It’s 2021, and this is looking to be a year like no other. The health of our mentality, planet, and society, are hanging in the balance. As individuals, we are not only in the middle of a global pandemic, but also front and center to a planet on the brink of collapse and a society that has become fragmented through political figures and social disparity. But over the last few weeks, one word has come up time, and time again. You might have come across it in climate activist, feminist, or justice content, to name a few. The word is intersectional. What is it? What does it mean? Where does it come from? It might be the word of the decade, as inclusivity might be the solution to all our problems. Without taking an intersectional approach, there will always be at least one person, one social group or one country that misses out on development, equality, and sustainability.
While I personally became exposed to ‘intersectionality’ as part of the compound phrase ‘intersectional environmentalism’, there are a number of different applications and uses of the term that originate much earlier in history. But the root meaning of the term ‘intersectionality’ is thought to have to do with discriminations on the basis of race and sex. It is a “complex, cumulative manner in which the effects of different forms of discrimination combine, overlap, or intersect”. Intersectionality can also extend to social class, ability, and even age. While the concept of intersectionality originated back in 1851, it has regained significant traction in recent months. All in all, the purpose of including ‘intersectionality’ as a keystone of any social movement is rather simple: it reminds us of the purpose of development in the first place. Intersectional feminism, environmentalism, justice––they all have one thing in common. Equality.
Let us dive into intersectional feminism. What is it, what do you need to know, and how can you advocate for it? Just last year, the UN wrote a piece on intersectional feminism and why it is of particular importance at present. The term was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 and follows on “how racism and sexism within slavery went on to affect civil rights and feminist movements”. So, intersectional feminism implicates “a prism for seeing the way in which various forms of inequality often operate together and exacerbate each other”. It gives us a holistic understanding of the situation at hand and allows us to develop inclusive approaches to work through associated issues. Intersectionality is especially important as the existence of sexism continues to infiltrate nearly every part of a woman’s life––spreading like a grapevine. Difficult to extinguish with superficial policy changes, gender equality requires an intersectional approach. Not only to give women equal opportunity and welfare, but also to ensure that race, social class, ability, and age don’t fall through the cracks.
“Intersectional feminism centres the voices of those experiencing overlapping, concurrent forms of oppression in order to understand the depths of the inequalities and the relationships among them in any given context.” –– UN Women, 2020
In today’s diverse global community, it is incredibly important that our approach to change isn’t one-dimensional. Keeping our minds set on intersectionality means that we can invoke and facilitate change that is inclusive, sustainable and meaningful for everyone.
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