Intersectionality

Gabriel Lugo

Intersectionality term coined by black legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in her 1989 essay, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.” The concept of intersectionality is not an abstract notion but a description of the way multiple oppressions are experienced. Intersectionality is the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. In other words, intersectional theory asserts that people are often disadvantaged by multiple sources of oppression. It doesn’t mean that if you fit into multiple social categorize you’re automatically more oppressed than some people, just that you are affected by different types of oppression.

It has generally been used by black women to critique feminism, saying that movement has always put more focus on white women instead of other minority groups. Crenshaw original focus with the argument of intersectionality is that Black women are discriminated against in ways that often do not fit neatly within the legal categories of either racism or sexism but as a combination of the two. Yet the legal system frequently makes Black women legally “invisible” and without legal recourse thanks to its definition of those two terms (Smith).So intersectionality started out by putting this idea out into the open. Over time it has involved to include discourse around other marginalized groups and how they intersect with each other.

Over time opinions on the idea have changed. Many criticize it for being such a broad term that any group can use it in any way they please(Robertson). That the term has been damaged by people misusing it and misinterpreting it. Now to many it is just a buzzword that people incorrectly and not for its original purpose. Some dislike the the general negative impact the misuse of the word as do to people’s thoughts about the idea of intersectionality (Gonzalez). This has caused some black feminist to move away from calling themselves an intersectional feminist and instead just focusing on black feminism in general. To them even through white feminist are aware that the original focus of intersectionality was to put a spotlight on black women’s issues. It didn’t change how they acted overall, it wasn’t as big of a wakeup call to white feminists as some black feminist had hoped it would be (Gordon).

Then there are others who criticize those who dislike intersectionality in general. They say that some people downplay the importance of identity and how the multiple things that people identify with intersect with each other. That the identities that people latch on to, end up shaping our society. Some think that intersectionality is just another part of “identity politics” which is a term throw out sometimes to stigmatize campaigns for civil rights. People who dislike the idea of intersectionality try to make it seem like its apart of that to invalidate the importance of the idea(Kirabo).

Overall though some are turning away from being a part of intersectional feminism. Many realize that the idea of intersectionality is one that should be continued to be brought up and used for campaigns for civil rights of any group. Even through the term isn’t used in the best ways be everyone, many it agree it shouldn’t be pushed to the wayside.

Smith, Sharon. “Black Feminism and Intersectionality.” Black Feminism and Intersectionality | International Socialist Review, 2016, isreview.org/issue/91/black-feminism-and-intersectionality.

https://isreview.org/issue/91/black-feminism-and-intersectionality

Robertson, Eleanor. “Intersectional-What? Feminism’s Problem with Jargon Is That Any Idiot Can Pick It up and Have a Go.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 30 Sept. 2017, www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/30/intersectional-feminism-jargon.

Gonzalez, Christian A. “The Illiberal Logic of Intersectionality.” Quillette, 13 May 2018, quillette.com/2018/05/08/illiberal-logic-intersectionality/.

Gordon, Tamela J. “Why I’m Giving up on Intersectional Feminism.” Quartzy, Quartz, 30 Apr. 2018, qz.com/quartzy/1265902/why-im-giving-up-on-intersectional-feminism/.

Kirabo, Sincere. “Here’s Why Your Criticisms of Intersectionality and ‘Identity Politics’ Sound Ridiculous.” Medium, Medium, 1 Sept. 2017, www.medium.com/@sincerekirabo/heres-why-your-criticisms-of-intersectionality-and-identity-politics-sound-ridiculous-a65e95fe483c.