Marginalization applies to more than race and gender and height.

As a short Japanese female writer, I’ll be focusing this particular blog on how writing intersects with race, gender, and height because those are the areas in which I am most frequently marginalized. But race, gender, and height are just three out of a long list of ways in which people can be marginalized.

I don’t believe it’s impossible to write outside of your own experience. But I also don’t believe that, as an outsider, my voice should be privileged above the voices of insiders if the experience in question is not one I have had. My goal is not to erase or exclude these insider voices from this blog, but rather to acknowledge my limited knowledge from the start and to direct my readers to more informed Resources. Inevitably, because no type of marginalization exists in a vacuum, I will end up addressing one or more types of marginalization that I have not personally experienced; I only hope I will be able to do so in a way cognizant of my own privileges and my outsider status.

Below is a PARTIAL list of types of marginalization in which I feel my voice should not be privileged (in other words, please look elsewhere for insider discussions of these):

• Classism
• Disability
• ESL learner experiences
• Immigrant/expat experiences
• LGBTQ+
• Non-cisgendered people’s experiences
• Races/ethnicities other than Japanese
• Religion

For insider voices on the above topics and on other types of marginalization, check out the Resources page!