Stories are like sentences: when they are about us, we can be the subject of them, or the object of them. And it presents a very different experience to people to be the subject of a story, rather than the object of a story. Being the subject of a story—or a sentence—is empowering. You are the one who acts. If you are a person who shares identity markers with that subject, then you get to see somebody like you acting, being empowered, being the driving force of the narrative.
Subject position. Object position.
Subject position. Object position.
Subject position. Object position.
Stories are like sentences: when they are about us, we can be the subject of them, or the object of them. And it presents a very different experience to people to be the subject of a story, rather than the object of a story. Being the subject of a story—or a sentence—is empowering. You are the one who acts. If you are a person who shares identity markers with that subject, then you get to see somebody like you acting, being empowered, being the driving force of the narrative.