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D.C, The Performative Act
With all the awareness, is it the world we’ve worked for?
I just came back from a political conference in D.C., and the vibes told me everything.
As a South Asian woman, I often feel out of place in the political scene — — mostly because there aren’t many who take a risk in our community, and more importantly — — execute it well. The lack of investment in South Asian candidates is real.
We’re taught to stick to safety and scarcity, never take risks, and optimize our resources. However, the reality of this country hasn’t changed as much, considering the timeline for women is going back in time.
The reality of this country is colonizer mentality and white supremacy.
While advocating for women’s menstrual health in the capitol, I analyzed all the people who were walking in the hallways and offices.
All of them were white or fair-skinned in some way.
In fact, I had heard from an African-American woman how she was underpaid and never respected. I wonder how demoralized she must have been with such mistreatment.
The offices skewed towards Eurocentric beauty standards for women, and the men were usually white, tall, broad-shouldered, and square-faced. Some had black-framed glasses and walked with a sense of urgency.
