Intersectionality 101

Introduction

Aims and Objectives Understand the history of the concept of intersectionality and how it's developed within feminism and the wider liberation movement. Discuss personal experiences of exclusion in the feminist movement and the representation of feminism in the media. Learn how to integrate intersectionality into your activism.

Agenda Introduction Intersectionality 101 Sharing experiences Inclusive Campaigning Intersectionality Challenge Wrap up

Safer Space Don't talk over other people Don't use offensive language Use trigger-warnings when appropriate Don't speak about other peoples experiences outside this space without their consent No question is a silly question Don't apologise for speaking, this is your space too!

Intersectionality 101

Intersectionality 101 Intersectionality: The theory of how different types of oppressions interact and impact people’s lives. It's important to recognise that when one type of oppression is discussed without acknowledging that there are also other oppressions that are connected, the dialogue often revolves around the experiences of the more privileged people in liberation group. Whilst the issues and experiences of the more socially marginalised people are overshadowed, dismissed or erased.

Kimberlé W. Cremshaw The term ‘intersectionality’, coined by the Black feminist lawyer, Professor Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw in 1989 was created to illustrate the experiences of racism and sexism of Black women in the US. Intersectionality has since become an analytical tool for looking at how different power structures interlink, function and impact on peoples’ experiences in feminism and other liberation movements.

Combinations of oppressions Crenshaw defines intersectionality as the combination – as opposed to the addition – of race and gender that creates a specific form of oppression. In the pieces of legislation that she analyses, racism is equated to the experience of Black men and sexism to the experience of white women. Therefore it fails to capture and account for the specific experience of discrimination faced by Black women which is simultaneously based on race and gender.

Intersections of Oppressions “Consider an analogy to traffic in an intersection, coming and going in all four directions. Discrimination, like traffic through an intersection, may flow in one direction, and it may flow in another. If an accident happens in an intersection, it can be caused by cars traveling from any number of directions and, sometimes, from all of them. Similarly, if a Black woman is harmed because she is in an intersection, her injury could result from sex discrimination or race discrimination. (…) But it is not always easy to reconstruct an accident: sometimes the skid marks and the injuries indicate that they occurred simultaneously, frustrating efforts to determine which driver caused the harm.” (Crenshaw 1989: 144)

This is not the "Oppression Olympics" It's not about who is more oppressed than who or how many liberation groups you define into. Due the complexity of our identities, it's perfectly plausible and common for people to be privileged in some areas and oppressed in others. For example, a white woman may benefit from white privilege and may experience sexism because she's a woman. Intersectionality is not about winning the "oppression games", it’s about acknowledging that people experience things differently and avoiding the replication of exclusive and oppressive power structures within movements for liberation.

Discussion Time How would you define Mainstream feminism? How is intersectionality represented in the media?

Sharing Experiences

Definition and Empowerment “The failure of the academic feminists to recognize difference as a crucial strength is a failure to reach beyond the first patriarchal lesson. Divide and conquer, in our world, must become define and empower.” (Lorde 2001: 108)

Sharing Intersectional Experiences Racism Homophobia Bi-phobia Transphobia Ableism Classism

Inclusive Campaigning

Discussion Time Think of a feminist campaign that was intersectional Think of a feminist campaign that wasn’t intersectional

Inclusive Campaigning Discussion - Create a space where women from different backgrounds are able to have input on the initial idea. Involvement - Try to make sure that a diverse range of women are involved in the production of the campaign. Advertising - It is crucial that your campaign is advertised in a way that everyone feels that they can take part. Evaluation - Talk to various people about how they feel things went and how things can be improved.

Intersectionality Challenge

Intersectional Campaigning This is a group exercise to challenge how activists plan campaigns and to help you develop your understanding of intersectionality. When designing your event think about: The aim of the campaign The content of the event/campaign Accessibility Advertising