'Liberal' doesn't necessarily always mean anti-racistBonzo McGrue

Although I’ve used my last few column inches arguing for age as a legitimate political and social identity, I’m conscious of any essentialism I’ve unwittingly promoted, or of any nuance I’ve erased. It’s an easy trap to fall into: I am often guilty of presuming that anyone who is young holds broadly the same socially liberal, progressive views as me.

We often spend lots of time among people who are like us, whether the similarity stems from your connections to a certain country or city, your background, race, or interests. It gives rise to a kind of confirmation bias, where we expect and presume that those who are like us must share our views. From this we can explain the phenomenon of the ‘shy Tory’, who allows such a presumption to be made only to step into the ballot box and disprove us all. The inadequacy of the ‘young liberal’ label insofar as it applies to a broad, generalised leftist agenda, is laid bare for all to see.

We often use words like ‘liberal’ as shorthand to encompass all forms of leftist politics, whether that’s views that support women, LGBTQ+ people, people of colour, those with disabilities or people who believe in the generous provision of social welfare. As politics becomes more partisan, ideology is increasingly used as a measure of decency as opposed to the promotion of a legitimate opinion. We have allowed our conceptions of decency to be subsumed into often petty political conflict, and it’s understandable that in this charged climate those young people who find themselves falling more to the right of the political spectrum are keen to disguise that fact. This isn’t to say that ‘shy Tories’ are vindicated in their attempts at social camouflage.

“The shared experience of sexism does not lead to a desire to dismantle racism as well”

We’ve lumped the identities of youth, liberalism and anti-racism together for too long. The cracks in that union ebcame clear in the aftermath of the American election, when it emerged that white women voted overwhelmingly for Trump, who is currently making good on his election promise to further a racist agenda. It makes clear that the shared experience of sexism does not lead to a desire to dismantle racism too. The partnership of womanhood, liberalism and anti-racism does not have as strong a grounding in reality as we thought.

Karlie Kloss’s culturally appropriative Vogue photoshoot, published last week, in which she wore a kimono, underscores this disconnect. Kloss has been the archetypal pop feminist on social media, speaking out in support of the usual host of liberal causes and purporting to lift up other marginalised people. Her face has the bitter taste of betrayal, but it is also something which happens with dismaying regularity. All this shows that women of colour still have good cause to be sceptical about the solidarity we are afforded by our white sisters.

Intersectionality, the idea that forms of oppression are interlinked, has failed to gain meaningful ground in mainstream political discourse. Perhaps it is for this reason that left-leaning people of colour often find ourselves disappointed at the failings of mainstream feminism and liberalism to understand the nuances of how interlocking systems of oppression affect those of us who have more than one marginalised identity. To avoid disappointment, perhaps we should begin to use labels like ‘liberal’ with care, so as not to dilute its meaning where it applies to real progressive and intersectional politics.

We can no longer use ‘young Hollywood liberal’ as shorthand for a worldview that is inclusive and anti-racist. The supposedly progressive artistic world still has a lot to learn about racism and discrimination, and we cannot cut short legitimate discussions of race and privilege by presuming that all people who come under the label ‘liberal’ are also embedded in the anti-racist cause.

It is too easy to fall into the habit of generalising political opinion for convenience. If we are to truly make intersectionality mainstream, we need to pull away the cloak of sameness and stop pretending that our racial identities are fully protected by mainstream liberal politics