Intersections And Identity From Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives by Gwyn Kirk and Margo Okazawa-Rey

Identity: how we define ourselves at any particular moment in life and how others define us The result of a complex interplay of a range of factors and is an ongoing process… Who am I ?

Answer these questions Which social groups do I want to affiliate with? Who/what do societal institutions (schools, the law, religious institutions) say I am? Who am I? What do others think I am? Where/what/ who are my home and community? Answer these questions

Micro, Meso, and Macro Three levels of identification

Micro I am… What did you answer for the first question? For example, what are your family roles? Micro

Meso In relation to community (neighborhood, workplace, school) What did you answer to the second question? For example, what groups were you part of in high school? Meso

Macro In relationship to the social structure Social categories such as gender, class, and race are used to establish and maintain a particular kind of social order In each category, one group is deemed superior and the others are deemed inferior Macro

Categories Gender Race Class Nation Ethnicity Sexual Orientation Religion Physical Ability Age Language Categories Can you name the dominant and subordinate groups in each?

Identities are Complex People are not simply dominant and subordinate Many are privileged on one or more dimensions, and at the same time subordinated on the other dimensions Identities are Complex

Social Location Where all the aspects of one’s identity meet We live with multiple intersecting identities They operate together to: Privilege or subordinate people Social Location Analyzing this complexity is called intersectionality