Let’s Talk: What Is Intersectionality?
First things first: What IS intersectionality?
Well, scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw created the term in 1989 as a way of describing how an individual person’s various characteristics and/or identities intersect and, as a result, impact lived reality. At the time, Crenshaw was studying prejudice that was connected to both race and gender in the workplace (i.e. being Black + female). She published her findings in an academic journal, and intersectionality was coined. It wasn’t until recently, however, that the term entered the mainstream dialogue.
Now a common buzz word, the term intersectionality has become somewhat politicized, which has come with its share of drama and misunderstandings about what it means and how it should be applied. When asked in a 2017 interview whether Crenshaw had intended the term to be used to broadly include more identities and intersections (considering her original work was specific to race and gender), she said,
Intersectionality is a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects. It’s not simply that there’s a race problem here, a gender problem here, and a class or LBGTQ problem there. Many times that framework erases what happens to people who are subject to all of these things.
A framework that fails to consider intersectionality insists that we can only consider ONE thing about an individual — their race, their sexuality, their gender, their religion , etc— when considering public policies, legislation, personal advantages/disadvantages, the use of power, and more.
In my opinion, when the various intersections that an individual faces are not considered, we all lose. Intersectionality is a reminder that no person or people group is ever truly monolithic, that many factors influence each of our lives, and that empathy is a key element to thinking beyond stereotypes and assumptions about any single identity.
These intersections (and more) combine to create different social experiences and lived realities; they are unique to each person, and the resulting advantages/disadvantages and subsequent access to power connected to these intersectional identities can vary depending on time period, regional location, personal networks, social norms, and more.
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With Intersectional Wellbeing, I hope to provide thought-provoking resources that will help us understand more about our own personal intersections, and what those intersections mean in our journey towards healing. If you’d like to get an occasional email with articles and resources on intersectionality & wellbeing, sign up here!
