Title: Introduction to Intersectionality

10 Jun 2020

Link: [Link]

Chanell: Dr. Stacy Missari

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up until this point in class we have

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studied theories of gender like doing

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gender hegemonic masculinity and

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femininity and on gendering studying

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gender this way allows us to see the

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centrality of gender and everyday life

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but is ultimately an incomplete and

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false way of studying gender people do

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not experience their gender apart from

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other parts of their identity like our

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age race ethnicity class religion and so

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on this is where the theory of

intersectionality is integral to the

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study of gender the simplest definition

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of intersectionality is taking into

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account all of the aspects of our

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identity and how these intersections

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shape our experiences of oppression and

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our access to power one thing to note

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before we move on is to distinguish

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between two terms intersex and

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intersectionality although they are

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spelled similarly and sound similar

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intersex refers to people with

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differences in development while

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intersectionality is looking at the ways

that parts of a person's identity

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intersect to shape their unique

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experience of the world and their access

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to prorate privilege or experiences of

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oppression let's turn now to the origin

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of the term although the term was coined

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by a distinguished professor of law

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kimberlé crenshaw

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the idea emerged out of the activism of

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the 1960's in the u.s. large social

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movements like the civil rights movement

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was organized around racial identity and

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oppression and the feminist movement was

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organized around women's experiences of

oppression however the way these

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movements were framed made it seem like

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racial and gender identity were distinct

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and black women in particular felt like

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neither movement really spoke to their

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experience in that the women's movement

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was largely made up of white

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middle-class women which prioritized

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their experiences and struggles while

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the civil rights movement was largely

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shaped and led by black men's

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experiences this omission is reflected

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in the title of the book edited by Hall

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Bell Scott
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Smith all the women are white all the

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blacks are men but some of us are brave

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for example one of the goals of the

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women's movement at the time was for

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women to be freed from the drudgery of

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domestic work at home and to gain equal

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access to the workforce this is a point

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of view that is shaped by a certain

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racial and class status and that women

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of color and poor women have always had

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to work and if their experiences were

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taken into account

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perhaps the movement would have

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advocated also for more time with

children a higher minimum wage or more

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quality childcare the term

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intersectionality was formally

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introduced in the literature by law

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professor dr. Kimberly Crenshaw in her

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work on the limits of

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anti-discrimination law in the workplace

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prendre argued that anti-discrimination

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law did not adequately take into account

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black women's experiences since the law

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at the time only took a view of

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discrimination based on racism or sexism

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when black women are both black and

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female and cannot separate experiences

of racism and sexism in this short video

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on intersectionality in education dr.

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Crenshaw describes intersectionality as

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a metaphor for understanding the ways

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multiple forms of inequality compound

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themselves and create obstacles that are

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not easily understood within

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conventional ways of thinking about

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things like anti racism or feminism or

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educational equity Crenshaw uses a

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specific example from education when

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thinking about issues in education

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gender and education scholars tend to

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focus on behavioral issues that boys

face this singular focus can obscure the

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fact that African American girls are six

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times more likely to be suspended than

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white girls as Crenshaw says this is

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probably a race and a gender problem

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that is overlooked if we just think

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problem these are the problems that boys

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have and girls they don't have the same

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behavioral or disciplinary problems

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French house theory of intersectionality

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relates to the interactionist theories

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we discussed previously in

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she argues that personal identity is not

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a self-contained unit it is a
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relationship between a person and

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history and a person in their community

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and that advocacy only works when we

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take those things into account as well

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another example is looking at the cause

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of George Floyd's death an

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intersectional perspective would take

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into account the way as mr. Floyd was

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viewed as a threat because of his race

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gender and age among other things he was

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not just seen as a threat because he was

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black but because he was a relatively

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young black man a sociological an

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intersectional perspective also argues

that to truly understand what happened

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and to try and stop like something like

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this from happening again

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we cannot just look at mr. Floyd death

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as a singular interaction with one

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police officer we must place it within

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the history of policing and its

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relationship to slavery racism and the

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black community so to reiterate the

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different parts of our identity

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intersect to shape how we define our

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personal identity how others see us in

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relation to those different parts of

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ourselves and how we define the things

those things within our communities and

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how those parts of ourselves shape our

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experiences of privilege and oppression

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this is not to say that you experience

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all of the different parts of yourself

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equally at all times depending on who

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you are interacting with different parts

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of your identity will come it will

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become more or less salient for example

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if you attend a school that is

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predominantly Armenian that may not be a

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particularly salient identity in that

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context since everyone around you is

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Armenian but if you moved across the

country to go to college in a place that

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does not have a large Armenian

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population that means that may be

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something that others come to to define

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you as and that part of your identity

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will take more precedence in that

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setting

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intersectionality has arguably moved

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from mostly academic spaces to a more

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frequently used word by the general

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public as the term becomes more popular

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some scholars have argued that this term

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has

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become colonized and diluted as a way to

understand that everyone is different

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and has unique experiences based on

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their different identities what

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intersectionality isn't just a theory of

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difference it's a theory of oppression

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erasing that aspect diminishes its value

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as a subversive critique of structures

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of power and privilege in our society

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secondly some may think that thinking

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intersectionally means adding up all the

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different marginalized parts of your

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identity to see who is the most

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oppressed scholars urge against engaging

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in quote-unquote oppression Olympics

because this takes attention away from

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the self-reflection we all need to

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engage in to do the transformative work

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of challenging the foundations of our

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society and demanding demanding systemic

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change a restrictive view of equality

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provides justice for a single individual

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or isolated event whereas an expansive

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view would address the larger systemic

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issues that led to that event so we

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always have to keep in mind that

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intersectionality has two parts one is

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to understand how we define ourselves

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and how others see us in relation to

things like race class gender language

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and culture and secondly how these

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intersections shape access to resources

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power and opportunities