I should be writing a blog post for work, but today I’m just too worked up to focus on that. This has been brewing in my mind for so long and it’s about time we start talking about this: cancel culture needs to be cancelled.
I’m going to use an example to frame my overall point about cancel culture. The professional in question may have been very wrong, but I’m using the information that i currently have to illustrate a point, not provide hard facts and investigative reporting. I’m sure you can find this on twitter since that seems to be a fantastic and reliable source of verifiable information. Please don’t nitpick. Yes, I’m cherry picking but you will understand in a moment.
Earlier today I read an article with a medical professional who has been cancel culture’s latest victim. This medical professional was speaking about childbirth and got herself embroiled in a toxic discussion on social media about gender, sex and abuse when it comes to childbirth. Her points were valid; she was highlighting the fact that when a woman is giving birth, medical decisions are often made in the moment without the consent of the mother, which can be labelled for all intents and purposes, abuse. It’s her body and she should have the final say.
Now unfortunately, her points were overshadowed by the fact that she highlighted this was abuse against women, not abuse against “birthing people.” This medical professional, who has spent her life dedicated to the care of expectant mothers and highlighting women’s rights in what could be a life threatening situation, has been sent death threats and faced incredible abuse online because she focused on the problem at hand, and didn’t cater first for the LGBTQ+ community.
I am all for gender equality and everyone doing whatever the hell they want with their bodies. But I do draw the line with hypocrisy. Everyone needs to be accepting and respecting all the opinions on gender and sexuality, which has exploded in the last decade, but we must destroy and tear down another person because they share a different view that you believe is not all encompassing? How does cancelling another person’s career, sending them death threats and pushing them over the edge help the issue that we’re having with childbirth and rights violations?
Understandably, those who were not the “norm” in the past were persecuted and to a great extent are still being persecuted but does persecuting another person, someone who is not a murderer, rapist or pedophile, make what you went through more justified? I would have thought that someone who has been ostracised would show more compassion, not less.
The biggest issue here is the fact that people who should be highlighting issues are now afraid to because the jury of peers is a few billion strong and everyone has their own perspective. But there is this impossible expectation now that we are supposed to tick every box, all the time, and god forbid we don’t turn an issue with childbirth into a gender issue. Again, I’m all for people doing whatever they want and creating as many labels as they need to help them on their journey. We all have our quirks and things that make us feel better; some eat chocolate, some drop their gender, some get Botox, and some buy expensive shit. We’re all overcompensating for something. The fact that I have to keep repeating that I am open and accepting and respecting is exhausting, but that’s the world that we have devolved into.
If we were less about cancel culture and more about raising awareness and education, we would not be in this mess. But it’s easier to block someone and more entertaining to post about it passive aggressively. Social media has put the cesspool that is society on full display. We will easily say things online to people that we would NEVER say to someone in their faces, because if you hurt someone and they are visibly upset, you have to deal with that emotional rollercoaster. But sending someone a death treat online because they refused to say birthing people rather than women when talking about childbirth abuse is beyond insane.
What we fail to realise is this: before social media, people would send actual hate mail, as in letters, to people. Today, people just post a tweet or send a DM. The issue here is that people who would get a lot of hate mail normally had someone filtering through their fan mail to cherry pick the nice or special ones. Social media is instant, but it’s also in their palm of their hand. They don’t have a team filtering and shielding them from what’s going on anymore. It’s open, in the public and published for everyone to see… and then you get the bandwagon hoppers who jump in just to stir the pot and fuel the fire.
We need to stop this. Cancel culture has become the toxic norm and it really should not be. Don’t tear someone down because you don’t agree with their terminology. Raise awareness for your causes. Educate others on the more acceptable ways of navigating a newer way of thinking. Don’t block and tear someone down over something that can be considered a much smaller issue in the backdrop of the big picture. Women have been oppressed for a long time; and rights for women, brings rights for all.
In the same token, there are assholes on the internet who are just not accepting of anything, but that’s a stain on their character, so there should not be any need for you to tarnish yourself because of them. Dont’ stoop to their level. You’re better than that.
Don’t feed the trolls.
Cancel cancel culture.
