Inclusion is another hierarchical term

"Inclusion" is anchored to some kind of hierarchy. I have always asked myself, who is doing the including? And what are we being included in??

Language matters, and the language of the past isn't going to help us get to the future we need. Inclusion has served its purpose. It gave us language to call into the open a hierarchy that many people were invested in pretending not to see. But if we stop here at this word, we continue to uphold that structuring. We continue to empower those in dominant culture to invite marginalized people in, rather than building systems that are open to all. Read the last phrase again.?

I don't know the exact word for what we need next. I'm drawn to "mutuality" and the idea that we recognize each other as equally valuable. Where inclusion upholds a power structure in which dominant culture decides to include marginalized people, mutuality requires a shift in power that lets everyone contribute to building something worth keeping. Mutuality encourages partnership, while inclusion places the invitees as guests.?

And there's purpose in the pursuit of mutuality. There's a goal to envision and work towards, beyond changing who's in the room. What would it look like to build systems around mutuality? How would your workplace or your relationships function with the central understanding of "I am you, and you are me"??

It's not sitting in mismatched seats drawn up to the table. It's not photo ops for the company's social media posts. It's a guidepost for the journey, a constellation to follow as we make our way forward and imagine the future we get to create.