Writing
Jenny explains it all.
I want to get better at clearly communicating my complex ideas about society, media, technology, art, and design. These writings are exercises in research and argumentation.
(Lots of drafts here! I'm working on updates, coming Fall–Winter 2026.)
Always and Never: The lingering of reductive narrativesDraft
Last updated August 2026
Resorting to black-and-white statements about people — "they never cared about it", “she was always rude” — is a denial of the nuance and change that people are capable of. If we reduce other people to comfortable, reductive narratives like this, we ourselves begin to live only in the black-and-white. This is a disservice to others, and to ourselves. Denying complexity in others means denying complexity in ourselves. Denying complexity in others while still believing in your own self-complexity is hypocritical and narcissistic, which is beyond the purpose of this writing.
Reductive narratives are narratives that simplify people without acknowledging their capacity for nuance and change. They are black-and-white statements about their character or way of being. You can usually find a reductive statement by the words “always” and “never,” like "He was always hopeless” and “She was always selfish.” They are usually not true.
Reductive narratives are comfortable. It is easier to not let your brain whir too long on an answer in an ambiguous social, emotional, or moral situation, and reductive narratives are easy to form and arrive to. They are simple jumps to conclusions that the mind can easily latch onto to satisfy its gnawing during an uncomfortable situation.
However, reductive narratives can reduce our humanity. When we lean into them, we limit the possibility of others to change and grow. When we fix ourselves to them, we limit our own ability to change and grow by way of new information and encounters.
Reductive narratives are particularly sticky because they are simple. In general, narratives stay in the mind. The most reinforced narratives stay. Simplistic narratives are easy to rehearse, like repetitive litanies that wash away the complexity of a situation.
The best path is to use them sparingly, when they’re useful for emotional regulation, but to acknowledge that they’re useful, not accurate. Always statements are usually always false. Never statements are usually never true. :)
✽