccue@gmail.com
xo
Marin
References:
Mounk, Y. (2024). Identity trap: A story of ideas and power in our time. PENGUIN.
Lighthorse, P. (2024). The wound makes the medicine. Row House by Spotify Audiobooks.
Reed, J. (Host). (Dec 3, 2021). Exploring the mythology of progressive whiteness with Pixie Lighthorse (No. 4) [Audio podcast]. Divesting from whiteness. https://www.joquinareed.com