What is intersectionality?

Peter Hopkins

22 Apr 201802:49

Summary

TLDRIntersectionality is a concept that examines overlapping forms of discrimination, such as racism, sexism, and ageism, to understand their compound effects on individuals. Originating from black feminism, it was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw to highlight the unique challenges faced by black women, overlooked by both anti-racist and feminist movements. Intersectionality is crucial for addressing privilege, power, and exclusion, urging us to listen, examine our privileges, and take action to include marginalized voices.

Takeaways

🔍 Intersectionality is a concept for understanding how different forms of discrimination intersect and compound in individuals' lives.
🌟 It acknowledges that social systems are complex and that multiple oppressions like racism, sexism, and ageism can coexist.
👥 Traditional equality approaches often focus on one form of discrimination, potentially overlooking the intersecting experiences of individuals.
👩‍💼 The example of a young, white, able-bodied woman versus an older, black, disabled lesbian illustrates how intersectionality addresses unique and combined forms of oppression.
🔗 Intersectionality is not just about adding up individual oppressions but also understanding how they transform when they intersect.
📚 The term 'intersectionality' was coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, highlighting the overlooked challenges faced by black women.
📝 Crenshaw critiqued that anti-racist and feminist movements were not adequately addressing the intersection of race and gender for black women.
🌐 Intersectionality has expanded to include a broader range of social divisions and understandings of dominance, such as whiteness, masculinity, and heterosexuality.
🤔 It is not a solution to equality and diversity issues but serves as a crucial framework for engaging with privilege and power dynamics.
💬 Intersectionality encourages active listening, self-examination of privileges, and questioning who might be excluded or negatively impacted by our actions.
🔧 It calls for tangible actions to include and center marginalized voices and work, promoting a more inclusive approach to equality and diversity.

Q & A

What is intersectionality?
-Intersectionality is a framework for understanding how various forms of discrimination, such as racism, sexism, and ageism, intersect and compound to create unique experiences of oppression for individuals.
Why is it important to consider intersectionality when addressing social issues?
-It is important because it recognizes that individuals can experience multiple forms of discrimination simultaneously, and these oppressions interact in complex ways, affecting their well-being and life experiences.
How does intersectionality differ from approaches that focus on a single type of discrimination?
-While single-issue approaches focus on one form of discrimination, intersectionality acknowledges that individuals often face multiple, intersecting forms of discrimination that compound and transform their experiences.
Can you provide an example from the script that illustrates the need for intersectionality?
-The script mentions that while gender equality protections might improve the career of a young, white, and able-bodied woman, an older, black, disabled lesbian may still face racism, ageism, ableism, and homophobia in the workplace.
What does it mean to say that 'oppressions compound and transform' in the context of intersectionality?
-It means that when different forms of discrimination like racism and sexism intersect, they do not just add up; instead, they create a more severe and complex form of oppression than what each would cause individually.
Who is Kimberlé Crenshaw, and what is her contribution to the concept of intersectionality?
-Kimberlé Crenshaw is a legal scholar who originated the term 'intersectionality.' She highlighted that anti-racist and feminist movements overlooked the unique challenges faced by black women, as legislation often did not account for their intersectional identities.
How does intersectionality apply to understandings of privilege and power?
-Intersectionality is an essential framework for engaging with issues around privilege and power. It helps to identify and challenge the ways in which certain groups dominate others and how these dynamics play out across different social divisions.
What role does intersectionality play in discussions of equality and diversity?
-Intersectionality is not a simple solution to problems of equality and diversity, but it is a crucial framework that encourages a deeper understanding of the complexities of multiple identities and the need to address them in a nuanced way.
How does intersectionality relate to the broader social movements and understandings of domination?
-Intersectionality is applied across a range of social divisions and is used to understand and challenge domination associated with various forms of privilege, such as whiteness, masculinity, and heterosexuality.
What actions does intersectionality encourage individuals and organizations to take?
-Intersectionality encourages individuals and organizations to listen to marginalized voices, examine their own privileges, and take measurable action to include and center the voices and work of those who are marginalized.
How does the concept of intersectionality help in creating more inclusive policies and practices?
-By recognizing the intersecting forms of discrimination, intersectionality helps in crafting policies and practices that are more inclusive and holistic, addressing the specific needs of individuals who face multiple forms of oppression.

