"Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how a person's various social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege."
The interconnectedness of different forms of oppression based on factors such as race, gender, class, sexuality and disability.
Intersectionality: Intersectionality refers to the interconnectedness of social identities and how they shape individuals' experiences of oppression and privilege.
Gender: Gender refers to the social and cultural expectations and roles associated with being male, female, or non-binary. Gender is not the same as biological sex.
Sexuality: Sexuality refers to a person's sexual orientation or attractions, either towards the same gender, the opposite gender, or both.
Race: Race refers to a set of physical and cultural characteristics that are used to categorize people into different groups based on their ancestry or geographic origin.
Class: Class refers to differences in wealth and social status, which can impact access to education, healthcare, and job opportunities.
Ableism: Ableism refers to discrimination against people with disabilities, including physical, sensory, and intellectual disabilities.
Ageism: Ageism refers to discrimination against people based on their age, particularly against older adults.
Colonialism: Colonialism refers to the process by which one country or society establishes dominance over another and introduces its laws, culture, and economics.
Feminism: Feminism refers to the movement for gender equality and the elimination of gender-based oppression.
Transgender Studies: Transgender Studies explores transgender identities, experiences, and rights, particularly in relation to cisgender norms and discrimination.
Queer Studies: Queer Studies explores the experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities, particularly in relation to heteronormativity and homophobia.
Disability Studies: Disability Studies explores the experiences of people with disabilities, particularly in relation to ableism and access to resources.
Critical Race Theory: Critical Race Theory examines race and racism within social institutions, particularly in terms of power and privilege.
Postcolonial Theory: Postcolonial Theory examines the effects of colonialism and imperialism on individuals and communities, particularly in relation to cultural identity and power.
Decolonial Theory: Decolonial Theory examines ways in which non-dominant cultures can resist colonialism and promote cultural diversity and equality.
Intersectional Feminism: Intersectional feminism explores how gender, race, class, and other identities intersect and impact individuals' experiences of oppression and privilege.
Global Feminism: Global feminism explores feminist activism and movements across cultures and nations, particularly in relation to issues such as reproductive rights and violence against women.
Multiculturalism: Multiculturalism explores the coexistence of different cultural identities within a society, particularly in terms of promoting diversity and social harmony.
Language and Power: Language and Power explores the ways in which language can be used to reinforce or challenge power relationships, particularly in terms of social identity and discrimination.
Postmodernism: Postmodernism explores the ways in which knowledge, culture, and society are constructed and deconstructed, particularly in relation to power and representation.
Gender Intersectionality: A framework that takes into account the complex and interrelated ways in which gender and other forms of identity (race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, ability, etc.) intersect and impact one's experiences of oppression and privilege.
Race Intersectionality: Examines the intersection of race and other forms of identity, including how systemic racism affects different communities differently and how different groups experience oppression and privilege in varied ways.
Class Intersectionality: Focuses on how class status intersects with other forms of identity and impacts one's experiences of privilege and oppression.
Sexual Orientation Intersectionality: Analyzes the interlocking systems of oppression based on sexual orientation, gender identify and other forms of identity, looking at the lived experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and others at the intersection of these identities.
Disability Intersectionality: Examines the intersection of disability with other forms of identity, focusing on the unique ways in which the experiences of disabled people are shaped by multiple oppressions, including ableism, racism, sexism and classism.
Indigenous Intersectionality: Explores the intersection of Indigenous status with other forms of identity, including race, class, gender and sexuality, and how Indigenous people experience oppression and privilege in multiple dimensions.
Trans Intersectionality: Emphasizes the intersection of transgender and gender non-conforming identities with other forms of identity, such as race, class, disability and sexuality to examine the ways in which trans people experience multiple forms of oppression and privilege.
Migrant Intersectionality: Analyzes the intersection of migration status, race, class and gender to address how migrants experience oppressive systems upon arrival in a host country.
Fat Intersectionality: Explores the intersection of body size and weight with other forms of identity like race, class, gender and sexuality, to address the ways in which individuals experience discrimination and systemic oppression.
"Examples of these factors include gender, caste, sex, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, religion, disability, weight, and physical appearance."
"These intersecting and overlapping social identities may be both empowering and oppressing."
"Intersectional feminism aims to separate itself from white feminism by acknowledging women's differing experiences and identities."
"The term intersectionality was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989."
"Intersectionality opposes analytical systems that treat each axis of oppression in isolation."
"In this framework, for instance, discrimination against black women cannot be explained as a simple combination of misogyny and racism, but as something more complicated."
"Intersectionality engages in similar themes as triple oppression, which is the oppression associated with being a poor or immigrant woman of color."
"Criticism includes the framework's tendency to reduce individuals to specific demographic factors, and its use as an ideological tool against other feminist theories."
"Critics have characterized the framework as ambiguous and lacking defined goals."
"As it is based in standpoint theory, critics say the focus on subjective experiences can lead to contradictions and the inability to identify common causes of oppression."
"However, little good-quality quantitative research has been done to support or undermine the theory of intersectionality."
"An analysis of academic articles published through December 2019 found that there are no widely adopted quantitative methods to investigate research questions informed by intersectionality."
"The analysis ... provided recommendations on analytic best practices for future research."
"An analysis of academic articles published through May 2020 found that intersectionality is frequently misunderstood when bridging theory into quantitative methodology."
"In 2022, a quantitative approach to intersectionality was proposed based on information theory, specifically synergistic information."
"In this framing, intersectionality is identified with the information about some outcome (e.g. income, etc.) that can only be learned when multiple identities (e.g. race and sex) are known together."
"Intersectionality is identified with the information about some outcome [...] that can [...] not [be] extractable from analysis of the individual identities considered separately."
"Critics [argue] the inability to identify common causes of oppression."
"Intersectionality broadens the scope of the first and second waves of feminism, [...] to include the different experiences of women of color, poor women, immigrant women, and other groups."