Being Brilliant Bystander
We’re surrounded by difficult conversations about racism, elections, the pandemic, policing, and more. How can we have a positive influence during disagreements and reroute conflict into a useful discussion? When is it important for us to speak up or act? Kimberly draws on her experience as a conflict resolution facilitator to share the skills of the “brilliant bystander” along with safe and effective ways to restore fairness in power conflicts, resolve conflict, and encourage others to participate.
You Don’t Owe Anyone Pretty
In this program, Kimberly Dark explores how appearance privilege works in the U.S. and why focusing too often on our own appearance cannot lead us to personal peace, nor social equality. Students will laugh as they learn:
• How to listen for and see the social hierarchies that normally remain hidden because they’re so common.
• How to disrupt everyday injustice and shame through witness, kindness, humor and straightforward common sense.
• How to stand in their own “is-ness” – the power of being that transcends appearance (because our looks change through our lives, y’all).
• How to practice love and pleasure – in our own bodies and as advocates for others’ well-being and dignity as well
Appearance privilege includes being pretty or handsome, but also relates to racism, fat stigma, disability justice and more. This smart, funny program includes relatable stories and involves the audience in building strategies of resistance. The audience leaves empowered, and aware of their tools and brilliance as social creators.Appearance privilege includes being pretty or handsome, but also relates to racism, fat stigma, disability justice and more. This smart, funny program includes relatable stories and involves the audience in building strategies of resistance. The audience leaves empowered, and aware of their tools and brilliance as social creators.
Gender, Race, and Money
The gap between rich and poor in the United has been widening and this is particularly pronounced in communities of color and for women. During this engaging and interactive lecture, Dark teaches participants about trends in the distribution of wealth in America and how those trends affect all Americans. We can no longer afford to ignore the history of privilege and poverty, if we hope to create a world in which that American dream of fairness and prosperity can become a reality. In this hugely participatory event, Dark leads participants through exercises to help them understand their own wealth, how it is influenced by the privilege of birth and circumstances and how those who lack wealth may not be as personally deficient as some believe. The content of this lecture is applicable to each person who uses money - and participants will leave with the tools for making connections with others to work toward a more just economy.
Sex and Society–It’s Time to Talk About It
Kimberly Dark’s book, The Daddies, is an American Library Association recommended book–both a love-letter to masculinity and an indictment of patriarchy. In this program – including stories, insights, and discussion – Kimberly explores the importance of discussing sex and sexuality – not just for the sake of interpersonal relationships, but for the political impact our personal choices hold. We can absolutely love men and masculinity (in all its forms) and still dismantle the systems that harm women, children, and everyone else too. (Yes, of course we’ll discuss gender and gender identity too.) For those interested in the politics of knowledge creation, Kimberly can also discuss why we don’t talk about sex and sexuality more readily in the social sciences, given that our erotic urges are part of who we are; they influence the relationships and the society we create.