Outlines

00:00

🔗 Intersectionality Explained

Intersectionality is a concept that recognizes the complexity of social systems by acknowledging the presence of multiple forms of discrimination such as racism, sexism, and ageism that can affect an individual simultaneously. It challenges the traditional approach of addressing discrimination in isolation, highlighting the need to understand how different forms of oppression interact and compound each other. The concept originated from black feminism, with Kimberlé Crenshaw pointing out that mainstream anti-racist and feminist movements failed to address the unique challenges faced by black women. Intersectionality is now a broader framework applied to various social divisions and is crucial for engaging with issues of privilege and power, advocating for the inclusion and centering of marginalized voices.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a theoretical framework that examines how various forms of social stratification such as race, class, gender, and sexuality interact with each other to create overlapping systems of discrimination or privilege. In the context of the video, intersectionality is the central theme, highlighting the need to understand how different forms of oppression intersect and compound each other, rather than addressing them in isolation. It is exemplified by the video's discussion of how a young, white, able-bodied woman might benefit from gender equality, while an older, black, disabled lesbian might face a unique combination of discriminations.

💡Discrimination

Discrimination refers to the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, sex, or disability. The video script uses this term to describe the various forms of prejudice that individuals may face, such as racism, sexism, and ageism. It emphasizes that everyday approaches to equality often focus on one type of discrimination, neglecting the complexities of how these forms can intersect and exacerbate one another.

💡Oppression

Oppression is the state of being harshly dominated or controlled, often referring to the unjust treatment or subjugation of a group of people. In the video, oppression is discussed in the context of how multiple forms of it can be present in a person's life simultaneously, and how intersectionality helps to identify and address these overlapping layers of injustice.

💡Racism

Racism is the belief in the inherent superiority of one race over another, which often results in discrimination and prejudice towards people based on their race or ethnicity. The video script mentions racism as one of the forms of oppression that can intersect with others like sexism and ableism, creating a complex experience of discrimination for individuals.

💡Sexism

Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on a person's sex or gender. The video uses sexism as an example of a type of discrimination that is often addressed in isolation from other forms of oppression. It points out that while gender equality protections might improve the career of a young, white, able-bodied woman, they do not necessarily address the intersecting issues faced by an older, black, disabled lesbian.

💡Ableism

Ableism is discrimination against individuals with disabilities or people perceived to have disabilities. The term is used in the video to illustrate how different forms of discrimination can compound each other, as in the case of a disabled individual who also faces racism, sexism, and homophobia.

💡Homophobia

Homophobia refers to a fear or dislike of LGBTQ+ individuals, often leading to discrimination and prejudice. The video script includes homophobia as one of the multiple oppressions that can intersect with others, affecting the well-being of individuals who are part of the LGBTQ+ community.

💡Privilege

Privilege refers to the unearned benefits that individuals enjoy in society, often due to their membership in a dominant group. The video emphasizes the importance of recognizing one's own privileges and how they intersect with systems of oppression, as part of the process of addressing inequality and discrimination.

💡Power

Power, in the context of the video, refers to the capacity to influence or control others and the structures of society. It is discussed in relation to how systems of privilege and power maintain and perpetuate discrimination and oppression. Intersectionality is presented as a framework that helps to engage with these issues of power and privilege.

💡Marginalized Individuals

Marginalized individuals are those who are pushed to the social and economic periphery and often face discrimination and exclusion. The video script calls for action to include and center the voices and work of these individuals, highlighting intersectionality as a means to address their unique challenges and experiences.

💡Kimberlé Crenshaw

Kimberlé Crenshaw is a legal scholar who originated the term 'intersectionality.' The video script discusses her work and how she highlighted that anti-racist and feminist movements were overlooking the unique challenges faced by black women, showing how intersectionality emerged from the need to address the specific oppressions faced by those at the intersection of multiple identities.

Highlights

Intersectionality is a concept for understanding social relations by examining intersecting forms of discrimination.

It acknowledges the complexity of social systems where multiple forms of oppression like racism, sexism, and ageism can coexist.

Traditional equality approaches often focus on a single type of discrimination, such as sexism.

Intersectionality addresses the limitations of single-issue approaches by considering the combined effects of multiple oppressions.

It illustrates how improvements in one area, like gender equality, might not translate to equal benefits for all individuals.

The concept originated within the black feminist movement to address the unique challenges faced by black women.

Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term 'intersectionality' to highlight oversights in anti-racist and feminist movements.

Crenshaw pointed out that legislation often fails to protect black women as it is framed to protect black men and white women.

Intersectionality is not just about acknowledging multiple identities; it's about understanding how they interact and change in combination.

The theory has expanded to include a range of social divisions and understandings of domination, such as whiteness, masculinity, and heterosexuality.

It is a framework essential for engaging with issues of privilege and power.

Intersectionality involves listening to marginalized voices, examining one's own privileges, and questioning who may be excluded by our actions.

It calls for measurable action to include and center the voices and work of marginalized individuals.

Intersectionality is a way to understand and address all potential roadblocks to an individual or group's well-being.

The concept recognizes that oppressions like racism and sexism compound and transform when combined.

Intersectionality is dedicated to understanding how unique oppressions change when they intersect.

It is a critical tool for building a more inclusive and equitable society by addressing the complex interplay of various forms of discrimination.