User:Queenfeline/Projectproposal: Difference between revisions

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[[User:Queenfeline/ProposedProposals|Notes]] &
''See also:'' [[User:Queenfeline/Thesisproposal|''Thesis Proposal'']]</br>
[[User:Queenfeline/Thesisproposal|Thesis Proposal]]
working title: </br>
 
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size:40pt;">A Slip Of The Tongue</span> [[User:Queenfeline/IDIOTICON#A_slip_of_the_tongue|?]]</br>
<span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size:40pt;">A Slip Of The Tongue</span>
I also like "awareMess"
===What do you want to make?===
===What do you want to make?===
::I want to organize consciousness-raising group meetings to discuss the hidden sexism in our vernacular. Along side these meetings I will create a website that documents these meetings in the form of a glossary, since each meeting will revolve around a word, term or sentence.
::I want to organize consciousness-raising group meetings to discuss the hidden sexism in our vernacular. Along side these meetings I will create a website that documents these meetings in the form of a glossary, since each meeting will revolve around a word, term or sentence.
::This project emerges from a personal realization: as a woman, I have unconsciously reproduced sexist patterns in the way I speak and think. I felt alienated from my own language because I was saying things I don't want to say and that I position myself against very strongly. So realizing that I actively uphold the oppression against women myself everyday was a shock.
::This project emerges from a personal realization: as a woman, I unconsciously reproduce sexist patterns in the way I speak and think. I feel alienated from my own language because I convey things I don't want to express and that I position myself against very strongly. So realizing that I actively uphold the oppression against women myself everyday was a shock. The words in which that becomes clear are going to be the ones we speak about.  
::The goal of this project is to spark curiosity and discourse around language and words, to see language as a powerful tool that can be worked with and adjusted. I wish for the meetings and the glossary to become a critical and self-reflective tool to expose hidden bias in our vernacular and make people feel empowered to start a shift in meaning.  
::The goal of this project is to spark curiosity and discourse around language and words, to see language as a powerful tool that can be worked with, shifted and shaped. I wish for the meetings and the glossary to become a critical and self-reflective tool to expose hidden bias in our vernacular and make people feel empowered to start a shift in meaning.  
 
::So how exactly will that look like? There will be monthly public gatherings in Rotterdam with whoever is interested and wants to join. For each meeting we will talk about a word, phrase or term (that holds sexism or other forms of oppression (e.g. bitch, bossy, to have the balls to do smth., feisty, cunt)), we will discuss our different understandings and unpack the sexism. Prepared theoretical texts will help us open new perspectives and widen our knowledge. During these meetings we will document the process/ discussion. Along a structure we will formulate and collect our thought on the glossary website. Because speaking about ones vernacular can be very triggering, there will be a code of conduct that the participants will agree on at the beginning of the meetings.
::The glossary website will have an introduction about the topic on the homepage (what it is and what it seeks to do) and why it is important to think about language as a feminist tool to reclaim power. I also would like to have a personal reflection about what the process of compiling and making this glossary has taught me, how it changed the way I see language and the way I speak. The navigation to the entries could be a list, a map, pictures, drawings. I will research and test different styles to create an accessible interface. Each entry will contain what the specific group discussed on that specific day. So it's rather a capture of a moment in time and an invitation to rethink and reflect, as I don't intend to dictate meaning in any way. I want to raise awareness and invite others into the process of unlearning, questioning, and rewriting. I see myself very much as part of the group that is still learning everyday.
 


