Thinking (post)colonial Europe
7. Race and Intersectionality
What are DEI programs?
In this session
➢ Intersectionality theory
➢ Critical race theory
➢ Intersectionality theory and postcolonial Europe
I Intersectionality theory
Intersectionality theory
Afro-American women do not feel represented by
the feminist movement
bell hooks
bell hooks, Ain’t I a Woman? Black
Women and Feminism (1981)
Bell hooks
Sojourner Truth (d. 1883)
Kimberlé Crenshaw
Kimberlé
Crenshaw, ‘Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race
and Sex: A Black Feminist
Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and
Antiracist Politics’ (1989)
‘feminist theory remains white, and its potential to broaden and
deepen its analysis by addressing non-privileged women
remains unrealized. […]
Statements such as “men and women are taught to see men as
independent, capable, powerful; men and women are taught to
see women as dependent, limited in abilities, and passive,”
[overlook] the anomalies created by crosscurrents of racism and
sexism.
Black men and women live in a society that creates sex-based
norms and expectations which racism operates simultaneously to
deny; Black men are not viewed as powerful, nor are Black
women seen as passive.’ (Crenshaw 1989, 154-5)
‘Because definitions of patriarchy are premised upon white female experiences,
feminists […] may make the mistake of assuming that since the role of Black women in
the family and in other Black institutions does not always resemble the familiar
manifestations of patriarchy in the white community, Black women are somehow
exempt from patriarchal norms.
For example, Black women have traditionally worked outside the home in
numbers far exceeding the labor participation rate of white women. An analysis of
patriarchy that highlights the history of white women's exclusion from the workplace
might permit the inference that Black women have not been burdened by this particular
gender-based expectation.
Yet the very fact that Black women must work conflicts with [the
patriarchal] norms [that exist in their community as well], often creating personal,
emotional and relationship problems in Black women’s lives. Thus, Black women are
burdened not only because they often have to take on responsibilities that are not
traditionally feminine but, moreover, their assumption of these roles is sometimes
interpreted within the Black community as […] Black women's failure to live up to such
norms.’ (156)
‘A central political issue on the [white] feminist agenda has been the
pervasive problem of rape. Part of the effort to mobilize around this issue
has involved a historical critique of the role that law has played in
establishing the bounds of normative sexuality and in regulating female
sexual behavior. Early rape laws illustrate that the objective of rape statutes
traditionally has not been to protect women but to protect a property-like
interest in female chastity.
[Yet,] to characterize rape law as reflecting male control over
female sexuality is for Black women an oversimplified and inadequate
account. Rape statutes generally do not reflect male control over female
sexuality, but white male regulation of white female sexuality. Historically,
there has been absolutely no institutional effort to regulate Black female
chastity. Courts in some states had gone so far as to instruct juries that, unlike
white women, Black women were not presumed to be chaste.’ (157)
Intersectionality theory
Oppression is intersectional:
• For black women their sex intersects with their
race
• For black working class women their sex and their
race intersect with their social class
• For black lesbian women their sex and their race
intersect with their sexuality
Sex, race, class and sexuality
Note: Crenshaw’s theory is about the law, not about
identity
Intersectionality theory
Oppression and patriarchy are different for black
women than for white women.
Intersectionality theory
Patricia Hill Collins:
Factors of oppression (‘pentalty’) and privilege
• A white woman is oppressed by her sex but
privileged by her race
• A black American woman is oppressed by
her gender and her race but privileged by
her citizenship
• …
Intersectionality theory
North-American context, Afro-American WoC
Applicability to other geographic (and temporal)
contexts
Intersectionality elsewhere
Which factors play a role in terms of penalty
(oppression) and privilege in a specific European
society?
How about the ‘situation specific’ factors of privilege
and penalty? (e.g. a job interview in university vs. at
a certain startup)
Intersectionality debate in the
Netherlands
✓ Man
✓ White
✓ Heterosexual
✓ Highly educated
✓ “ABN”
✓ “Randstad” Joris Luyendijk and Sylvana Simons,
✓ Educated parents Buitenhof, 13/2/22
II Theoretical underpinnings of
intersectionality theory
What does all this have to do with
coloniality?
The colonial color line:
Race as a primordial demarcation line (Burbank and
Cooper)
Wallcharts for teaching anthropology,
ethnography and geography, ca.
1905. Source: Tropenmuseum
Amsterdam
Image from a French school manual, 1877
Critical race theory
• Race as a social construct created
in the colonial period
• Examines how societies perpetuate
the oppression of some races
through the law (and media)
III Relevance in Europe
Intersectionality theory and
postcolonial Europe
Case study: job applications in the Netherlands
Intersectionality theory and
postcolonial Europe
Intersectionality theory and
postcolonial Europe
Number of letters for one positive reaction (invitation job interview)
Source: Lex Thijssen, Marcel Coenders and Bram Lancee
Intersectionality theory and
postcolonial Europe
Mentioning extra skills/experience does not make any
difference (Thijssen, Coenders and Lancee)
Potential difference: internships
But: women with headscarfs and men with a
Moroccan name have difficulty finding internships
(Kennisplatform Integratie en Samenleving van het
Verwey-Jonker Instituut, 2016)
Intersectionality theory and
postcolonial Europe
OP vs Commune d’Ans (C-148-22):
Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November
2000 establishing a general framework for equal
treatment in employment and occupation
CJEU: municipality’s neutrality principle justifies
interdiction religious symbols (justified discrimination,
Article 4)
DEI programs
The discussion questions
A note about group discussions:
- Help participants enhance communication skills
including articulating ideas, formulating arguments,
and active listening.
- Encourage critical thinking as participants bring up
and analyse different viewpoints and arguments.
Can you think of a case where the particular or
"distinct" (Crenshaw 143) intersectional
experience of a particular person or group of
people revealed the limitations of "anti
discrimination law"? Which part of their
identity was weaponised against them? (Helena
Gąsiejewska)
How can intersectionality inform our understanding of
privilege beyond race and gender? Are there
methodological challenges in applying
intersectionality to less commonly discussed axes
of oppression, such as disability, class, or citizenship
status? (Twan Hover)
How can activists and organizations effectively
incorporate intersectional approaches without
"diluting" their core objectives (Clea Ehrhart)
How can we rethink legal and social frameworks
through the prism of intersectionality without
falling into the trap of over-classification that
can limit our understanding of individuals'
identities? ((Florentine Jaud)
What resistances might be encountered when
integrating intersectionality into existing feminist or
antiracist policies? (Marc Vivien)
Next session
Intersecting racisms