Graduate studies and academia throughout Canada, and around the world, have been emphasizing Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) work more lately. This is indisputable progress, even if the progress is not as quick or comprehensive as some of us might like. More frank discussions of the additional challenges faced by racialized, disabled, or other marginalized groups can only improve the academic system for everyone involved. However, the visibility, or lack thereof, of certain minorities can dramatically shift their individual experiences.
There are some groups for whom their identity is immediately legible, like dark-skinned racial minorities or people in wheelchairs. But for many people, based on appearance alone, they may not be immediately identified as such. The concept of “passing” can be applied to a number of identities: basically any situation where a member of a marginalized group is not immediately recognized by the broader society, and has to actively declare their identity. Trans and non-binary people can be “cis-passing” when their gender identity is not recognized unless they state it outright. In the vast majority of situations I fall within this group: people generally assume I am a cis man until I correct them. Gender non-conformity is the only identity I can really speak to from personal experience, but the idea can apply more broadly: disabled people without visible aids like a wheelchair or hearing aids can be able-passing; some Latinx and Indigenous folks can be considered white-passing.
These terms are somewhat fraught, and the relative benefits and challenges of “passing privilege” are disputed. At first glance, the ability to pass as the dominant group might seem advantageous if it prevents you from being directly discriminated against. But it also exposes you to situations that a visible minority would not experience: white-passing folks can encounter far more racist language and situations in an indirect sense, because white people feel more comfortable expressing these ideas when they think they are in a solely white group. In situations where I did not announce my identity and pronouns at the beginning, I have definitely heard more transphobic and homophobic jokes and comments that I strongly suspect those people would not have said if they knew there was a queer person in the conversation.
This is why I think EDI efforts need to focus more on being proactive rather than reactive. In basic terms, you can never know all the difficulties that people in your community are facing unless they feel comfortable expressing those difficulties. So if your department or your school has started making all kinds of statements about Black Lives Matter once they realize how many Black students and professors they have – that’s good! In no way do I want to argue that it’s wrong to do so! But by only focusing on the systems of oppression that are obvious to you as a privileged white person, how are you truly going to make for a more inclusive and welcoming environment. If you only start working against societal structures like racism after you realize there are already people of colour in your community, you’re too late. Organizations should be openly announcing their support of disabled researchers, queer researchers, Indigenous researchers, etc. and ensuring that it is a safe work environment for all people. Especially when there doesn’t appear to be any present yet! Because (a) there may be several such researchers already in your organization, who do not feel comfortable sharing their identity in a seemingly unsafe environment, and/or (b) a proactively safe environment is more attractive to marginalized people who are considering joining your group. If you are not aware of any queer folks currently in your department, but you loudly proclaim your support of the LGBTQ+ community, you are going to make it easier for your colleagues and students to come out and openly be themselves – and you’re going to become a far more attractive destination to a whole swathe of academics who are looking for somewhere they feel safe on the next step of their journey.
Long story short, I’ve been seeing far too much reactive EDI work in academia. I don’t really think any EDI work is ultimately going to have negative consequences – and the marginalized people in your community do need support and help! So I’m not arguing for us to ignore the needs of visible minorities; I just think that being more proactive and going above and beyond the low-hanging fruit is going to be much more effective than only responding post hoc. If you don’t think it’s important to show your support of decolonization efforts because you think you have no Indigenous students… you are missing the whole point of EDI work. If the white, cis, able-bodied men in charge are solely focused on the people in their community that they can recognize as “others”… those efforts are absolutely going to be too little, too late.
~Jack