===How do you plan to make it?===
===How do you plan to make it?===
::[  ] collect words and terms + theoretical background texts for them
::There will be monthly public gatherings in Rotterdam with whoever is interested and wants to join. I would describe my target group, realistically, as people who I speak to in my day to day life and, ideally, as people that differ in age and cultural upbringing to enable greater diversity and multiple perspectives. For each meeting we will talk about a word, phrase or term that holds (more or less hidden) sexism (e.g. bitch, bossy, to have the balls to do smth., feisty, hey guys, 'it's probably a stupid idea but...'). Words that I encounter in books or in other ways that I first didn't see a problem in. I will focus on the oppression of sexism, while still acknowledging that systems of oppression are built upon each other and you cannot extract one and cut loose from the others. The participants will discuss different understandings of, and unpack the sexism in words. Prepared theoretical texts (excerpts) from feminist linguists (like Dale Spender, Robin Lakoff, Deborah Cameron) will help us open new perspectives and widen our knowledge. This research will also feed my theory.
::[  ] the theoretical preparation will simultaneously support the thesis
::During these meetings we will document the process / discussion. The exact documentation strategy will be developed with the help of a questionnaire during the try-out night. Along that structure we will formulate and collect our thought on the glossary website. Because speaking about ones vernacular can be very triggering, there will be a code of conduct that the participants will agree on at the beginning of the meetings to make sure the meetings will happen in a safe(r) environment that allows space for realization and unlearning.
::[  ] document my process of un-/re-learning
::The glossary website will have an introduction about the project on the homepage (what it is and what it seeks to do) and why it is important to think about language as a feminist tool to reclaim power. I will research and test different styles of the navigation to create an accessible interface (e.g. list, map, pictures, drawings). Each entry will contain what the specific group discussed on that specific day. So it's rather a capture of a moment in time and an invitation to rethink and reflect, as I don't intend to dictate meaning in any way. I want to raise awareness and invite others into the process of unlearning, questioning, and rewriting. I see myself very much as part of the group that is still learning everyday. The personal reflection about the learnings of the process of compiling and making this glossary (project), how it changed the way I see language and the way I speak is also part of the [[User:Queenfeline/Thesisproposal|thesis]] where I will uncover how participatory speech practices about sexist language become a feminist method of unlearning and redefining.
::[  ] come up with a structure for the meetings/ entries
::[  ] write a code of conduct / consent form
::[  ] gather people and have the meetings (I'm gonna be the mediator)
::[  ] actually write the entries (together with the group)
::[  ] write the introduction
::[  ] think about the layout of the website
::[  ] ⤷ make prototypes
::[  ] ⤷ test how people experience them/ get feedback
 
::always stay in exchange with other people along the way  
::the experiences of the meetings as well as the research I will be doing for them will support [[User:Queenfeline/Thesisproposal|my thesis]], as I will explore how participatory speech practices about sexist language become a feminist method of unlearning and redefinition


===What is your timetable?===
===What is your timetable?===
Line 68: Line 53:


===Why do you want to make it?===
===Why do you want to make it?===
::Language is not just a list of words but a system of power that we uphold and reinforce everyday through speaking. Words hold power. Words help us validate and make sense of our experiences. Words make our experiences communicable. The words we use shape us and our experiences but that mechanism also works the other way around, we can adjust our language to shape the world around us. I want to make people notice, in themselves and others, how and in what ways language is used to oppress and how we can uncover and actively fight that. I want to spark curiosity around our vernacular and raise awareness about the hidden sexism. I want to open a space to share personal experiences and create a sense of community and solidarity. I'm looking forward to different understandings as I see them as enriching for the discourse.
::In her book "Feminism and Linguistic Theory" Deborah Cameron states , "Language is a weapon, used by the powerful to oppress their subordinates." Words hold power. Words help us validate and make sense of our experiences. Words make our experiences communicable. I think Language is not just a list of words but a system of power that we uphold and reinforce everyday through speaking. The words we use shape us and our experiences (Cameron, 1990) but that mechanism also works the other way around, we can adjust our language to shape the world around us. I want to make people notice, in themselves and others, how and in what ways language is used to oppress and how we can uncover and actively fight that. I want to spark curiosity around our vernacular and raise awareness about the hidden sexism.  
 
