Intersectionality is influenced by privilege, oppression, identities, and structures & institutions. Intersectionality allows a critical lens to observe all the ways privilege and oppression operate to render certain populations invisible from policies, laws, and social norms produced by systems. Intersectionality may be a useful tool to understand individual identities, but is better suited as a theoretical approach to analyzing how culture can produce oppressive consequences.
An in depth look at how privilege operates to give unearned benefits to people based on their identity. Explains how oppression is a systemic and political force instead of an isolated, person to person prejudice. Provides examples and definitions of the types of privileges and oppressions in current society.
Details how intersectionality is a useful method to understand the multi faceted aspects of people's identities. Lays out how privilege and oppression are created by power inequalities, but in addition, how people in each category experience their privilege and their oppression differently than other members exposed to the same benefit or disadvantage. Depicts real life examples of how intersectionality influences the experiences of privilege and oppression.
Outlines how structures and institutions function to maintain power inequalities between groups of people. Defines and provides examples of all the different, and complex types of institutions that exist. Describes historical and contemporary examples of certain populations that have been systemically discriminated against.
Examines the process of how identity influences and is influenced by institutions. Reveals the difference between prejudice, discrimination, and institutional oppression / systems of domination. Highlights how beliefs regarding specific populations of people can be held and practiced at a personal level, as well as institutionally.
Review of References
Feminism is an amazing concept that utilizes interdisciplinary studies across philosophy, political theory, psychology, sociology, science, and history to analyze the ways in which socially constructed ideologies have created and shaped institutions to privilege and oppress certain populations, all on the basis of identity. As reflective as feminism is, mainstream activism, focus, and scholarly work has historically and contemporarily limited its attention to certain identities which has further marginalized certain populations. Many women of color, and women who do not fit the hegemonic feminine ideal, have been rendered invisible in the fight against the patriarchy that many white middle, upper class women attribute as the root cause for the universally experienced oppression women face. Many women who have been marginalized by their white sisters, tend to have a richer, and deeper understanding of the ways in which institutions function to constrict fundamental human rights. The following authors are able to explain and interpret the ways in which race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and so forth, are so intertwined that they become intersectional, feeding off one another, and perpetuated by institutions as well as individuals.
Both Angela Davis and bell hooks describe how oppressions are interconnected and theorize the different perspectives and methods that are needed to dismantle oppression. Many women of color, and women who are not heterosexual, have been left out of the feminist agenda during almost every wave through out history. From the mid 1800s through the early 1900s, women were fighting for the right to vote. However, Angela Davis, in her book, “Women, Race, and Class,” describes how the suffrage movement actively left out women of color from participating. Women of color where invisible in the black men’s quest for the racial equality vote, as well as white women’s quest for the gender equality vote. In order to gain support from legislators, leaders of the feminist movement, such as Elizabeth Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony, purposely excluded women of color for fear they would tarnish or hinder their progress in achieving the vote. As Angela Davis paraphrases Sojourner Truth, black men nor white women getting their right to vote does nothing for the black women and now all men, and white women, are superior to black women.
Building off of this, bell hooks, describes how marginalized people have a better insight into the ways institutions, as well as ideologies function to cater to certain populations over others. Most white feminists attribute the patriarchy and sexism as the foundation for all other oppressions, however, bell hooks asserts that imperialism is the cause. Since imperialism sets up a hierarchal structure of domination and the dominated, all other oppressions are able to form. In order to end violence, there needs to be an end to all forms of violence that revolve around the notion of superior and inferior. Since women of color are in the position of the inferior, they have their experiences, but also insight into the “superior” population, which is the feminist standpoint theory. This explains how women of color, who acted as servants for white, upperclass families, were able to closely observe how they lived and what privileges they were afforded. The white families, however, never took it upon themselves to see how their servants lived. So when white feminists describe sexism as the main oppression, they are missing out on what women of color have observed, which is how race, as well as class are just as oppressive and intersectional. In order to truly eradicate oppression, there needs to be an intersectional approach into how oppression is viewed. That everyone’s experiences are unique and have merit when it comes to analyzing the ways in which institutions are hierarchically structured.
