I feel like that one of the major reasons why racism in archaeology is never truly or adequately addressed is because there’s already such a lack of BIPOC voices in the field (esp. where I work in British prehistory), so it’s so much easier to sweep it under the rug.

It’s difficult to articulate my feelings about this particular issue because I do want to stress that sexism within the field is also rampant as hell (and ableism, ageism, etc.) and I don’t necessarily want to start measuring who is more marginalised in the field.

BUT I feel like we should be wary about a particular strain of white feminism becoming prevalent in archaeology - for example, men of colour getting referred to as misogynistic for calling out racism, etc.

I’ve definitely seen things touted as representing diversity in archaeology that end up being almost entirely chaired by white archaeologists, although some may be women.

And of course that can fall back on the excuse of “well there’s no BIPOC in archaeology!” which 1) isn’t true and 2) is clearly the result of this cyclical behaviour, where the self-reflection of the inherent whiteness of the field isn’t engaged with.

And this isn’t a subtweet or callout because frankly I have the memory of a goldfish anyway.

But it’s definitely a vibe, I guess? That I’ve gotten. Especially when discussing racism with white colleagues. There’s discomfort. And sometimes derailing.

Again, this is something that I have difficulty in discussing because I don’t want to minimise other forms of marginalisation in archaeology - I’ve definitely experienced sexism and ableism in the field, and as a cis woman from a Western country, there’s a lot I DON’T experience.

I guess, in a field where 99% of our workforce is white, we need to be more critical about what we claim to be doing as advocates for equity and diversity.

Who are we speaking for when we demand equality? When we ask for diversity, who is lacking in representation? And if you speak for the marginalised, who do you represent?

...and muted, baby. Enjoy your evening, I’m gonna eat an entire bag of crisps and play Animal Crossing.