::Taking the consciousness-raising groups from the 60's and 70's Women's Liberation Movement as a role model, I want to break silence(ing) as a political act. Just like these 'Speak-out' meetings I want to open a space to share personal experiences, discuss and erupt taboos. I hope to create a sense of community and solidarity.
::I want to make a glossary, cause its specific to a 


::Why make it includes two main questions. First, ''why should one concern oneself with words and language?'' and second, ''why make a glossary?''.
::I call this project a glossary, because it deals with words that are important to a particular subject or activity. It provides me with the framework of a lexicon-like structure, but at the same time it still leaves freedom in structuring and writing the entries. I want to let lived experiences define our words and how we use them rather then a fixed and, claims to be, objective definition.
::To answer the first question: Words hold power. Words help us make sense of our experiences. Words make our experiences communicable. Language is a human tool for organization, so inherently language is always a reflection of the society we find ourselves in. Our society is made by men for men, and everyone who does not identify with that is excluded and oppressed in one or many ways. To understand in what ways this exclusion and oppression takes place means gaining knowledge in how to fight it. So in using certain words we can reclaim power over the man-made language. Speaking is about representation. Who is allowed to speak and who is listened to? Who defines meaning and how does language reflect and reinforces power dynamics? Feminists are deeply concerned with language and linguistic to be able to speak and be heard in that and many other discourses. I also learned in researching this topic, that there are so many hidden sexist structures in our vernacular, that we uphold our own oppression without even noticing it. So i want to make people notice in themselves and in others how and in what ways language is used to suppress women and how we can actively fight that.
::To answer the second question: A dictionary claims to be neutral and encompasses all the relevant words. Even though there surely is a moment of deciding which words to put in and how to describe them, which cannot inherently be objective. Anyways, a glossary doesn't claim this neutrality and is in a classical sense a list of terms and words that are special to a certain context, that may be misunderstood (in that specific context) without explanation. I also see it as a moment to change the point of view on a word and recontextualise it. So what happens to a glossary if we abandon objectivity and embrace subjectivity? What if we let the lived experiences define our words and how we use them?
::So all in all I really hope that on the way to a more equal society, i can contribute my little piece to the pie and help the progress of building a language that is more inclusive and representative of all kinds of experiences not just mens. I want to help people notice the ways they're keeping up the sexist system and how to change that.


===Who can help you and how?===
===Who can help you and how?===
::I know that will need help in coding from my classmates and tutors. My friends, and the participants will help me with contributions and feedback.
::I know that will need help in coding from my classmates and tutors. My friends, and the participants will help me with contributions and feedback.
::I want to reach out to Michelle Teran, Ali Sahin from WdKA to get in touch and talk. They helped making the wor(l)dings book which is also a glossary and i think they might have some useful and interesting insights and opinions.
::I want to reach out to Michelle Teran, Ali Sahin from WdKA to get in touch and talk. They helped making the book [https://research.wdka.nl/index.php/publications/worlding-a-harvested-glossary-for-social-justice-in-arts-education-and-beyond/ "WOR(L)DING"] which is also a glossary and i think they might have some useful and interesting insights and opinions.
::I have also been referred to Clara Balaguer as a help for my role as the mediator during the meetings. I was told she know how to navigate discomfort and mediate and guide group discussions.
::I have also been referred to Clara Balaguer as a help for my role as the mediator during the meetings. I was told she knows how to navigate discomfort and mediate and guide group discussions.
::My tutors with raising important questions and helping me stay on track.


