Intersectionality was a concept first identified by Kimberlé Crenshaw, an America professor, in 1989. In the simplest of terms, it is the understanding of the relation between race, gender, class, ability and sexuality as forces that create multifaceted experiences, understandings and conditions of oppression. Furthermore, it enables difference among women to be acknowledged and the question that Melissa Harris-Perry asks of ‘what truth or truths are missing here?’ to be explored. Still the simple definition does not account for the complexity of effectively integrating intersectionality into feminist theory and practice. Intersectionality does equip feminist thought with a number of benefits that allow for greater inclusivity and
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Feminism without intersectionality lacks inclusivity. The incorporation of intersectionality into feminist theory and practice allows for an all-encompassing approach of ‘doing’ feminism. Without it various narratives are not heard and the truths of diversity are missing. This lack of representation within the feminist movement is where intersectionality plays a crucial role in widening the voices that are being heard, the concerns that are being addressed and the women that are being represented. Furthermore, inclusivity can forge the bridge between differences among women and in particular as a feminist practice and theory it can work to further understand how and why oppression is not the same for all women. The importance of understanding differences among women is that it allows them to be confronted and then ideally eliminated. However, the idea of ‘common oppression’, which derives from notions of sameness, creates restrictions for this difference to be widely confronted, as it disguises the reality of the various and complex sociocultural experiences women can have. It is primarily white women that cannot see beyond the scope of their own experiences of oppression and fail to notice the intersection and exacerbation of additional
Feminism without intersectionality lacks inclusivity. The incorporation of intersectionality into feminist theory and practice allows for an all-encompassing approach of ‘doing’ feminism. Without it various narratives are not heard and the truths of diversity are missing. This lack of representation within the feminist movement is where intersectionality plays a crucial role in widening the voices that are being heard, the concerns that are being addressed and the women that are being represented. Furthermore, inclusivity can forge the bridge between differences among women and in particular as a feminist practice and theory it can work to further understand how and why oppression is not the same for all women. The importance of understanding differences among women is that it allows them to be confronted and then ideally eliminated. However, the idea of ‘common oppression’, which derives from notions of sameness, creates restrictions for this difference to be widely confronted, as it disguises the reality of the various and complex sociocultural experiences women can have. It is primarily white women that cannot see beyond the scope of their own experiences of oppression and fail to notice the intersection and exacerbation of additional