Avatar Brah and Ann Phoenix have a very similar outlook as Angela Davis and bell hooks. From their article, “Ain’t I A Woman? Revisiting Intersectionality,” they discuss how Sojourner Truth was describing intersectionality by questioning, “what it means to be a woman under different historical circumstances.” These authors describe how different identities such as race, and social class are just as important to recognize and understand how these oppressions influence and shape one another. Identical to bell hooks’ standpoint theory, Brah and Phoenix describe how intersectionality aims to “decenter the normative subject of feminism,” which means to focus on more than just sexism. Oppression is not always experienced in the same way, due to how race, sexuality, and class all create a unique perspective. The authors also bring attention to how feminism has historically focused and prioritized certain agendas over others. In addition, these authors make reference to the “interlocking,” forms of oppression, which Patricia Hill Collins as well as Rita Kaur Dhamoon have described in their articles.
In Dhamoon’s article, “Considerations on Mainstream Intersectionality,” they describe how the language surrounding intersectionality is important. That focusing on one identity isn’t enough, and in order to properly utilize intersectionality as a research paradigm, there needs to be attention to how individuals are composed of multiple identities and there is diversity even amongst hegemonic labels of social categories. Also, how the multitude of interconnecting oppressions creates a unique standpoint that is different than just, “a single oppression acting alone.” In reference to Patricia Hill Collins, Dhamoon describes how micro oppression is intersectional, and institutional oppression is interlocking oppression. In using interlocking oppression, the authors assert that oppressions would not exist without each other. The issue with this framework is that it treats oppression as an all or nothing set of structures. As bell hooks points out, eradicating sexism will not mean that all other forms of oppression will be dismantled. If oppression was interlocked, then if sexism was dismantled, all other forms of oppression would follow, however that would not be the case because it isn’t the root cause. Imperialism, which bell hooks describes as the first creator of the hierarchy of dominated and dominator, is what must be eradicated.
Intersectionality has meant different things to different groups of people at different times. Dhamoon traces how intersectional conceptions have had different names such as multiple jeopardy, discrimination within discrimination, multiple consciousness, multiplicity, multiplex epistemologies, transactional positionality, multidimensionality, inter-connectivities, and sythesis. Another issue is how words have been used interchangeably, even when they don’t have the same meaning. Dhamoon illustrates this will racialization, a process, and racism, system of domination, but I would also argue intersectionality has also become interchangeable with diversity, and black feminism. It is important to hash out the definitions and make sure to not fall into the trap of misusing or not recognizing the potential to misuse intersectionality. It is important to avoid essentialism. Dhamoon describes how understanding how identities intersect, is not the same as claiming that all identities are innate to the individual. For example, looking at how black women are invisible in the law, is not to claim that race and gender are biologically determined, but rather how those identities are socially influenced.
While Dhamoon only advises the ways in which scholars should be careful when utilizing intersectionality in their research, Lyne Woehrle, whose book, “Intersectionality and Social Change,” takes on a stance to encourage both intersectional research, and active change. Woehrle discusses how coalitions encourage a strong foundation to provoke social change. Weohrle’s argument is that a deep understanding of intersectionality is needed in order to produce a social movement and activism that have a foundation built on inclusion and power balance. By having an intersectional mindset, it is easier to see they ways people are oppressed, but also recognizing how institutions are structured to create those oppressions. Intersectionality provides the lens to be able to recognize problems and then have the capacity to figure out solutions. Historically, white, middle and upper class women have prioritized their needs in the first and second waves of feminism. Woehrle suggests that intersectionality will recognize the issues faced by all women, and create a social change that revolves around the diversity of oppression.