===Relation to previous practice===
===Relation to previous practice===
Line 92: Line 72:
::During my bachelors I visited Oswald Eggers course "Sprache und Gestalt" ("language and design") where we would read many different, mostly philosophical texts and then investigate and understand them. This was my favorite course and I was fascinated by what we would unpack in these texts. I really enjoy uncovering the hidden meanings of words. So for my bachelor I wrote essays and poems that would play with the understandings of words to show that a word can have different meanings.
::During my bachelors I visited Oswald Eggers course "Sprache und Gestalt" ("language and design") where we would read many different, mostly philosophical texts and then investigate and understand them. This was my favorite course and I was fascinated by what we would unpack in these texts. I really enjoy uncovering the hidden meanings of words. So for my bachelor I wrote essays and poems that would play with the understandings of words to show that a word can have different meanings.
::Later I worked for the feminist organisation PINKSTINKS Germany. Here I helped develop a [https://pinkstinks.de/hilfe-erhalten/glossar/ feminist glossary] with technical terms around feminism. This is a more general glossary about new words that emerged in the feminist discourse in Germany that are not self-explanatory. The goal here was to keep the feminist discourse accessible and the vocabulary clear in order for people to understand the feminist mission.  
::Later I worked for the feminist organisation PINKSTINKS Germany. Here I helped develop a [https://pinkstinks.de/hilfe-erhalten/glossar/ feminist glossary] with technical terms around feminism. This is a more general glossary about new words that emerged in the feminist discourse in Germany that are not self-explanatory. The goal here was to keep the feminist discourse accessible and the vocabulary clear in order for people to understand the feminist mission.  
::During our first year we made our [[Alphabet Soup]] and I really enjoyed the process of experimental glossary writing. It opened new ways in which a word can be explained and understood and helped me further realize that we can have different understandings of the same words not just through usage but also because of different cultural upbringings. I further explored that in my own glossary which i called [[User:Queenfeline/IDIOTICON|Idioticon]]. Here i collected words that I didn't knew and concepts that are interesting to me. I eventually developed a habit of researching the meaning of words, even of those that are familiar to me. I soon came across the book ‘wordslut’ by Amanda Montell, which opened up new perspectives on the English language to me and made me realize how important language is in relation to feminism.
::During our first year we made our [[Alphabet Soup]] and I really enjoyed the process of experimental glossary writing. It opened new ways in which a word can be explained and understood and helped me further realize that we can have different understandings of the same words not just through usage but also because of different cultural upbringings. I further explored that in my own glossary which i called [[User:Queenfeline/IDIOTICON|Idioticon]]. Here i collected words that I didn't know and concepts that are interesting to me. I eventually developed a habit of researching the meaning of words, even of those that are familiar to me. I soon came across the book ‘wordslut’ by Amanda Montell, which opened up new perspectives on the English language to me and made me realize how important language is in relation to feminism.


===Relation to a larger context===
===Relation to a larger context===
::In the broadest sense my project relates to glossaries in general, as they are listing alphabetically terms or names important to a particular subject or activity. I am taking that approach as a base to then connect it with lived experiences and participatory speech acts. In order for me to do that I rely on technical feminist glossaries (like these from german magazines [https://pinkstinks.de/hilfe-erhalten/glossar/ Pinkstinks], [https://missy-magazine.de/glossar/ Missy] and books like: [https://archive.org/details/feministdictiona00kram "A Feminist Dictionary"] by Cheris Kramarae and Paula A. Treichler(1985)) that enable an accessible feminist discourse for me and the participants of the meetings.  
::In the broadest sense, my project relates to glossaries in general, as they are listing alphabetically terms or names important to a particular subject or activity. I am taking that approach as a base to then connect it with lived experiences and participatory speech acts. In order for me to do that I rely on technical feminist glossaries (like these from german magazines [https://pinkstinks.de/hilfe-erhalten/glossar/ Pinkstinks], [https://missy-magazine.de/glossar/ Missy] and books like: [https://archive.org/details/feministdictiona00kram "A Feminist Dictionary"] by Cheris Kramarae and Paula A. Treichler(1985)) that enable an accessible feminist discourse for me and the participants of the meetings.  
::And I take it a step further as I question the static, man-made, inherited meaning of words and language and encourage to discover and create new ways of using and playing with language. For that I was definitely inspired by experimental glossaries like [https://research.wdka.nl/index.php/publications/worlding-a-harvested-glossary-for-social-justice-in-arts-education-and-beyond/ "WOR(L)DING"] by Michelle Teran, Ali Şahin, Kari Robertson and Pablo Lerma and the [https://www.spectorbooks.com/book/glossary-of-undisciplined-design "Glossary of Undisciplined Design"] by Anja Kaiser and Rebecca Stephany because they expand the concept of a glossary.
::And I take it a step further as I question the static, man-made, inherited meaning of words and language and encourage to discover and create new ways of using and playing with language. For that I was definitely inspired by experimental glossaries like [https://research.wdka.nl/index.php/publications/worlding-a-harvested-glossary-for-social-justice-in-arts-education-and-beyond/ "WOR(L)DING"] by Michelle Teran, Ali Şahin, Kari Robertson and Pablo Lerma and the [https://www.spectorbooks.com/book/glossary-of-undisciplined-design "Glossary of Undisciplined Design"] by Anja Kaiser and Rebecca Stephany because they expand the concept of a glossary.  
 
