Intersectionality is a sociological and critical theory about how an individual can face multiple threats such as oppression, domination and discrimination when their various biological, social and cultural identities overlap such as gender, race, sex, wealth, age, ability, sexuality and many other characteristics. Intersectionality maintains that oppressive institutions such as racism, classism, ageism and countless more “isms”, are interconnected and do not act separately of one another. The idea
Intersectionality was one of the greatest concepts this course shed light on, intersectionality is can be broadly defined as the coming together of various social groups to work together to fight against forms of oppression. In the conceptual frameworks portion of the book Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, they talk about the importance of privileged identities and disadvantaged identities coming together to work towards solving a particular issue. While before taking this course I was somewhat
previous feminist perspectives because of the vast diversity amongst women. This essay, however, will focus primarily on Black women and their different experiences of subordination within Western societies. To begin with, the relevance of the intersectionality approach will be defined and discussed, followed by the reasons for why multiracial feminism is the preferred term amongst some scholars. The multiracial feminist model will then be examined in order to understand why it is more useful than previous
Intersectionality Theory Intersectionality also known as intersectional theory originally was a theory which was encoded in feminism. Intersectionality was a term in which feminists developed to explain how they were being socially oppressed because they were woman, in particular this theory addressed issues of the women’s suffrage movement and women wanting to retain the same rights as their male counterparts. As time progressed it became more common to see see it branched out into multidimensional
I were to say “intersectionality”, a majority of people I know, besides the ones outside of this geography course, would have no idea what I meant. As a matter of fact, I myself had never heard of intersectionality before the guest lecture. So, what exactly is intersectionality, why is it important, how does it affect identity, and how does it fit into the context of a geography class? I will be answering all these questions in my essay. So, to begin to understand intersectionality and its importance
Patricia Hill Collins, an active African American sociologist, is best known for her groundbreaking research in the areas of Black feminism and the extensive development of the concept of intersectionality, a term first popularized in 1989 by Kimberlé Williams. Patricia Hill Collins’ main goals are to better the black community through community work, and with her gift as a sociologist/ author. “Throughout her career Collins has advocated for the power of people, the importance of community building
regardless of their level of education (CRIAW/ICREF, 20120). Thus, feminist have aimed to increase the wellbeing of individuals and created the concept of intersectionality. Intersectionality illustrates that there are multiple types of oppression that must be examined together one simply cannot be examined to explain the situation. Originally intersectionality was used within black feminism to describe the oppression within race and gender. As it expanded this theory shows interlocks between many different
Until recently, intersectionality has been, to a large degree, left out of public health discourse. McGibbon & McPherson in their 2011 article “Applying Intersectionality & Complexity Theory to Address the Social Determinants of Women’s Health,” as well as Bowleg in her 2012 article “The Problem with the Phrase Women and Minorities: Intersectionality–an Important Theoretical Framework for Public Health,” acknowledge this glaring absence while seeking to incorporate intersectionality within their work
Americanah is a novel mainly about love and race. It features two main characters Ifemelu and Obinze, who both struggle with identity on their quest to find a sense of national belonging. Ifemelu is the female protagonist of the novel and she is a teenager from Nigeria. She writes blogs mostly pertaining to her anger towards the topic of race. Ifemelu is vulnerable at times, but is a strong advocate of being true to one’s self. An example of when Ifemelu is shown to be vulnerable is when she lets
to be multi-dimensional and not limited to one identity. I enjoyed her music because her rapping differed from mainstream rap and any other rap I have listened to thus far, also she is a woman. Black feminist thought, hip hop feminism, and intersectionality theory possess differing and similar frameworks and together can be used in the analysis of Sammus’ music. I will discuss Black feminist thought with the work of Patricia Hill Collins; hip hop feminism with the
The theory of intersectionality is a very important concept when analysing the many different obstacles an individual may face throughout their life time. It takes into consideration that an individual is identified by many different labels rather than by their gender alone. Through the analysis of historical texts and extensive knowledge of activists and authors on the topic, Hunter College women’s and Gender Studies collective and Joan Simalchik (2016) is able to provide insight on the importance
sexuality or national origin intersect varying systems of power. Collins uses the phrase “intersectionality” to refer to concurrent coincidental multiple forms of oppression or domination. (Collins 1990) • She alleges that because black women have unique histories at
of the ideas of power and dominance through games on the playground, and social groups in high school. However, people do not think about these ideas of how our society functions with these activities alone. We develop our understanding of intersectionality and its relation to power by comparing our own circumstances with others. In my case, I believe my own understanding of our society came from my experience as a student in Japan. Ever since I was a child, I have had the privilege
According to Beaueboeuf-Laufontant, racialization can be defined as the placement of groups in particular statues within the matrix of domination is justified through the generation and dissemination of controlling images. As a result of overaching ‘’matrix of domination”, a few statuses are considered normative and deserving of first class citizenship while most others are deemed constitutive of deviance and requiring subordination. As representations of subordinated groups, controlling images guide
Intersectionality is “the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage” (Dictionary.com). Throughout this course so far, we’ve read various essays from a number of authors, each offering different viewpoints of intersectionality experienced by various groups of people and using that in order to get their points across. Of course
children where she maintains the household quietly and without complaint. A common example of current sexism is when a potential employer chooses a man over a women who looks that she could be of childbearing age because hiring a woman may also mean hiring someone who would need to take time off or work less hours to care for children, per societal standards. In the case of the black lesbian, the dynamics which oppress her are additive and she is “subject to prejudice and discrimination based on
For this keyword revision project, I selected the terms “other,” “intersectionality,” and “ideology.” These three keywords each represents a significant sector when analyzing racialization. To my understanding, “other” is the root, “intersectionality” is the mechanism, and “ideology” is the ground for racial formation. Each of these terms is interconnected to each other as well as other big concepts in relation to racialization. Trying to pinpoint the interconnectedness of my keywords, there’s a
Intersectionality is an analytical tool that can assist policy makers in creating programs and policies to help combat inequities on campus. Intersectionality explores new research and policy approaches to understand the connections between structures that shape diverse populations (Hankivsky, 2014). The acronym LGBT gives evidence
Women’s Oppression in Hurston’s “Sweat”: The Stereotype of Women’s Role in Society In Zora Neale Hurston’s 1926 short story “Sweat,” Delia Jones a washwoman and house owner is portrayed as an abused wife. Even though she has a job and owns the home she occupies, it does not change the fact that her husband still holds power over her. Women are stereotyped by society as housewives, which make them feel repressed of freedom. Women are repressed by society’s views and are limited in freedom, thus women
The More Things Change the More Things Stay the Same Within the play “Medea” there are several moments where the author seems to be critiquing or making a comment on Athenian society. The Athenian’s prided themselves on their advanced and “enlightened” thinking’s and beliefs. Despite this however, the Athenians treated women no better than many of their contemporaries in Greece. This is made apparent several times throughout the play as Medea comments on the treatment of women within society, and