Intersectionality: What is it?

What is intersectionality?

Today we begin a short series of posts addressing the concept of intersectionality.

First, let's get our heads around the concept. (In the next post, we will look at some implications of this idea)

For our uses here on this blog, intersectionality is a social theory, a particular sensibility... it is a way of thinking about identity and its relationship to power.

There are two basic ideas captured by the concept of intersectionality: 
1) an individual can face discrimination based on more than one aspect of their identity, such as race, class, gender, and sexuality

2) these aspects of identity overlap with one another and are not easily separated

The term intersectionality was first coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in her 1989 essay "Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color." In her studies, Crenshaw drew attention to the plight of black women, who were experiencing discrimination on two fronts: sexism based on their gender, and prejudice based on their race.

Crenshaw drew attention to this overlap, calling it intersectionality. She also pointed out that the cause of black women was being overlooked and ignored by both the feminist movement of the time and the anti-racist movement. The cause of "equality for women" and the cause of "racial equality" were operating in separate silos, without any apparent connection.

This cartoon by Catherine Butler captures the concept well:

Discussions of intersectionality first began in reference to women of color, but the term has grown into broader usage as the same phenomena have been observed in relation to different people groups. 

Think about it like this: the more minority groups a person is part of, the more potential for discrimination they face. 

Picture by AChange is Coming

A Hispanic man may face racism because of his race, and xenophobia because he is an immigrant. A gay, Jewish man may face homophobia and discrimination due to his sexuality and also antisemitism because of his Jewishness.

In one of the most frightening examples of intersectional dynamics today, trans women of color face violence and discrimination at rates higher than any other group.

Trans women of color face:
1) Anti-trans prejudice
2) Misogyny and sexism
3) Racism
4) And, due to lack of understanding of trans issues, they may face homophobia too.

There are implications here. In addition to this hierarchy of power when it comes to identity, intersectional experiences often point out disparities in our systems.

Check out this example, from an article on Care2Cause

Often, the problems intersectional experiences reveal is not that individual people are overtly sexist or racist, but that the legal and policy mechanisms we have in place to deal with complaints like, for instance, an immigrant woman who doesn’t speak English trying to report her abusive husband, are stacked against people with a multiple minority identity by, for example, not having interpreters on hand, or not understanding enough about the woman’s particular cultural heritage to understand the best way to deal with her situation.

That, in a nutshell, defines the concept of intersectionality. More to come in subsequent posts.