WMS 187 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Dean Spade, Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Claudette Colvin
Document Summary
Assumes (incorrectly) that everyone is on a level playing field. Misunderstands the nature of power and power structures. Leads us to solutions to societal problems that do very little in reality. When we think of trans rights, people often look at title vii which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, and think of it as a solution. Spade argues this is the direction that liberal rights discourse leads. Instead of looking at solutions like title vii, we should think about whether or not the laws actually improve the lives of those who are purportedly protected by them. Segregation was outlawed, but our education system is just as segregated as it was previously. Because liberal rights discourse frames these discussions under the assumption that we are all on a level playing field, the outcomes are not as effective as they could be. The criminal justice system has the same biases that the advocates of these laws want to challenge.
