Intersectionality: What It Is and Why It Matters
Over recent years, the term ‘intersectionality’ has quickly gained a momentum of awareness. On one hand, it has been picked up by activists who address the growing need and significance to conduct all activism with an intersectional approach. Alternatively, it has increasingly gained the attention of conservatives such as Ben Shapiro who refer to it as a ‘problem’ or a ‘hierarchy of victimhood’ that places white cis-gendered men at the bottom. This striking polarization of understanding highlights the need to address what the term really means and layout why it is important.
What does the term ‘intersectionality’ mean?
Coined by Kimberley Crenshaw in 1989, intersectionality is quite simply the way in which people’s social identities such as their race, gender, sexuality, and class overlap and ‘intersect’ to create not only different lived experiences but also, compounded forms of oppression. As Crenshaw puts it in a Time interview, “We tend to talk about race inequality as separate from inequality based on gender, class, sexuality or immigrant status. What’s often missing is how some people are subject to all of these, and the experience is not just the sum of its parts.”
In simple terms, it means that the experiences and discrimination faced by a Black woman, for example, would be strikingly different from the lived experiences of a Black man or white woman. In the same way, the experiences of a queer disabled woman would differ from those of a straight abled man. Intersectionality thereby provides a lens through which the compounded impact of these identities can be understood and by doing so, the needs or issues of such communities can be addressed.
Why did the term originate?
Historically, feminist movements served the interests of white women and were centered around their experiences. Take the Suffrage movement for example, where leading suffragettes placed primary interest upon discrimination based on gender while issues of race were overlooked. Despite the historic win of the19th Amendment that allowed women to vote, Black women still faced intimidation and violence at the polls, while Asian and Native American people were excluded from voting altogether. While at the forefront the amendment was a win for gender disparity, a deeper intersectional understanding depicts the need for racial considerations.
Crenshaw’s work was driven by the need to abolish this ‘single-axis framework’ that prevailed within feminist theory and antiracist politics. She established the need for intersectionality by demonstrating how considerations of ‘racism’ and ‘sexism’ prioritize the experiences of the most privileged members of the group, such as Black men and white women accordingly, thereby failing to address the needs of Black women who are multiply marginalized. Intersectionality has since grown to consider all social identities and is therefore extremely essential in building a more inclusive world.
Busting Intersectionality Myths
What people get wrong about intersectionality is the idea that it is some sort of competition of victimhood. This assumption stipulates that the more minority identities you have, the higher you place within the hierarchy. Alternatively, some suggest that it derails movements from their central focus.
However, reality lies far from this. Intersectionality does not seek attention, impede action nor claim victimhood. Rather it simply enables all forms of marginalized identities to be acknowledged, thereby ensuring that the fight for justice is inclusive of everyone. Social movements, such as feminism, that fail to take into account the varying intersectional identities of race, class, sexuality, disability, etc in their fight for liberation are failing the feminist agenda. Women are not liberated until all women are free from oppression.
Why is it still important today?
The ways in which different institutions of sexism, racism, xenophobia, classism, heterosexism, and ableism plight humanity in varying ways has only been made more evident in recent years. The pandemic’s impact further exacerbated existing inequalities demonstrating not only the prevalence of social injustices but also the growing need to address them with an intersectional approach.
Social inequalities impact different identities in various ways across the board – in wealth acquisition, poverty rates, educational achievement, employment, and access to healthcare, thereby wholly impacting an individual’s way of life. It is only by identifying the compounded ways in which different identities are impacted that addressing and fighting for their various needs becomes possible. Intersectionality is thus, the most important lens to lead us to a more equitable future.
How to make your activism more intersectional
Intersectionality is needed in all forms of activism whether it is for climate change, feminism, racial justice, or LGBTQ+ activism. Here’s how you can adopt a more intersectional approach -
Introspect and question your activism - Ask yourself if there’s any voices being silenced or experiences being erased within what you’re fighting for. Is your activism following a ‘single-axis framework’ and only catering to one perspective?
Amplify marginalized voices - Support other activists from marginalized communities by amplifying their voices without speaking for them.
Educate yourself - Find out more about how different identities are being affected within the cause you are fighting for. Read, watch and listen keeping intersectionality in mind.
Written By Aastha Malik
