Identity politics can make a difference | Scout Barbour-Evans | TEDxDunedin
Scott, drawing on personal experiences of marginalization, argues that embracing diverse identities is necessary to drive political change, citing the necessity of using one's lived experience to fight systemic issues like classism and inadequate health care. He illustrates this point by referencing the case of Metiria Turei and the troubling statistic that 42.8% of transgender youth in New Zealand live in high deprivation. ## Speakers & Context - Scott: Speaker, from Stratford, Taranaki, New Zealand; raised in a wee town where streets are named after Shakespeare; identifies as disabled, marginalized, mentally ill, transgender, and a Māori identity; runs for council and advocates for social/health reform. - Metiria Turei: Māori woman, single mother receiving domestic purposes benefit; member of Parliament; faced backlash for benefit fraud revelations after working tirelessly. ## Theses & Positions - A life lived through marginalization provides irreplaceable tools and perspectives essential for effecting political change. - Political expression from the left wing should come from personal experiences with marginalized identities. - The primary big issue uniting different struggles is classism, which cannot be dismissed by focusing solely on identity politics. - A diverse representation in government is imperative because one cannot represent issues if one has never been personally affected by them. - Utilizing marginalized identities in politics—"wearing that Jersey"—is essential because these experiences cannot be erased or shed. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Identity Politics:** A complex concept debated by the speaker, where political expression stems from experiences with a marginalized identity. - **Benefit Fraud:** The action taken by Metiria Turei when she allegedly misrepresented her income status to maintain financial support for her child. - **Privilege:** The speaker asserts that "I am NOT privileged" due to circumstance, wealth, or health. ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Advocacy/Lobbying:** Working behind the scenes to push for change, such as lobbying to correct the TPPA trade deal. - **Campaigning:** Running for Dunedin Marion Council with an $85 budget, utilizing $15 for Facebook ads against well-established community leaders. - **Systemic Failure Identification:** Identifying that government structures are outdated, stemming from historical assumptions of white male superiority. - **Activism Continuum:** Transitioning from local, structured groups (Amnesty International) to broader movements (Marriage Equality, protesting local infrastructure). ## Timeline & Sequence - **March 2010:** Speaker attended a lunchtime meeting at Otago Girls High School, joining Amnesty International to protest the imprisonment of youth activists in Myanmar. - **Ongoing since 2010:** Participation in over **70** individual demonstrations with a human rights focus. - **2016:** Ran for Dunedin Marion Council with an $85 budget. - **Year 21:** Time frame when the speaker faced challenges while concurrently finishing a Certificate in Human Services. - **Before Metiria Turei's PM career:** The speaker and Metiria experienced difficulties accessing necessary resources due to marginalization. ## Named Entities - **Taranaki:** Place where the speaker was born. - **Natick:** Town/airway location on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island where the speaker is from. - **Otago Girls High School:** High school attended by the speaker. - **Amnesty International:** High school extra-curricular group the speaker joined. - **Myanmar:** Country whose activists were the subject of the 2010 protest. - **Dunedin:** City where the speaker ran for council and references local advocacy work. - **Metiria Turei:** Māori woman, MP, and single mother. - **Green Party:** Political party from which Metiria Turei resigned. - **Youth 12 report:** Report detailing the wellbeing of transgender youth in New Zealand. ## Numbers & Data - **2010:** Year the speaker began active political engagement. - Over **70** individual demonstrations participated in since 2010. - **29** chapters involved in the TPPA trade deal, only five of which were about trade. - **$85** campaign budget for Dunedin Marion Council. - **$15** spent on Facebook ads during the 2016 campaign. - **180 votes** away from election to City Council. - **20** years of experience held by rival community leaders. - **42.8 percent** of transgender youth in New Zealand live in high deprivation (as per Youth 12 report). ## Examples & Cases - **Amnesty International Protest (2010):** Participants stood silently dressed in black at the school gates until the bell rang. - **Protesting Diversity:** Participation in movements spanning from Amnesty International to the Australian marriage equality movement to protesting the TPPA. - **Dunedin Hospital Advocacy:** Protesting for better food and access to mental health care, and demanding the hospital's rebuild. - **Metiria Turei's Case:** Attempting to maintain financial stability by allegedly committing benefit fraud, which was understood by many as breaking an unjust law necessary for feeding her child. - **The "Jersey":** Metaphor used to describe the permanent, visible markers of marginalized identities that cannot be shed (e.g., poverty, transness, queerness). ## Tools, Tech & Products - **Facebook ads:** Used in the $15 expenditure for the 2016 council campaign. ## References Cited - **The Youth 12 report:** Specifically cited for providing data showing **42.8 percent** of transgender youth in New Zealand living in high deprivation. ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Identity Politics Framework:** The speaker challenges the binary approach, arguing that simply classifying politics as "left-wing identity politics" or "right-wing identity politics" fails to capture the complexity of struggle. - **Political Representation:** The alternative to self-representation is having ministers or councilors who have never experienced the issues they regulate. ## Counterarguments & Caveats - **Critique of Identity Politics:** Some people argue that identity politics is inherently self-serving or that classism is the primary issue, ignoring identity markers. - **Self-Doubt:** The speaker admits, "I still don't really have an understanding of what identity politics is supposed to be and I'm not convinced that anyone else does either." - **Media Scrutiny:** The difficulty of handling media scrutiny without training, including accusations of identity politics being self-serving. ## Methodology - **Advocacy/Lobbying:** Working through institutional channels to change policies and service provision. - **Public Demonstration:** Visible, organized actions at community hubs (school gates, protests). - **Personal Testimony:** Using a life trajectory spanning disability, marginalization, and activism as the central proof point. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - The best way to effect change is to "use my experiences to make things better to make a difference." - The fundamental requirement for effective democratic change is ensuring "diverse representation" reflecting marginalized lived realities. - A reminder to "don't forget your roots." ## Implications & Consequences - The failure to acknowledge marginalized experiences leads to dangerous policy vacuums in critical sectors like mental health and disability care. - The intersection of multiple marginalized identities (e.g., poverty + transness) creates unique vulnerabilities that require specific policy recognition. ## Verbatim Moments - *"I was a student at Otago girls high school"* - *"I came from Natick a nooner kid to wait or an airway on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island"* - *"I throw myself straight into helping to organize and learning the ropes"* - *"I can count over 70 individual demonstrations that I have participated in"* - *"throwing my entire life into looking after other people was the easiest decision I've ever made"* - *"I am a walking intersection of marginalized identities living in the poverty class to boot"* - *"I am stuck wearing that Jersey of mine every single day no matter how hot it gets"* - *"statistically those of marginalized identities are significantly more likely to live in poverty"* - *"I want ministers for health and mental health who have first-hand experience of the systems that they want to manage"* - *"don't forget your roots"*