An introduction to intersectionality

Whenever we hear about the ways identity or condition of living can be a disadvantage in society, we might more often than not hear about how specific groups are oppressed in particular ways. We might hear about how women face a higher amount of violence, or dismissal in professional settings. We might hear about how being born poor can make it harder to achieve economic stability compared to someone born into money. Or about how certain countries or regions hold more international power than others. Sometimes when learning of these systems, we start to take note of how some of these are not exclusionary, and that people we know, or even we, fit into several of these oppressed groups.

And while it is important to understand the complexities of each situation, this sentiment isn’t rare. The feeling that it can’t be as simple as checking a box where people belong, that there are many shades of gray that paint real lived experiences. At the same time, some of the things we learn about might fit perfectly with our lives, but many may not apply at all, or we might feel partially represented by many different branches of thought.

Fortunately, our instincts would be correct. Life is far too complicated to be checklisted and explained in such a way. Almost always, each person will be surrounded by a lot of things that will both put them in advantageous and disadvantageous positions. We might, for example, benefit from having access to food and higher education, but if you are a woman, this can happen at the same time as not being taken seriously in academic contexts, or being sexualized far more in daily life. Both things are not in opposition, but in direct coexistence, and many more aspects that define a person’s standing in society will clash and create a unique situation for everyone.

This idea that multiple factors have a say in how societal and structural oppression impacts our lives has been named “Intersectionality”. The term was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an African american woman, in a 1989 article that addresses the unique position and oppressions experienced by black women. She would state later that:

“Although racism and sexism readily intersect in the lives of real people, they seldom do in feminist and antiracist practices. And so, when the practices expound identity as woman or person of color as an either/or proposition, they relegate the identity of women of color to a location that resists telling.” (pg. 1242, 1991).

And indeed there was a gap in discourse at the time for those of us who occupy complex places in the societal hierarchy. Her contribution that extends far more than these two articles, has given oppressed groups around the world the tools and language to express their struggle, and act in ways that respond and better benefit these communities. Currently, queer, racialized, poor, and disabled communities are expanding on intersectionality as we speak; and its positive impact on large and small scales for people around the globe can’t be understated. It is important however to first acknowledge that even if the term was not coined yet or widely received by academia before Crenshaw, there had definitely been those who had expressed similar foundational thoughts before her.

Critical Race Theory is one of the movements credited to lay the grounds for intersectionality. It was started after the Civil War in the United States by black people, who developed multiple approaches to how civil rights, human rights, and economic status affected them, in order to tackle the social injustices faced by black people at the time. It was understood that the struggles of a black man would only be exacerbated if faced with poverty, or legal scrutiny in a court of law. Black Feminism is another movement credited for laying down the grounds for intersectionality, as black women from the Unites States sought to understand, support and protest their exclusion from both white and male spaces. White feminists would not accept black women into their conversation because of racism, and black men wouldn’t accept them either because of misogyny, and so black women would create their own conversation and spaces to address their experiences (Devon et al, 2013).

Currently, both Critical Race theory and Black Feminism are still prominent branches of thought, Bell Hooks being one of the most popular authors in present day that falls into Black Feminism. However, we can observe that many philosophers and authors that work with these topics are influenced, or in conversation, with intersectionality ever since the term started to be widely accepted. As I pointed out previously, queerness, disability, fatness etc., have also joined in utilizing the tools intersectionality has gifted them to start talking in a way that more closely resembles and reflects the real lived experiences of people, without approaching differences with exclusionary rhetoric.

Intersectionality has helped understand how migration and discrimination against migrants is largely influenced by class discrimination. The reception of a rich migrant will usually be faced with praise and high expectations to contribute to the economy of the country they migrated to, regardless of their legal status; as we can evidence with Elon Musk, and the public reception and defense when he was revealed to work illegally in the United States for a time in his life. At the same time, migrating as a poor person already faces the huge barrier of cost when legally migrating or applying for citizenship, which in the second case it is a minimum of 700 US dollars in Florida (one of the states with higher migrant population of the U.S.).

Intersectionality has also provided crucial nuance and has spotlighted disability discussions and important data on how being disabled can affect multiples aspects of life. One of the most discussed statistics surrounding disability -whether it be mental or physical- is how disabled people are more likely to experience violence. More specifically, disabled people are 3 times more likely be the victims of serious violent crimes, the number going up if the person also identifies as a woman or as a queer person.

The power that intersectionality has given to communities to express and fight for their rights is very important, and understanding the complexities that each person lives through without separating from one another provides the strong network so much of activism requires to make a real impact on the world.

Author: Ale / M. Alejandra Sarmiento Amarillo

Editor: Alec Gonzalez Plata Ximenez

Bibliography:

CARASTATHIS, A. (2016). Intersectionality: Origins, Contestations, Horizons. University of Nebraska Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1fzhfz8

Carbado, D. W., Crenshaw, K. W., Mays, V. M., & Tomlinson, B. (2013). INTERSECTIONALITY: Mapping the Movements of a Theory. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 10(2), 303–312. doi:10.1017/S1742058X13000349

Crenshaw, Kimberlé W. (1991).
Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and
Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43 (6),
pp. 1.241-1.299

Morgan, Cameron. (n.d.).The Unackowledged Crisis of Violence Against Disabled People. Center of Disability Rights, INTEGRATION, INDEPENDENCE, CIVIL RIGHTS. https://cdrnys.org/blog/advocacy/the-unacknowledged-crisis-of-violence-against-disabled-people#:~:text=In%202015%2C%20disabled%20people%20were,people%20to%20experience%20violent%20victimization.&text=And%20serious%20violent%20crimes%20(i.e.,likely%20to%20impact%20disabled%20people

Rebecca Black Immigration Law. (n.d.) How much does it cost to become a U.S. citizen in 2024?. https://www.rebeccablacklaw.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-become-a-u-s-citizen-in-2024/#:~:text=The%20cost%20of%20U.S.%20citizenship,significantly%20increase%20the%20total%20cost