Only Together, We Flourish: The Importance of Friendship and Care in Navigating Anti-Asian Hate and Shielding During COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic and the response of the government of the United Kingdom have exacerbated deep-seated inequalities. People of color and disabled people have been disproportionately impacted during the pandemic. This essay has two authors, Sophie, a white disabled academic from England, and Den...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cultural Studies Association
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Lateral |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://csalateral.org/section/crip-pandemic-life/only-together-we-flourish-friendship-care-anti-asian-hate-covid-19-savage-wong/ |
| _version_ | 1797802952129249280 |
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| author | Sophie Savage Denise Wong |
| author_facet | Sophie Savage Denise Wong |
| author_sort | Sophie Savage |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic and the response of the government of the United Kingdom have exacerbated deep-seated inequalities. People of color and disabled people have been disproportionately impacted during the pandemic. This essay has two authors, Sophie, a white disabled academic from England, and Denise, an Asian music therapist from Hong Kong; we are friends who live in Bristol. By examining our understanding of the pandemic through our lived experiences and identities, we provide transparency for engaging with our individual and shared perspectives. We use Mia Mingus’s concept of access intimacy to characterize our friendship as one which prioritizes accessibility and a deep understanding of each other’s realities whilst respecting and learning from our differences. We explore the idea of vulnerability and what it means to be made vulnerable during COVID, as well as the notion of ungrievability. Through engaging the concept of embodied belonging we address care as a necessity in response to all the ways in which this pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated vulnerability, ungrievability, and challenges to finding a sense of belonging. We demonstrate solidarity, empathy, joy, love, respect, and a deep reverence for each other and our journeys through hostile environments, providing a counterpoint to the neoliberal structures of oppression as we find ways to live, create, and flourish. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:14:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d6e3d979f7bb4d10a25a3156d6a557b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2469-4053 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:14:33Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Cultural Studies Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Lateral |
| spelling | doaj.art-d6e3d979f7bb4d10a25a3156d6a557b92023-06-16T01:07:22ZengCultural Studies AssociationLateral2469-40532023-06-0112110.25158/L12.1.11Only Together, We Flourish: The Importance of Friendship and Care in Navigating Anti-Asian Hate and Shielding During COVID-19Sophie Savage0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9652-7629Denise Wonghttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6198-1285University of the West of England, BristolThe COVID-19 pandemic and the response of the government of the United Kingdom have exacerbated deep-seated inequalities. People of color and disabled people have been disproportionately impacted during the pandemic. This essay has two authors, Sophie, a white disabled academic from England, and Denise, an Asian music therapist from Hong Kong; we are friends who live in Bristol. By examining our understanding of the pandemic through our lived experiences and identities, we provide transparency for engaging with our individual and shared perspectives. We use Mia Mingus’s concept of access intimacy to characterize our friendship as one which prioritizes accessibility and a deep understanding of each other’s realities whilst respecting and learning from our differences. We explore the idea of vulnerability and what it means to be made vulnerable during COVID, as well as the notion of ungrievability. Through engaging the concept of embodied belonging we address care as a necessity in response to all the ways in which this pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated vulnerability, ungrievability, and challenges to finding a sense of belonging. We demonstrate solidarity, empathy, joy, love, respect, and a deep reverence for each other and our journeys through hostile environments, providing a counterpoint to the neoliberal structures of oppression as we find ways to live, create, and flourish.https://csalateral.org/section/crip-pandemic-life/only-together-we-flourish-friendship-care-anti-asian-hate-covid-19-savage-wong/racedisabilitycovid-19pandemicfriendshipsolidarityracismableismlived experienceanti-asian hate |
| spellingShingle | Sophie Savage Denise Wong Only Together, We Flourish: The Importance of Friendship and Care in Navigating Anti-Asian Hate and Shielding During COVID-19 Lateral race disability covid-19 pandemic friendship solidarity racism ableism lived experience anti-asian hate |
| title | Only Together, We Flourish: The Importance of Friendship and Care in Navigating Anti-Asian Hate and Shielding During COVID-19 |
| title_full | Only Together, We Flourish: The Importance of Friendship and Care in Navigating Anti-Asian Hate and Shielding During COVID-19 |
| title_fullStr | Only Together, We Flourish: The Importance of Friendship and Care in Navigating Anti-Asian Hate and Shielding During COVID-19 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Only Together, We Flourish: The Importance of Friendship and Care in Navigating Anti-Asian Hate and Shielding During COVID-19 |
| title_short | Only Together, We Flourish: The Importance of Friendship and Care in Navigating Anti-Asian Hate and Shielding During COVID-19 |
| title_sort | only together we flourish the importance of friendship and care in navigating anti asian hate and shielding during covid 19 |
| topic | race disability covid-19 pandemic friendship solidarity racism ableism lived experience anti-asian hate |
| url | https://csalateral.org/section/crip-pandemic-life/only-together-we-flourish-friendship-care-anti-asian-hate-covid-19-savage-wong/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sophiesavage onlytogetherweflourishtheimportanceoffriendshipandcareinnavigatingantiasianhateandshieldingduringcovid19 AT denisewong onlytogetherweflourishtheimportanceoffriendshipandcareinnavigatingantiasianhateandshieldingduringcovid19 |