Intersectionality: What It Is And Why It Matters By: Mikaela MacKenize

Definition Not available in Merriam-Webster’s dictionary The study of intersections between different groups of minorities (Wikipedia, 2013) A methodology of making any issue too complex to be resolved, thus keeping academic theorists in a job. (Urban Dictionary, 2013) “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....” (Mary Eaton, 1994)

Re-Thinking Intersectionality by Jennifer Nash Intersectionality seeks to demonstrate the racial variations within gender and the gendered variations within a race Four main points: 1.Lack of defined methodology* 2.Black women are always used as an example 3.Vagueness in the definition 4.Differences between intersectionality and lived experience*

Lack of Defined Methodology Despite challenges, scholars have tried to develop tools to create an intersectional methodology Nash provides 3 methodologies: 1.Anticategorical complexity 2.Intracategorical complexity 3.Intercategorical complexity

Anticategorical Complexity “Assumption that categories, including race and gender, are too simplistic to capture the complexity of lived experience” (McCall, 2005) This complexity highlights “the social processes of categorization and the workings of exclusion and hierarchy”(Nash, 2008) I.e. that racism, sexism, class ranking, etc., do not define a type of or an individual person

Intracategorical Complexity People who belong to different categories are “multiply marginalized subjects” Although the categories are meant to sort and classify people, they end up excluding individuals This complexity shows how underdeveloped this methodology is

Intracategorical Complexity

Intercategorical Complexity “There are relationships of inequality among already constituted social groups” (McCall, 2005) Exposes relationship between a category and inequality Multidimensionality: class, gender, sexuality, nationality Example: The prejudice faced by an upperclass black man because he is gay

Intersectionality v Lived Experience Wing’s one x one x one “We, as black women, can no longer afford to think of ourselves or let the law think of us as merely the sum of our parts” (Wing, 1990) When factors such as class sexuality are left out of addressing experiences, it shows the “shortcomings of intersectionality to capture the sheer diversity of actual experiences” (Crenshaw, 1991)

Identity

The Problem With The Phrase Women And Minorities by Lisa Bowleg 3 principles of intersectionality 1.Social identities are not independent but “multiple and intersecting” 2.Must start to understand with minorities and historically oppressed 3.Personal experiences/identity reflect macro level of social structure

Tenet 1 Along the lines of what Adrien Wing said Cannot just add up Race + Gender = Identity!! “Cannot explain the unequal or disparate outcomes without the intersection of the other identity” (Bowleg, 2012) Intersectionality does not presume all interlocking identities to be equally disadvantaged, POV of the marginalized/oppressed

Tenet 2 and Tenet 3 Must start with minorities because they have their own type of social structure and different daily lives Their context may deviate from “the norms of White middle-class people” Micro v macro Middle-class Latina lesbian’s negative experience somewhere will reflect heterosexism, sexism, and racism

Bowleg’s point Intersectionality opens the door for further analysis Reform “color blind” remedies Need to fix macro level injustice so micro level does not occur Learn more on nation’s data, we know too little

Intersectionality and Public Policy by Cormier & Helvinsky No way to test out policy because it so underdeveloped 3 ways to help legislation survive 1.Power relations need to be understood and work together 2.Set up a plan and find various ways to carry it out 3.Legislation would need to address multiple grounds of inequality for it to be actually effective

Gender: An Intersectionality Perspective by Stephanie Shields “layered oppression” The assumed person is white, male, hetero Different v. similar MLK / Bayard Rustin / Rosa Parks / Claudette Colvin Structural intersectionality* v. political intersectionality (poverty v. race) “understanding intersectionality is a worldview and is an invitation beyond one’s own comfort zone” Recognizes the little understanding of intersectionality and its effects

Problems of Policy The current structure does not handle intersectionality Multiple layers of prejudice exist within our society Unable to reach all affected people Difficult to address intersectionality and give it ground Unaddressed and unknown

Proposed ways to deal with intersectionality Shields– structural intersectionality, better understanding Cormier & Helvinsky- revamp government so that branches work together, policy is well thought out, continued support, more information Bowleg- Change macro level acceptance of such things as racism and sexism, more data to facilitate understanding of social inequality Nash- Larger understanding on intersectionality before any change can occur

Sources "Urban Dictionary: Intersectionality." Urban Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan "Intersectionality." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Jan Web. 28 Jan M. Eaton, “Patently Confused, Complex Inequality and Canada v. Mossop” (1994) 1 Rev. Cons. Stud. 203 at 229. Jennifer, C. Nash. "Re-Thinking Intersectionality." Feminist Review.89 (2008): ProQuest Research Library. Web. 28 Jan Bowleg, Lisa. "The Problem with the Phrase Women and Minorities: Intersectionality-an Important Theoretical Framework for Public Health." American Journal of Public Health (2012): ABI/INFORM Complete; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 28 Jan Hankivsky, Olena, and Renee Cormier. "Intersectionality and Public Policy: Some Lessons from Existing Models." Political Research Quarterly 64.1 (2011): ProQuest Research Library. Web. 28 Jan Stephanie, A. Shields. "Gender: An Intersectionality Perspective." Sex Roles (2008): ProQuest Research Library.Web. 28 Jan "Claudette Colvin." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Jan Web. 28 Jan