I was at this DEI shindig where people had to declare their “intersectional positioning.” Everybody had to come up with statements like, “I’m a heterosexual, cisgender, able-bodied, married, white person. This gives me racial, sexual, etc etc privilege.”
When my turn came, I said the following:
I’m trained to be a foreign language teacher, literary critic, and translator. No other part of my personality is for sale. I do not choose to enter my private life, health history, sexuality or anything else into the monetary exchange that my presence here constitutes. I am here to sell my labor for money and do nothing beyond that. Work has pushed its tentacles deep into our lives, infringing on our private time. I will not cede even more of myself to it.
People loved it. Feel free to use this text if you are forced to participate in this kind of event.