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INTERSECTIONALITY
In almost every diversity setting today, the term “intersectionality” is thrown around and rarely clearly defined. Essentially, it is the idea that the systems of oppression that a person faces as a result of one or more of their identifiers are experienced differently by each individual. For instance, a rich white woman will experience sexism in her life in a very different way than a poor black woman will experience sexism.
The term was originally coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 to address the ever growing disparity of black women. While legislation and social movements were recognizing the rights and struggles of both black men and white women, black women were being left out of the conversation. The intersection of their race and gender resulted in an experience that differed from that of black men or white women.
We see this still happening in modern settings. Looking at the #MeToo movement that spread throughout the United States and the world within the past three years, it is largely white, middle class women that are given the platform to share their stories. Yet again, women of lower socioeconomic status and women of color are being excluded from these seemingly feminist movements and platforms.
But can feminism exist without being intersectional? At its core, the goal of feminism is equality of genders. This means equality for women of color, transgender men, nonbinary individuals, women of lower socioeconomic status, and every person of every identifier. If this is truly the ultimate goal, why do we talk about intersectional feminism? Isn’t real feminism intersectional in nature? Are the speakers in the #MeToo movement not feminists if they are not advocating for a platform for all other individuals who have experienced sexual assault?
In the article “Why Race, Class, and Gender Still Matter.” Margaret Andersen and Patricia Hill Collins discuss how the identifiers of race, class, and gender combine and affect people in different ways. They refer to their method of measuring oppression and each individual’s experience as the matrix of domination, which “sees social structure as having multiple, interlocking levels of domination that stem from the societal configuration of race, class, and gender relations.” They argue that this intersectional view of an individual’s identity allows for full understanding of the context and social structures that play into an individual’s experience, and also creates a way to get past the theory that oppression is “additive.” In reality, being black and a woman does not simply double the amount of oppression that an individual feels, and instead creates a unique experience that should be recognized thoughtfully and truthfully.
Reading this, however, brings up the question of what even is gender? When thinking about race, class, and gender intersecting, and the examples of feminism that often come to mind and are portrayed in media, it is easy to think of men versus women and women pushing to overcome our patriarchal society. But who even created these gender norms and this distinction between men and women? Why are there only two widely accepted options, while many people identify as non-gender binary? Yes, there are two biological sexes, male and female, but why does the way your body looks determine the way society expects you to act and function?
Judith Butler, a well-known gender theorist, speaks about the concept of “gender performativity;” the idea that we perform to fit certain gendered social norms that were arbitrarily created by society, and by doing so we perpetuate those same norms. These social constructs have resulted in a world where half the population holds control and power over the other half. Why and how did this even happen? How can it change? If gender is not even real, what does it mean to be fighting for gender equality?
Feminism, the movement to create equality for all genders, exists because of social constructs that oppress people who are not cisgender men. Sexism was possible thanks to arbitrarily assigned roles in society that add to the struggle for human equality. When sexism is then coupled with other sources of oppression in a person’s life, their experience with sexism changes. Sexism alone does not define anyone’s experience in life, and it is therefore impossible to reach a point where all people of all genders are equal without addressing other sources of oppression. Therefore, all true feminism must be intersectional by nature.
Society has constructed norms and roles for every person based on arbitrary identifiers that someone long ago decided to give rank and meaning to. In order to reach a place where all people are again equal, all sources of oppression must be recognized and fought against in the struggle for a better world.