::Additionally there are projects like [https://wordmord-ur.la/ "wordmord"] by Angeliki Diakrousi and the [https://stylianidou.com/manyfesto-or-how-to-dirtystruct-the-lexicon.html Manyfesto or how to dirtystruct the lexicon] which break or dirtystruct (dirty + con/distruct/disrupt) the norms, rules and ideals of a standard language. These inspire me to also have the courage to actively shape and shift the meaning of words and not just list them, and to make language my own and allow myself to play with it.
 
::During early stages of research I then encountered the [https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/bitch.htm BITCH Manifesto] by Jo Freeman which further confirmed the importance and fun it is to actively reclaim a word. With and through Jo Freeman I was diving deeper in the topic of consciousness-raising groups from the late 60's and 70's Feminist movement, as they were a space to exchange and express injustices women experienced. These meetings were a powerful tool as they lead to a feeling of togetherness, validated single voices and shifted the focus from the individual to a broader, structural problem. Which ultimately resulted in a more aware and proactive mindset.
::There is this project called [https://wordmord-ur.la/ wordmord] (by Angeliki Diakrousi and others) which "believes that the violence of language is not eradicated by merely deleting/erasing words, but rather by transversing their violent imposition through specific practices that trouble and disrupt grammatical consistency, semantic norms, ‘correct’ pronunciation, ‘proper’ bodily posture. The rupture of linguistic limits suggests the possibility of experiencing language in its materiality."
 
::I also found [https://www.openspellbook.de/index.html the open spell book] (by Greta Lüdemann, Uma Grotrian-Steinweg 2024). They say: "Whilst reading into Feminist theory we dived deep into topics of all kinds. Along the way, we encounter key words that came up in different texts and give a sense of commons, controversies and struggles. By bringing together multiple voices that speak about these terms we want to capture the poetics of feminist theory, move beyond linear reading and open an experimental approach towards building knowledge. We invite you to dig trough, play with and contribute to our quote collection. This is not done. This is evolving."
 
::The [https://stylianidou.com/manyfesto-or-how-to-dirtystruct-the-lexicon.html Manyfesto or how to dirtystruct the lexicon] is also super interesting as it "proposes a rhizomatic paralexicon-in progress as a way to dirtystruct (dirty + con/distruct/disrupt) the notion of a universal, formal and normative lexicon, which usually establishes linguistic norms and the ideal of a standard language."
 
::The [https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/bitch.htm BITCH Manifesto] by Jo Freeman is a very empowering approach to change the meaning of a word and reclaim it.


