“Words inspire action.” So explains Jeff Perera (@jeffperera), a social work student at Ryerson University and a workshop facilitator for the White Ribbon Campaign, the world’s largest effort to engage men in ending violence against women. Jeff encourages us to be critical of the words we use and the labels we apply, both to ourselves and others, especially when describing and enacting gender. How is masculinity defined and valued? How is femininity defined and valued?
We use words to communicate – to share ideas, to plan actions, to make NOISE. We must remember to be critically self-reflexive in our use of language, in our descriptions of ourselves and one another, particularly as we begin to tweet and to blog, and as we prepare to come together in our Community Action Pods. As Jeff reminds us, “There is a word in every interaction.” Let us make our interactions – no matter what the medium – mindful, respectful, critical, and meaningful.