Sometimes this
means making incremental shifts in what I once held dear
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On Facebook I host an online community for neurodivergent entrepreneurs called How 2 Entrepreneuro. I have been hosting this space for almost three years now, and it is an amazing and supportive community- I love it hard.
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Last week I changed the rules.
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When I wrote the rules for How 2 Entrepreneuro, they felt funny, pithy and well, a bit setting the tone of the community I wanted to create.
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There was one rule- Don't be a d**k.
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Then a while ago I was talking with a friend about gendered language. They had been consciously removing gendered insults.
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Honestly. It had never ever been something I had considered.
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I am a massive Ru Paul fan, so a b***h has been a "Being In Total Control of Herself" for years. It felt more empowering than the gendered slur.
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Yet as the concept of gender neutralised insults sat in my brain for a while, percolating. I started to pay more attention to the language I was using in this space.
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And it did not feel comfortable.
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I did some reading and now I am on a journey to remove gender from this area of my language.
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I am consciously removing gendered insults from my vernacular. This means I have changed the rule for my group.
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There is still only one, and it is now "Don't be an ass".
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Same rule, same intention, now without the gender.
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It took me months and months of thinking and processing for this to be okay in my brain. I liked the rule. I had written it, so it felt personal. Yet this thinking had created a dissonance in myself I could not ignore.
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I am someone who continues to work hard at removing barriers and discrimination. This is evidence for me that I need to continue on this journey and persist in doing the work.
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Because it is important to me that my community is welcoming to all humans.
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I acknowledge I am still getting it wrong. When I see it, I will do the work to understand and make change.
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This works in all cultural shifts- start with small incremental changes. Collectively make change for the better.
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Have an amazing day today people.
#InclusiveLeadership #ConsciousLeadership #GenderDiversity