===References/bibliography===
===References/bibliography===
::Cameron, Daborah (1986) '''''Feminism and Linguistic Theory''''' Macmillian London
::Cameron, Deborah (1990) '''''The Feminist Critique of Language''''' Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc. New York
::Fritsch, Kelly ; O'Connor, Clare ; Thompson, AK (2016) '''''Keywords for Radicals: The contested Vocabulary of Late-Capitalist Struggle''''' AK Press Oakland
::Kaiser, Anja; Stephany, Rebecca (2nd Edition 2024) '''''Glossary of Undisciplined Design''''' Spector Books Leipzig
::Kramarae, Cheris; Treichler, Paula A. (1985) '''''A Feminist Dictionary''''' Pandora Press Boston
::Lakoff, Robin (1975) '''''Language and Woman's Place''''' Harper and Row Publishers Inc. New York
::Montell, Amanda (2019) '''''Wordslut''''' HarperCollins Publishers New York
::Montell, Amanda (2019) '''''Wordslut''''' HarperCollins Publishers New York
::Spencer, Dale (1998) '''''Man Made Language''''' Pandora New York : Distributed in U.S.A. by New York University Press
::Teran, Michelle ; Sahin, Ali ; Robertson, Kari ; Lerma, Pablo  (2024) '''''Wor(l)ding: A Harvested Glossary for Social Justice in Arts Education and Beyond''''' HumDurmPress & Meteoro Editions  
::Teran, Michelle ; Sahin, Ali ; Robertson, Kari ; Lerma, Pablo  (2024) '''''Wor(l)ding: A Harvested Glossary for Social Justice in Arts Education and Beyond''''' HumDurmPress & Meteoro Editions  
::Cameron, Daborah (1986) '''''Feminism and Linguistic Theory''''' Macmillian London
::Fritsch, Kelly ; O'Connor, Clare ; Thompson, AK (2016) '''''Keywords for Radicals: The contested Vocabulary of Late-Capitalist Struggle''''' AK Press Oakland
::Williams, Raymond (1976) '''''Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society''''' Oxford University Press
::Williams, Raymond (1976) '''''Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society''''' Oxford University Press
::Spencer, Dale (1998) '''''Man Made Language''''' Pandora New York : Distributed in U.S.A. by New York University Press

Latest revision as of 18:46, 18 November 2025

See also: Thesis Proposal
working title:
A Slip Of The Tongue ?
I also like "awareMess"

What do you want to make?

I want to organize consciousness-raising group meetings to discuss the hidden sexism in our vernacular. Along side these meetings I will create a website that documents these meetings in the form of a glossary, since each meeting will revolve around a word, term or sentence.
This project emerges from a personal realization: as a woman, I unconsciously reproduce sexist patterns in the way I speak and think. I feel alienated from my own language because I convey things I don't want to express and that I position myself against very strongly. So realizing that I actively uphold the oppression against women myself everyday was a shock. The words in which that becomes clear are going to be the ones we speak about.
The goal of this project is to spark curiosity and discourse around language and words, to see language as a powerful tool that can be worked with, shifted and shaped. I wish for the meetings and the glossary to become a critical and self-reflective tool to expose hidden bias in our vernacular and make people feel empowered to start a shift in meaning.

How do you plan to make it?

There will be monthly public gatherings in Rotterdam with whoever is interested and wants to join. I would describe my target group, realistically, as people who I speak to in my day to day life and, ideally, as people that differ in age and cultural upbringing to enable greater diversity and multiple perspectives. For each meeting we will talk about a word, phrase or term that holds (more or less hidden) sexism (e.g. bitch, bossy, to have the balls to do smth., feisty, hey guys, 'it's probably a stupid idea but...'). Words that I encounter in books or in other ways that I first didn't see a problem in. I will focus on the oppression of sexism, while still acknowledging that systems of oppression are built upon each other and you cannot extract one and cut loose from the others. The participants will discuss different understandings of, and unpack the sexism in words. Prepared theoretical texts (excerpts) from feminist linguists (like Dale Spender, Robin Lakoff, Deborah Cameron) will help us open new perspectives and widen our knowledge. This research will also feed my theory.
During these meetings we will document the process / discussion. The exact documentation strategy will be developed with the help of a questionnaire during the try-out night. Along that structure we will formulate and collect our thought on the glossary website. Because speaking about ones vernacular can be very triggering, there will be a code of conduct that the participants will agree on at the beginning of the meetings to make sure the meetings will happen in a safe(r) environment that allows space for realization and unlearning.
The glossary website will have an introduction about the project on the homepage (what it is and what it seeks to do) and why it is important to think about language as a feminist tool to reclaim power. I will research and test different styles of the navigation to create an accessible interface (e.g. list, map, pictures, drawings). Each entry will contain what the specific group discussed on that specific day. So it's rather a capture of a moment in time and an invitation to rethink and reflect, as I don't intend to dictate meaning in any way. I want to raise awareness and invite others into the process of unlearning, questioning, and rewriting. I see myself very much as part of the group that is still learning everyday. The personal reflection about the learnings of the process of compiling and making this glossary (project), how it changed the way I see language and the way I speak is also part of the thesis where I will uncover how participatory speech practices about sexist language become a feminist method of unlearning and redefining.

