In feminist theory, intersectionality has become the predominant way of conceptualizing the relation between systems of oppression which construct our multiple identities and our social locations in hierarchies of power and privilege .
Why is intersectionality an important concept for the feminist movement?
It means that women cannot separate out numerous injustices because women experience them intersectionally . Intersectionality helps us to understand that while all women are subject to the wage gap, some women are affected even more harshly due to their race.
What is intersectionality in feminist theory?
The term intersectionality was coined by civil rights activist and professor Kimberlé Crenshaw and can be defined as “ 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 discr ...
What is the concept of intersectionality?
More explicitly, the Oxford Dictionary defines intersectionality as “ the interconnected nature of social categorisations such as race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage ”.
What is the main idea of intersectionality?
Intersectionality is a framework for conceptualizing a person, group of people, or social problem as affected by a number of discriminations and disadvantages . It takes into account people’s overlapping identities and experiences in order to understand the complexity of prejudices they face.
What are examples of intersectionality?
Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of advantage and disadvantage. Examples of these factors include gender, caste, sex, race, class, sexuality, religion, disability, physical appearance, and height . These intersecting and overlapping social identities may be both empowering and oppressing.
Why is it important to be intersectional?
An intersectional perspective deepens the understanding that there is diversity and nuance in the ways in which people hold power . It encourages theoretical understandings of identity that are more complex than simple oppressor/oppressed binaries.
Broadly defined, intersectionality is the idea that disadvantage is conditioned by multiple interacting systems of oppression . When racism and sexism interact —in the experience of women of color, for instance— the disadvantages produced are different than the disadvantages produced by racism and sexism on their own.
What did the second wave of feminism focus on?
Second Wave Feminism: Collections. The second wave feminism movement took place in the 1960s and 1970s and focused on issues of equality and discrimination . Starting initially in the United States with American women, the feminist liberation movement soon spread to other Western countries.
How does intersectionality impact our lives?
– intersect and affect our lived experiences. Intersectionality is a term used to help us understand how multiple forms of overlapping oppressions – shaped by sexism, racism, poverty, homophobia and other forms of discrimination and violence – affect our lives in nuanced and context-specific ways.
Why is intersectionality important in the workplace?
An intersectional approach to workplace equality creates allyship and structural change where women who succeed have the ability to pull up other groups behind them. Intersectionality eliminates the competitive mentality where advancements for one minority group hurts another .
Why is intersectionality important in research?
The fundamental benefit of adopting an intersectional approach to equality research (for example, looking at data for students who are disabled and from a particular ethnic background, or sexual orientation etc) is that it provides an understanding of the issues that is closer to the lived experiences of the equality ...
Why is intersectionality important in healthcare?
An intersectionality approach is supportive of rights and justice based approaches to health and health care . It can lead to precise insights about who is involved in and affected by policies or interventions in different settings, thus allowing for more targeted and effective policies (Hankivsky and Cormier, 2011).
How can we use intersectionality?
Taking an intersectional approach allows social justice leaders to focus on solutions informed by the experiences and voices of these women ; engages and activates new audiences in ways that resonate with their experiences and values; and supports and uplifts the voices of these women within alliances, at town halls, ...
What does it mean to take an intersectional approach?
The concept of ‘intersectionality’ has been defined as “intersectional oppression [that] arises out of the combination of various oppressions which, together, produce something unique and distinct from any one form of discrimination standing alone....” An intersectional approach takes into account the historical, ...
What is an intersectional identity?
Intersectionality is a framework for understanding how social identities —such as gender, race, ethnicity, social class, religion, sexual orientation, ability, and gender identity—overlap with one another and with systems of power that oppress and advantage people in the workplace and broader community.