Another important, and often overlooked consideration, that even Dhamoon fails to recognize, is to make the content accessible to the mainstream population. Dhamoon tailors their article to researchers, and scholars who are deeply involved with philosophical as well as feminist theory, but the general public is not as aware of these understandings of the world. In both Tim Wise’s piece, “Whine Merchants: Privilege, Inequality, and The Persistent Myth of White Victimhood,” and Jarune Uwujaren and Jamie Utt’s article, “Why Our Feminism Must Be Intersectional,” they make their content user friendly. Tim Wise literally explains how privilege is seen as entitlement, and how whenever an oppressed member receives an advantage that levels the playing field, it is seen as an unfair “privilege” by the dominant group. By the end, it is almost painful how brutally blunt he is with his examples, and how asserting certain oppressed populations are privileged, is just ludicrous. In addition, Uwujaren and Utt take a friendlier approach to describe in simple explanations how intersectionality and privilege functions. Their example of violence against women, lays out how women experience their sexism differently due to other interconnected identities such as sexual orientation, race, and class. This allows the mainstream reader easy access to complex, often, perplexing information that usually scholars or people with advanced degrees would comprehend.
Angela Davis, bell hooks, Avatar Brah & Ann Phoenix, Lyne Woehrle, Ria Dhamoon, Tim Wise, and Jarune Uwuqujaren & Jamie Utt have all expressed how it is necessary to analyze the ways in which race, class, and gender all interconnect. However, an even more insightful message these scholars present is how marginalized identities are unique to the kind of systems and discourses that oppress them. They all have similar aspects in common, and should form a solidarity, however, they all have unique experiences that work together to detail how systems function to oppress them in different ways. It could be the same system, however its meaning and impact may be different for each person.
In order to successfully utilize intersectionality as both a method as well as a theory, it is important to take all of these author’s contributions into account. Recognizing whose voices are left out, how we label and utilize our language, as well as how we transform our ideas into action are all important aspects of intersectionality. Not only that, but people who already have access to this advanced line of reasoning isn’t enough. I would argue that in order to have the effective social change that Woehrle describes, there needs to be inclusion of the general public, as well as those who have historically been left out. Incorporating these contributions into our Wikipedia page, allows us to take an active part in transforming how our society views and thinks about oppression, privilege, and intersectionality while maintaining an inclusive, diverse, and academic as well as easily understood, atmosphere of resources and content.
References
Brah, Avatatr & Ann Phoenix. “Ain’t I A Woman? Revisiting Intersectionality.” Journal of International Women’s Studies. Vol. 5, No. 3, May 2004.
Collins, Patricia Hill. “Social Inequality, Power, and Politics: Intersectionality and American Pragmatism in Dialogue.” The Journal of Speculative Philosophy. Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 442-457.
Davis, Angela Y. Women, Race & Class. New York: Vintage, 1983. Print
Dhamoon, Rita Kaur. “Considerations on Mainstream Intersectionality.” Political Research Quarterly. Vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 230-243.
hooks, bell. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Cambridge, MA: South End 1984. Print
Uwujarent, Jaruane and Utt, Jamie. “Why Our Feminism Must Be Intersectional.” Everyday Feminism. Magazine. 11 Jan. 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.
Wise, Tim. “Whine Merchants: Privilege, Inequality, And The Persistent Myth of White Victimhood.” Tim Wise. Word Press, 13 May 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Woehrle, Lynne M. “Part One: Identities, Intersections, and Complexities of Change.” Intersectionality and Social Change: Research In Social Movements, Conflicts and Change. Vol. 37. Emerald Group. 2014. Print.
Annotated Bibliography: Selected Sources on Intersectionality
1) Brah, Avatatr & Ann Phoenix. “Ain’t I A Woman? Revisiting Intersectionality.” Journal of International Women’s Studies. Vol. 5, No. 3, May 2004.
Details how intersectionality is vital to understanding current political issues. In addition, how social class, gender, race, and sexuality are socially constructed, and create a hierarchy that put people in different social positions within society. Shows how intersectionality allows for a thorough analysis of structures and identities.