What is your timetable?

November / December

[x] prototype a workshop with the class
[ ] prepare a first meeting
[x] write code of conduct
[ ] make a consent/ethics from for participants
[ ] actually have the meeting
[ ] For the first public moment: showcase what i already collected and let people give me feedback on the structure
[ ] prepare the T4 assessment
[ ] Finalize the first entry + introduction
[ ] Thesis: draft the first chapter

January / February

[ ] collect more words and have more meetings
[ ] come up with a structure for website
[ ] come up with a layout for website
[ ] make prototype for website and get feedback
[ ] Thesis: continue writing (13.Feb first draft deadline)

March / April

[ ] continue with meetings
[ ] code the final prototype into actual website
[ ] revise thesis (6. March second draft deadline)
[ ] revise even further and finalize (17. Apr deadline)

June / July

[ ] continue with meetings
[ ] update / debug website
[ ] think about how my work can be exhibited
[ ] prepare the exhibition
[ ] prepare for the final assessment
[ ] enjoy the grad show and be proud :)

Why do you want to make it?

In her book "Feminism and Linguistic Theory" Deborah Cameron states , "Language is a weapon, used by the powerful to oppress their subordinates." Words hold power. Words help us validate and make sense of our experiences. Words make our experiences communicable. I think Language is not just a list of words but a system of power that we uphold and reinforce everyday through speaking. The words we use shape us and our experiences (Cameron, 1990) but that mechanism also works the other way around, we can adjust our language to shape the world around us. I want to make people notice, in themselves and others, how and in what ways language is used to oppress and how we can uncover and actively fight that. I want to spark curiosity around our vernacular and raise awareness about the hidden sexism.
Taking the consciousness-raising groups from the 60's and 70's Women's Liberation Movement as a role model, I want to break silence(ing) as a political act. Just like these 'Speak-out' meetings I want to open a space to share personal experiences, discuss and erupt taboos. I hope to create a sense of community and solidarity.
I call this project a glossary, because it deals with words that are important to a particular subject or activity. It provides me with the framework of a lexicon-like structure, but at the same time it still leaves freedom in structuring and writing the entries. I want to let lived experiences define our words and how we use them rather then a fixed and, claims to be, objective definition.

Who can help you and how?

I know that will need help in coding from my classmates and tutors. My friends, and the participants will help me with contributions and feedback.
I want to reach out to Michelle Teran, Ali Sahin from WdKA to get in touch and talk. They helped making the book "WOR(L)DING" which is also a glossary and i think they might have some useful and interesting insights and opinions.
I have also been referred to Clara Balaguer as a help for my role as the mediator during the meetings. I was told she knows how to navigate discomfort and mediate and guide group discussions.

