Intersectionality

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a prism to see the interactive effects of various forms of discrimination and disempowerment. It looks at the way that racism, many times, interacts with patriarchy, heterosexism, classism, and xenophobia, among other options — seeing that the overlapping vulnerabilities created by these systems actually create specific kinds of challenges. (Guobadia, 2018.)

Intersectionality is a way of thinking about identity and its relationship to power. - Kimberlé Crenshaw, 2015

At its core, intersectionality recognizes that people are not defined by one aspect of their identity alone, such as gender, race, or disability. Instead, individuals hold multiple, overlapping identities that intersect and interact, shaping their unique experiences in society. (Crenshaw, 1989)

National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). (2018, June 22). Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is Intersectionality? YouTube. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://youtu.be/ViDtnfQ9FHc?si=P80VJvvpYBpoAcSD

Intersectionality is a framework that acknowledges that individuals can belong to multiple communities simultaneously and may encounter both privilege and oppression simultaneously. The systems that shape our experiences cannot be separated.

Privilege

Privilege is the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits, and choices bestowed on people solely based on membership or identity in a dominant group. Privilege can be due to numerous attributes such as race, gender, age, sexual orientation, education, ability, etc. Privilege is usually invisible to those who have it because we are socialized not to see it, nevertheless, it advantages those with it over those who do not (Racial Equity Tools, 2022). Not everyone has the same choices to make.

It is important to remember this is not necessarily an active process. The absence of barriers is often more reflective of the process of privilege (Egale Canada, 2023). For example, the assumption of heteronormative relationships in legislation, or the absence of diverse narratives in descriptions of the experience of illness.

Power

Power is multifaceted, encompassing access to privileges such as information/knowledge, connections, experience, expertise, resources, and decision-making, all of which increase an individual's likelihood of securing the necessities for a comfortable, safe, productive, and profitable life (Ontario Human Rights Commission, n.d.).

It also involves the capacity to influence, lead, dominate, or exert an impact on the lives and actions of others in society. Unlike authority, which implies legitimacy, power can be wielded both legitimately and illegitimately, expanding its scope beyond conventional notions of influence (Munro, A., 2023, September 13).

Marginalization

Marginalization is a social process by which individuals or groups are (intentionally or unintentionally) distanced from access to power and resources and constructed as insignificant, peripheral, or less valuable/privileged to a community or “mainstream” society. This term describes a social process, so as not to imply a lack of agency. Marginalized groups or people are those excluded from mainstream social, economic, cultural, or political life. Examples of marginalized groups include, but are by no means limited to, groups excluded due to race, religion, political or cultural group, age, gender, or financial status. To what extent such populations are marginalized, however, is context specific and reliant on the cultural organization of the social site in question. (Racial Equity Tools, July 2022).

The term ‘minoritized’ is also used to connote the same meaning (University of British Columbia, May 2023).

Sources:

Guobadia, O. (2018, August 31). Kimberlé Crenshaw and Lady Phyll Talk Intersectionality, Solidarity, and Self-Care. Them. https://www.them.us/story/kimberle-crenshaw-lady-phyll-intersectionality

Crenshaw, K. (2015, September 24). Opinion: Why intersectionality can’t wait. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2015/09/24/why-intersectionality-cant-wait/

Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum, Vol. 1989: Iss. 1, Article 8. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=uclf

National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). (2018, June 22). Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is Intersectionality? [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved August 28, 2023, from https://youtu.be/ViDtnfQ9FHc?si=P80VJvvpYBpoAcSD

Racial Equity Tools Glossary (July 2022). MP Associates, Center for Assessment and Policy Development, and World Trust Educational Services. Retrieved from https://www.racialequitytools.org/glossary.

Egale Canada. (2023). Terms and Definitions: Systems of Oppression and Privilege. Retrieved from https://egale.ca/awareness/systems-of-oppression-and-privilege-terms/