2) Collins, Patricia Hill. “Social Inequality, Power, and Politics: Intersectionality and American Pragmatism in Dialogue.” The Journal of Speculative Philosophy. Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 442-457.
Discusses how America has paid little attention to the identities that intersect and how this impacts social inequality by specifically analyzing the way community functions in Western Culture. Explains how social structures are the “institutional expressions of social inequality.” Details how community is socially constructed as well as how it functions to influence power relations between different social identities. Also acknowledges how community can provoke activism and political involvement.
3) Davis, Angela Y. Women, Race & Class. New York: Vintage, 1983. Print
Shows how race, gender, and class are always affecting one another. Details the history of the different feminist waves and how women of color were often excluded by feminists during many of the movements. Traces grassroots efforts by women of color to establish politics that revolved around their lives. Sexism is seen as the most oppressive systems by white feminists, however, Davis argues that class and race are just as oppressive and just as interconnected.
4) Dhamoon, Rita Kaur. “Considerations on Mainstream Intersectionality.” Political Research Quarterly. Vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 230-243.
There are 5 key considerations, “language, complexity of difference, focusing on identities & systems, the model used to explain differences, and principles that determine which intersections are analyzed,” in other words, self reflection, study institutions rather than identities, how productive power impacts people, and how it is a political critique. Discusses how identities are relational, benefits social as well as physical science because allows for a more thorough understanding, and to what extent could intersectionality reach essentialism.
5) Grillo, Trina. “Anti-Essentialism and Intersectionality: Tools to Dismantle the Master’s House.” Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law, & Justice. Vol. 10, No. 1. 1995
Utilizes Audre Lorde’s concept, “you cant use the master’s tools to dismantle the master’s house,” however, Grillo provides ways of thinking and solutions that are tools to dismantle the oppressive, dominant, ideology and system. When dismantling paradigms, there is always the risk of reproducing the very system that was supposed to be dismantled. Also describes the pitfalls of essentialism where identities are viewed as separate entities of each other and innate to the person. Provides lessons to be learned from intersectionality and anti-essentialism, such as not partaking int the oppression sweepstakes (oppressive olympics), and being self reflective.
6) hooks, bell. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Cambridge, MA: South End 1984. Print
Shows how most often, people in marginalized positions, whether its from race, class, gender, or sexual orientation, they tend to have a more holistic view of how society functions to privilege some and oppress others. The author also describes how sexist oppression is not the foundation for oppression, but imperialism is. The term intersectionality may not be used explicitly throughout the entire book, however, the ideas hooks describes is very much intersectional.
7) Johnson, Allan G. “Where White Privilege Came From.” The Forest And The Trees: Sociology as Life, Practice, and Promise, rev. ed., pp. 173-182. Print
He traces back the history of colonization to show how European decent viewed people through a dichotomy of “Us” and “Them.” He attributes this to how capitalism influences to the desire for colonization. Anyone who is nonwhite is considered socially inferior. He tackles the resistance of people in positions of privilege that believe they should not have any part in addressing racism and the systems that oppress people. Fantastically addresses how systems and institutions function to privilege some above others.
8) Jordan-Zachery, Julia. “Am I a Black Woman Or a Woman Who is Black? A Few Thoughts on the Meaning of Intersectionality.” Politics & Gender 3.2. pp 254-63. 2007.
Illustrates how race and gender intersect to render women of color almost entirely invisible in popular culture, as well as everyday life. Personal account of having to explain to her daughter about oppression and marginalization.
9) Kendall, Frances E. "Understanding White Privilege: Creating Pathways to Authentic Relationships Across Race." Routledge 2006
Overviews how the extent of white privilege is impacted by how intertwined it is with gender, sexual orientation, age, and ability Makes understanding privilege and identities as intersectional, very relatable and easy to understand. Elaborates on how to identify privilege and some solutions to addressing that privilege, whatever it may be. Details how institutions and system work with individuals and ideologies to produce privilege. Follows along Peggy McIntosh's "Invisible Knapsack," article and describes the ways in which privilege functions.
