In a powerful essay on white privilege, Good Black News editor Lori Lakin Hutcherson includes the term chandelier pain to describe how painful accumulated slights can be. Medical professionals use the term chandelier pain to refer to the result of touching an exquisitely painful spot — so painful that patients involuntarily rise from the examining table or reach toward the ceiling. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Chandelier Pain”
I read a fantastic essay the other day. It was by Lori Lakin Hutcherson, who’s the founder of a
Website called Good Black News. And the essay is what I think should be required reading on
White privilege. It was just a beautifully, beautifully argued piece of writing. And I
Picked up an interesting term from that, which is chandelier pain. Do you know this term?
I don’t know that. Chandelier pain.
Yes. Chandelier pain describes the kind of pain that you have when a doctor touches an extremely
Sensitive area that doctors talk about having to pull the patient off the chandelier or they reach
Up to the ceiling because the pain is so terrible. And she was talking about the cumulative effect
Of small hurts over time
And how that can result in chandelier pain.
Oh, I imagine cartoon cats doing that
When they’re surprised,
Like leaping up and hanging by their claws
In the ceiling or something like that.
Yeah, where the slightest little thing
Can provoke a huge…
Chandelier pain.
That’s interesting.
I love that one.
Add that to my list.
Thanks for that one.
