"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."
This topic examines the intersections of different forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism or classism, and how they interact with one another. It helps in understanding the complexity of identities and how experiences differ based on the overlapping systems of privilege and oppression.
Intersectionality: Intersectionality is a concept that explains how different social identities, such as race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation, and ability, intersect and create unique experiences of oppression and privilege.
Social justice: Social justice is a concept that refers to a society that is fair and just for all individuals in terms of their access to resources, opportunities, and rights.
Implicit bias: Implicit bias is a type of unconscious bias that affects our behavior and decisions without our awareness or intention.
Stereotypes: Stereotypes are generalizations that are often based on inaccurate or incomplete information about a group of people.
Power and privilege: Power and privilege are concepts that explain how some social identities hold more power and privilege than others, leading to unequal access to resources, opportunities, and rights.
Cultural competence: Cultural competence is the ability to understand, appreciate, and navigate cultural differences to effectively communicate and work with individuals from different cultures and backgrounds.
Microaggressions: Microaggressions are subtle verbal and nonverbal actions that communicate negative messages to individuals from marginalized groups.
Inclusive language: Inclusive language is language that is respectful and inclusive of all individuals, regardless of their social identities.
Allyship: Allyship is the action of standing in solidarity with individuals from marginalized groups and actively working to challenge systems of oppression.
LGBTQ+ issues: LGBTQ+ issues pertain to the unique experiences and challenges faced by individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, or other identities within the LGBTQ+ community.
Disability rights: Disability rights are the rights of individuals with disabilities to equal access to resources, opportunities, and rights in society.
Racial justice: Racial justice pertains to the fair treatment and access to resources, opportunities, and rights for individuals of all races.
Feminism: Feminism is a movement that advocates for equal rights and opportunities for individuals of all genders.
Anti-oppression: Anti-oppression is the active resistance to systems of oppression and a commitment to promoting equality and justice for all individuals.
Privilege walk exercise: The privilege walk exercise is an activity that helps individuals understand the ways in which social identities impact privilege and power in society.
Race/Ethnicity: Refers to the social and cultural characteristics that distinguish people based on their ancestry, cultural heritage, and skin color. Racial and ethnic categories include African descendants, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanic/LatinX, Native Americans, and others.
Gender: Refers to the social constructs and norms associated with being male, female, or non-binary. Gender identity and expression intersect with other aspects of a person's identity like race, sexual orientation, and disability status.
Sexual Orientation: Refers to an individual's emotional and sexual attraction to other individuals. Categories include heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and asexual.
Socioeconomic Status: Refers to an individual's income, education, and occupation. People who are marginalized in terms of class often face discrimination and inequality.
Religion: Refers to an individual's beliefs regarding spirituality and the divine. Religion can intersect with other identity categories when it comes to discrimination, such as Islamophobia.
Disability: Refers to any physical or mental impairment that affects daily living activities. The intersection of disability and other categories of identity can be a source of discrimination and exclusion.
Age: Refers to the number of years an individual has lived, which can shape experiences of power and privilege.
Language: Refers to the languages spoken by individuals and their proficiency in them. People who speak languages other than English can be disenfranchised in certain contexts.
Nationality: Refers to the country where an individual has citizenship. This may affect an individual's rights, mobility and safety.
Immigration Status: Refers to an individual's legal standing regarding immigration. Immigrants and refugees are often marginalized and at greater risk of violence and other forms of discrimination.
"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."