10) Lorde, Audre. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches.Trumansburg, NY: Crossing, 1984. Print
A collection of essays that examine the personalized perspective of women of color. Intertwines race with gender, and also sexual orientation. Describes different forms of activism rather than falling silent. Explains how social aspects of our culture impact how individuals view themselves, as well as each other by often relying on harmful stereotypes. Also, depicts how anger is a huge part of oppression and activism.
11) McCall, Leslie. “The Complexity of Intersectionality.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society. Vol. 30, No. 3. University of Chicago Press. 2005
Looks at the methodology of intersectionality and some implications that have arose in the study of internationality. Details three approaches to understanding the complexity of categories and how categories interact with each other. There is the anticategorial complexity, that deconstructs categories, inter categorical complexity, which is the analysis of existing categories, and intracategorical complexity, which focuses on neglected social categories.
12) McIntosh, Peggy. “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack.” White Privilege and Male Privilege: A personal Account of Coming To See Correspondences through Work in Women’s Studies. pp 189. Working Paper. 1988. Print
Is a simple list of ways white privilege has benefit the author’s life. Is an excellent source for beginners who don’t understand how identities function in society to privilege some and oppress others. Does not explicitly mention intersectionality, but is a good introduction to intersectionality because it reveals how identity is socially constructed.
13) Nash, Jennifer C. “Perspectives on Politics.” American Political Science Association. Vol. 10, No. 3. pp 819-20. 2012. Web. 23 April. 2016.
Review of, “Solidarity Politics for Millennials: A Guide to Ending the Oppression Olympics,” by Ange-Marie Hancock. Is intended to explain and utilize the work of Kimberle Crenshaw and Patricia Hill Collins, but at the same time, explore and expand its current meaning to analyze its potential. Covers the politics such as, if it is epistemological or a method. Author also focuses on how the actual meaning of the word intersectionality is important, as well as “up to date,” interactions with global perspectives. Also recognizes how word can be misused and not fully understood.
14) Uwujarent, Jaruane and Utt, Jamie. “Why Our Feminism Must Be Intersectional.” Everyday Feminism. Magazine. 11 Jan. 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2016.
Shows how the tendency towards white feminism has erased and marginalized people as well as prioritized certain agendas over others. A very simple, basic explanation that contains friendly vocabulary. Also encourages the reader to partake in identifying ways in which people have been marginalized and how to intervene.
15) Wise, Tim. “Whine Merchants: Privilege, Inequality, And The Persistent Myth of White Victimhood.” Tim Wise. Word Press, 13 May 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Tim Wise is an “antiracist essayist” who in this article expands the "movement backlash" concept described by Ange-Marie Hancock. Wise articulates the ways in which oppressed identities receive equal treatment and it is viewed as "inequality" or now privileged people don't have their privileges anymore. He incorporates fictional examples, but grounds them with statistics. His examples are very diverse and show many different ways someone could be discriminated against.
16) Woehrle, Lynne M. “Part One: Identities, Intersections, and Complexities of Change.” Intersectionality and Social Change: Research In Social Movements, Conflicts and Change. Vol. 37. Emerald Group. 2014. Print.
Discusses how social identity is related with intersectionality. Gives an advanced description and overview of Kimberle Crenshaw and Patricia Hills’ published work. Depicts how necessary it is to view social changes, movements, and identities through an intersectional lens. Identifies how power over production shapes who has access to knowledge, and therefore, who has power in to participate in social change.
17) Yuval-Davis, Nira. “Intersectionality and Feminist Politics.” European Journal of Women’s Studies. Vol. 13, No. 3. pp 193-209. Sage Publications. 2006. Print
Uses an intersectional approach to analyze the ways in which gender, class, race, and sexuality are social divisions that are interrelated to one another. Also looks at how intersectionality is a methodological approach to social work and activism. Recounts a brief history of intersectionality, along with a short definition. Specifically analyzes the UN conference against racism in Britain in 2001, and how it has impacted how we think about racism and intersectionality.
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