As I continue to grow and develop my beliefs and identity as a feminist, I am beginning to understand that equality of the sexes just isn’t enough.
I am starting to recognize the privileges I experience just because I am white.
And the privileges others aren’t given because they aren’t white, or because they’re a woman.
Seeking equal treatment of women and men isn’t enough because there is more to a woman and a man than their gender.
Race, class, religion, age, sexuality, etc., are all characteristics that everyday people are discriminated against.
Understanding how these different forms of oppression intersect is a necessary lesson everyone needs to learn, especially for self-proclaimed feminists.
Intersectionality is the understanding that there are many different forms of oppression.
This concept has become the new buzzword among feminists in the past couple years.
The term was originally coined by critical theorist and executive director of the African American Policy Forum Kimberlé Crenshaw, who wrote a paper discussing the marginalization of black women by feminist and anti-racist movements.
Intersectionality beckons advocators for feminism to recognize how different forms of oppression and discrimination overlap and affect women from a variety of backgrounds.
Crenshaw’s goal in defining intersectionality is to, “highlight the multiple avenues through which racial and gender oppression were experienced so that the problems would be easier to discuss and understand,” as she’s written in her essay, “Why Intersectionality Can’t Wait.”
As critics of feminism have observed, the majority of feminist activists appear to be middle-class white women.
Intersectionality needs to become more prominent than ever in our calls for action. The marginalization of other groups is no longer tolerated, nor should it ever be.
All forms of oppression must be recognized and not only that, but reflected in our calls for action and movement.
It needs to be reflected in the changes we make in society and in law.
For me, I believe that understanding the privileges you were born with directly correlates to the understanding of intersectionality.
As a white, cisgender, middle-class woman, I am given privileges that I don’t even have to think about. It’s easier for me to get jobs.
I’m able to protest without fear of police brutality. In fact, I’ll probably get out of a ticket if I get pulled over — I have, three times.
Recognizing these privileges is extremely uncomfortable. It makes me feel guilty. I did nothing to deserve these benefits.
But this is the sad circumstance of white privilege. I’m not, however, completely free of oppression as I am still a woman living in a world that functions as a patriarchy.
I get paid less for the same work a man does, and many other things I could write another column on.
And for women of color, the circumstances are even worse.
This is why intersectionality is so important to understand and incorporate into the fight for equality.
Understanding the identities of others and how society excludes them will enable us to include all identities equally, everywhere.
prhurst@indiana.edu
@IDSPeyton
