"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."
Understanding how LGBTQ+ identity intersects with race, gender, religion, and other identities, and the unique challenges faced by individuals at those intersections.
Intersectionality Theory: Intersectionality is a theoretical framework that explains how various forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia, intersect to create unique and complex experiences of marginalization and privilege for individuals and communities.
LGBTQ+ Rights: The movement for LGBTQ+ rights seeks to secure legal, political, and social equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. This includes fighting against discrimination and advocating for policies that support LGBTQ+ individuals.
Inclusion and Exclusion: Inclusion refers to the idea of creating welcoming and affirming environments for LGBTQ+ individuals, while exclusion refers to the practices and policies that exclude them.
Intersectional Identities: Individuals are not defined by a single identity, but rather by a combination of intersecting identities, such as race, gender, sexuality, ability, and class, which shape their experiences of oppression and privilege.
Transphobia: Transphobia refers to the fear, hatred, or discrimination against transgender individuals or those who do not conform to traditional gender norms.
Queer Theory: Queer theory is an interdisciplinary field of study that examines societal norms and attitudes around sexuality and gender, and how they are used to marginalize LGBTQ+ people.
Medicalization of LGBTQ+ Identities: Medicalization refers to the process by which LGBTQ+ identities and experiences are pathologized and labeled as mental illnesses, rather than being recognized as natural variations in human existence.
Heteronormativity: Heteronormativity refers to societal norms and expectations that assume heterosexuality as the default and promote traditional gender roles.
Homonormativity: Homonormativity refers to a set of norms and expectations within LGBTQ+ communities that prioritize assimilation into mainstream society and the acquisition of traditional markers of success, such as marriage and parenthood.
Allyship and Solidarity: Allyship and solidarity refer to the active support of and commitment to fighting for the rights and liberation of marginalized communities, even if one does not personally identify with that community.
Sexual Orientation: Refers to the sexual attraction and desire of an individual towards people of the same or different gender.
Gender Identity: Denotes how an individual perceives themselves (male, female, both or neither), which is not always the same as their biological sex.
Race: Refers to a classification of people based on physical and genetic traits, cultural practices, and social factors.
Disability: A physical, mental or sensory impairment that affects a person's daily life, leading to discrimination and social exclusion.
Socioeconomic Status: Refers to an individual's level of income, education, occupation, and social background.
Age: Discrimination and marginalization based on age is a form of Intersectionality.
Religion: Refers to the specific beliefs, practices, and rituals of a particular faith, which can lead to discrimination and exclusion if it conflicts with societal norms.
Nationality: Refers to the country of origin or citizenship of a person, which can lead to differential treatment based on ethnicity, culture, and societal norms.
Physical Appearance: Refers to cultural and societal norms that dictate what is considered attractive or not, and how it shapes our perception of ourselves and others.
Immigration Status: Refers to the legal status of a person's residence or entry into a particular country, which can lead to discrimination and inequality in access to services and opportunities.
"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."