Relation to previous practice

During my bachelors I visited Oswald Eggers course "Sprache und Gestalt" ("language and design") where we would read many different, mostly philosophical texts and then investigate and understand them. This was my favorite course and I was fascinated by what we would unpack in these texts. I really enjoy uncovering the hidden meanings of words. So for my bachelor I wrote essays and poems that would play with the understandings of words to show that a word can have different meanings.
Later I worked for the feminist organisation PINKSTINKS Germany. Here I helped develop a feminist glossary with technical terms around feminism. This is a more general glossary about new words that emerged in the feminist discourse in Germany that are not self-explanatory. The goal here was to keep the feminist discourse accessible and the vocabulary clear in order for people to understand the feminist mission.
During our first year we made our Alphabet Soup and I really enjoyed the process of experimental glossary writing. It opened new ways in which a word can be explained and understood and helped me further realize that we can have different understandings of the same words not just through usage but also because of different cultural upbringings. I further explored that in my own glossary which i called Idioticon. Here i collected words that I didn't know and concepts that are interesting to me. I eventually developed a habit of researching the meaning of words, even of those that are familiar to me. I soon came across the book ‘wordslut’ by Amanda Montell, which opened up new perspectives on the English language to me and made me realize how important language is in relation to feminism.

Relation to a larger context

In the broadest sense, my project relates to glossaries in general, as they are listing alphabetically terms or names important to a particular subject or activity. I am taking that approach as a base to then connect it with lived experiences and participatory speech acts. In order for me to do that I rely on technical feminist glossaries (like these from german magazines Pinkstinks, Missy and books like: "A Feminist Dictionary" by Cheris Kramarae and Paula A. Treichler(1985)) that enable an accessible feminist discourse for me and the participants of the meetings.
And I take it a step further as I question the static, man-made, inherited meaning of words and language and encourage to discover and create new ways of using and playing with language. For that I was definitely inspired by experimental glossaries like "WOR(L)DING" by Michelle Teran, Ali Şahin, Kari Robertson and Pablo Lerma and the "Glossary of Undisciplined Design" by Anja Kaiser and Rebecca Stephany because they expand the concept of a glossary.
Additionally there are projects like "wordmord" by Angeliki Diakrousi and the Manyfesto or how to dirtystruct the lexicon which break or dirtystruct (dirty + con/distruct/disrupt) the norms, rules and ideals of a standard language. These inspire me to also have the courage to actively shape and shift the meaning of words and not just list them, and to make language my own and allow myself to play with it.
During early stages of research I then encountered the BITCH Manifesto by Jo Freeman which further confirmed the importance and fun it is to actively reclaim a word. With and through Jo Freeman I was diving deeper in the topic of consciousness-raising groups from the late 60's and 70's Feminist movement, as they were a space to exchange and express injustices women experienced. These meetings were a powerful tool as they lead to a feeling of togetherness, validated single voices and shifted the focus from the individual to a broader, structural problem. Which ultimately resulted in a more aware and proactive mindset.

References/bibliography

Cameron, Daborah (1986) Feminism and Linguistic Theory Macmillian London
Cameron, Deborah (1990) The Feminist Critique of Language Routledge, Chapman and Hall, Inc. New York
Fritsch, Kelly ; O'Connor, Clare ; Thompson, AK (2016) Keywords for Radicals: The contested Vocabulary of Late-Capitalist Struggle AK Press Oakland
Kaiser, Anja; Stephany, Rebecca (2nd Edition 2024) Glossary of Undisciplined Design Spector Books Leipzig
Kramarae, Cheris; Treichler, Paula A. (1985) A Feminist Dictionary Pandora Press Boston
Lakoff, Robin (1975) Language and Woman's Place Harper and Row Publishers Inc. New York
Montell, Amanda (2019) Wordslut HarperCollins Publishers New York
Spencer, Dale (1998) Man Made Language Pandora New York : Distributed in U.S.A. by New York University Press
Teran, Michelle ; Sahin, Ali ; Robertson, Kari ; Lerma, Pablo (2024) Wor(l)ding: A Harvested Glossary for Social Justice in Arts Education and Beyond HumDurmPress & Meteoro Editions
Williams, Raymond (1976) Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society Oxford University Press