Research Paper On Intersectionality

Moreover, Intersectional feminism opens the door for oppressed women who are different from the overly white, middle class, cis-gendered and able-bodied women who claim to “want power for all women”, but will not advocate and let her privilege be called out by a woman of a different race. Another key point is that though people of white decent cannot be oppressed in the ways that a person of color can be, they can use their privilege to bring light upon the people who need help. If society would shine more light on the oppressed women of the world, then they could understand the trauma and heartbreak it feels like to not be treated equally to a woman of the Caucasian

Intersectionality is defined by social categories, such as race and gender that have interconnected to apply to individuals and groups, causing an overlap, which has consequently created a system of discrimination and disadvantages

1.The theory/concept of intersectionality is a theory centered around oppression, domination and discrimination through various mediums from the social and cultural elements of society.

In “Intersectional Resistance and Law Reform,” Dean Spade proposes that the United States was founded through “racialization…(which) continues to operate under new guises… that produce, manage, and deploy gender categories and sexuality and family norms” (16). More over, these laws and norms tend to maintain the “status quo,” and employ an inherently flawed justice system that is only equipped to address single-axis discrimination issues (5). Thus, the intersectionality movement is largely dismissed by the social and justice systems, as it utilizes “critical intersectional tools… that are often (too) difficult for legal scholars to comprehend” (17). Interstionality’s progress is also impeded by advocates leaving to support single-axis issues. However, Spade warns that this approach is ineffective, as it fails to protect the most marginalized members of society.

The mindset of other individuals would discriminate women for their intersectionality; especially if it is depicting the color of their skin, race, and etc. Intersectionality has many interpretations but society has characterized it into a social categorization such as race, sex, class which creates interdependent system of discrimination/ disadvantages. During the 1960’s the film “Hidden Figures”, gave a prime example of intersectionality; showing viewers how the women were treated on a daily basis in and out of NASA. Through the elements of: racism, sexism, and class (economic standards).

Race, gender, and class, while commonly thought of as separate, are deeply intertwined with one-another. In his book Iron Cages, Ronald Takaki explores and lays out both the ways in which these three connected the ways they are not and the underlying reasons as to why. Following will be the analysis of the three in pairs, so as to better break down the comparisons among the three in relation to one another, concluded with the intersection of all three.

Recently, in class, we discussed hybridity and intersectionality. Hybridity is defined as having two or more cultural identities where as intersectionality is defined as an overlapping of different cultural identities. At the beginning of the discussion, I was not really sure what the difference of the two were, until I realized hybridity was specifically two or more different identities within the specific culture. These topics really interested me because I, personally, can relate to hybridity since I am of mixed race.

From the moment an individual is born, they are assigned to one of two sex categories based on the sexual organs they display. From then on, they are expected to behave a certain way: boys are taught to act tough and emotionless, and girls are taught to be sensitive and gentle. If they do not “do gender” correctly, then you are seen as an outcast by society. However, gender is not the only type of oppression people face on a daily basis. Race and class also determine the levels of oppression an individual will encounter throughout their lives. The documentary Paris is Burning illustrates how gender is not biological but instead socially constructed, which can

An acknowledgement of multiple intersecting identities is a prerequisite to understanding inequality in the public health system and in fixing it (Bowleg 2012: 1). Bowleg cites the black feminist founders of intersectionality and uses intersectionality as theoretical framework. She operates from the position of marginalized populations to create space in a system that must acknowledge them by citing inequities such as those reflected by HIV rates. (Bowleg 2012: 2). Due to the infancy in the field cited by McKibben& McPherson there are issues in the potential application of intersectionality to public health. It is unclear how research on intersectionality ought be conducted given how few guidelines exist (Bowleg 2012: 4). Both critical race theory and intersectionality accept that race is a social construct and that racism can intersect with other identities to change the way oppression manifests itself (Bowleg 2012: 5). Crucially, critical race theory has had an impact on discourse related to public health (Bowleg 2012: 5). With that said, intersectionality is able to provide a unifying language for issues involving intersecting identities and provides a more informative discussion by studying different identities together (Bowleg 2012: 6). It embraces complexity to contribute to a more accurate

These African American women face a stereotype because they are seen as aggressive, loud, crazy, and dumb. These women do not want to be labeled as angry black woman because it is a “scarlet letter, which tarnishes the wearer.” These women are not allowed to express their opinion because they are afraid to be seen in a negative light. Phoebe Robinson uses an example where a male comedian introduced her using a sexual joke; she confronted him afterwards saying it was inappropriate. The man proceeded to tell her that she was angry black woman. All Phoebe did was express her feeling in a polite manner, and this man who made a sexual joke is making her feel like a bad person. She has the right to feel angry because this would not happen with a white woman. Most white woman are known for complaining to customer service and it is not a problem. However, if a black woman were to do it she would appear rude and difficult. Therefore, we need intersectionality in feminism because women are facing many challenges because they are not only women; they are also their ethnicity, sexual orientation, and career. There needs to be support for all types of women, and intersectionality is the first step towards this because being a woman is hard enough never mind being a woman of color, a

Hill Collins(1998) further expatiates her argument by stating that, “ for example, intersectionality holds that knowing a woman lives in a sexist society is insufficient information to describe her experience; instead it is also necessary to know her race, sexual orientation, class, etc. , as well as her society’s attitude toward each of these.”

From our previous lecture discussions, we talk about how women are placed lower in the pyramid of power. But women of color struggle the most because they not only have to deal with sexism, but also racism. We also see the issues of women of color against with white feminist movement. Women of color have to put more effort when dealing with their problems compared to white women in general. In this week’s readings, we are examining some of the problems that women of color have to deal with.

It is impossible to view oppression, such as racism or sexism, in isolation because they are all connected: classism, ableism, and ageism. They are linked by a common origin—economic power and control and by common methods of limiting, controlling, and destroying lives (Pharr, Suzanne, 1998). Pharr believes there is no hierarchy of oppression. Each is terrible and destructive. She says that to eliminate one oppression successfully, a movement has to include work to eliminate them all or else success will always be limited and incomplete.

Intersectionality is a concept used to describe the ways in which identities are interconnected and cannot be examined separately from one another. Dhingra and Rodriguez stated that “how race is experienced, then, is often through sexual dynamics” (Dhingra& Rodriguez ,24). They offer an example that if a woman is afraid of Black man, she does so not only due to the men are black, but also because Black men are stereotypically seemed as sexually aggressive. I’d further argue that the reason why she is afraid is that race is also seem through class. Because the media always portray Black people as poor people live in the inner city, there is a false assumption that all Black people are poor and lazy. Hence, they are more likely to be commit

The concept of intersectionality refers to the interdependence of multiple socially constructed categories and how they interact and shape different levels of social inequality, oppression or privilege. Through the analysis of multiple, and often complicated, intersections of race, gender, religion, this essay exposes the institutional and interactional dimensions of in the narratives of gender and sexuality, heteronormativity and homosexuality. Before we explore the intersection of social identities within our environments, it is important that the meaning and significance of the term ‘social identity’ is explored. ‘Social identity’ refers to the social category which on belongs to; for example, this may include elements such as your race, class, gender, age, education, sex and religion to name a few (Shields, 2008:300). Using this, examples of social identify could be ‘female’, ‘white’ or ‘Christian’. Intersectionality thus highlights the ways in which one’s social context is affected by one’s social identity- which this, your social identity has the ability to either privilege or oppress. For example, an English-speaking individual will experience privilege in an English dominated society, and a homosexual individual will most-likely experience oppression in a heteronormative society. Intersectionality is thus a concept which can be used to expose the ways in which privilege functions in a