Identity and Politics with Danny Franzese
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Identity and Politics with Danny Franzese
The 2020 election is *almost officially* behind us, but the conversations and ideas that came out of it are as relevant as ever, especially for Gen-Z’ers who came out to vote, many for the first time. As the most diverse generation to date, identity issues and personal experience play an essential role in their political understanding.
On Tuesday, September 1st, The Conversationalist brought together a group of seven powerful, articulate Gen-Zers who shared their perspectives on the intersection of identity and politics, in conversation with celebrity host Daniel Franzese, and The Conversationalist Founder and CEO, Sophie Beren. This conversation made it clear that while Gen Z‘ers personal identities play an important role in who they are, they also care a whole lot about other people when it comes to how they vote.
Also, the live chat was going off the entire time.
He Doesn’t Even Go Here...
Our host Franzese is best known for his iconic (like truly, ICONIC) turn as Damian in Mean Girls (2004), but his career has been multifaceted, extending far beyond Hollywood. He’s a political and body-positive activist, whose work has brought him to Capitol Hill. He’s also the co-host of the Yass Jesus! Podcast, which explores his intersecting identities as a man of faith and a member of the LGBTQ community.
To kick off the conversation, Franzese asked the panelists to identify the origin of their political views.
Where do your political views come from?
Hannah Feinberg, a high school student from Pennsylvania who is passionate about advocacy for intersectional feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, and climate justice, said that she grew up in a liberal household in a liberal area.
University of North Texas student Jennifer Ekwonye was raised in a liberal Nigerian household but came into her own as a conservative-libertarian once she started school. She currently serves as the Texas and Oklahoma State Chair for Young Americans for Liberty.
Adam Ashley, a First-Year at the University of Virginia, acknowledges polarization and believes in the importance of shaping your own political identity. He is the Co-Founder of The Greater Good Initiative, a youth-led bipartisan policy think-tank.
What parts of your identity have been influential in shaping your political beliefs?
Franzese introduced the Eight Markers of Identity into the conversation: ability, class, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, culture, and age.
Lukas Dal Colletto, a recent high school graduate, based in Los Angeles, said that his religion and his sexual orientation influence him. “I came out as bi a little while ago. I think that has changed some of the outlooks I’ve had,” he said, “I had a great experience in how I came out.”
As an LBGT Christian, Franzese said he could relate to Dal Colletto’s experience.
Isaac Choi, a high school senior from Texas, pointed to his ethnicity as a critical marker in his life. His parents immigrated to the United States from Korea. He went into school sheltered and was taught at home not to talk about issues such as gay rights and the Black Lives Matter movement.“I grew up talking about these things upstairs, but downstairs at the dinner table, it was not a thing,” he said. “Joining [The Conversationalist] broke my shell. I’m still learning a lot from amazing people around me.”
He got a lot of love in the comments.
Hannah Van Ryn grew up going to bible school and votes conservative due to her identity as a pro-life Christian. But she said that as she learns more about politics, she’s questioned aspects of her beliefs. “I grew up in this conservative space,” she said. “But do I actually believe what I think I do?”
Do you see yourself represented in U.S. Politics?
Feinberg said she doesn’t see much of herself in U.S. politics since there aren’t many queer women in office. She said that watching Hillary Clinton run and hearing Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speak inspires her.
As a conservative, Ekwonye hopes to feel more represented in the Republican Party. “If something were to change, more pro-liberty republicans could come back to the party since being isolated in 2016,” she said. “Black conservatives could use more representation.”
Dylan Chidick, a former TC Catalyst intern and current President of The College of New Jersey class of 2023, agreed, saying that he does not feel represented in politics. “For me, I can’t just pick and choose,” he said. “I see things on both sides I can agree with.”
Franzese encouraged the panelists to use these observations as a sign to get more involved in politics. “If you don’t see yourself represented, there are younger versions of you looking to be represented by you,” he said.
Ashley agreed and said that he wants to run for office one day and hopes to be informed about people who have different lives than his own. “You have to take your personal beliefs and combine it with that of your constituency,” he says. “Hopefully, Gen-Z and all of us [on the panel] are in the senate so we can bring other people’s experience to the work we are doing.”
Van Ryn mentioned her support for police officers. “It’s hot and controversial, and I’ve lost friends over it,” she said but acknowledged that she doesn’t want her personal beliefs to discredit anyone’s individual experiences with police. Still, she hopes people can offer grace to police officers.
How would you define identity politics?
Franzese acknowledged the rise in the popularity of identity politics. Since Gen-Z is the most radical and diverse generation, he says that this concept, which puts someone’s identity at the core of their views, is especially relevant.
Feinberg said she defines identity politics as aligning your political beliefs based on individual experience. Even though she’s still too young to vote, she believes that identity politics should influence a person’s view, but it shouldn’t be everything.
Why? She believes a person’s vote should help everyone and not just themselves.
Speaking from her own experience, Ekwonye said she believes identity politics become problematic when it leads to someone making assumptions about another person. “People assume I vote democrat because I’m Black,” she said. Even though she voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, she said her views have changed since then.
Chidick shared his perspective on the limits of identity politics and said that people are going to vote for the person they’re most aligned with, but it’s difficult to find a perfect match because we all hold so many different identities.” No matter who you’re voting for, there’s going to be some pros and cons,” he said.
In turn, Van Ryn offered an example of how identity- and empathy-impacts her personal political beliefs; Even though she’s religious, she believes in the separation of church and state. “I’m not just voting for me,” she says. “I’m voting for everyone.”
“It’s not a ballot for you. It’s for the world you live in.”
“It’s not a ballot for you. It’s for the world you live in,” Choi said, echoing Van Ryn’s point. “Identity makes things more meaningful, so when you put it in politics, it makes it more meaningful.” The panel helped him break out of his shell, he said, and he hoped to do more research before the election.
Feinberg said participating in the panel taught her how religion could influence someone's political views because, as an atheist, that isn’t part of her experience.
Dal Colletto said he understands how there are stereotypes around specific identities and related that idea to his own experience being stereotyped.
The conversation closed by coming back around to the idea of being an empathetic voter, as Ekwonye noted that she learned people don’t just vote for themselves, but for the people around them.
In summary: If the rest of Gen-Z has half the empathy and eloquence this group does, the future’s in good hands.
Franzese left the panelists with some words about the joy that embracing his identity has brought him in every aspect of his life. “I lived a lot of my life struggling with my identity. “Every single reason I struggled is a reason I get paid today and a reason I have access to things,” he said. “Those are not your pain points. Those are your selling points.”
Basically, everyone was ready to go bake a cake full of smiles and rainbows thanks to Daniel and the incredible panelists.
After bidding farewell to the panelists, Franzese participated in a brief Q&A, facilitated by Founder and CEO Sophie Beren, where he dropped plenty of wisdom and a few fun facts- about his career, personal experience with identity, and the legacy of Mean Girls.
Before signing off, Franzese congratulated The Conversationalist team on their first panel and expressed that he hoped to see more in the future and to hear from the community. “This is the generation, that’s going to save us,” he said.
This was the first of many panels The Conversationalist hosted ahead of the election. But there are plenty of panels planned for the weeks ahead, featuring important conversations about topics that impact Gen-Zers. Follow The Conversationalist on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to learn about how you can enter to be featured on a future panel and text UNIFY to 1 (877) 222-1119 to join our community and connect with members.