It is not a question of whether or not inequality, marginalization, and other ideologies that stem
from systematic identification-dominance exist in history. That has been clearly written and
analyzed throughout many personal and public events and experiences. Now, scholars are faced
with the question of “How?” when it comes to systematic oppression and the effects of
intersectionality.
“How are the events and experiences that demonstrate these systematic discriminatory social
structures linked to one another? How are they separate? How does the system correct existing
structures to accommodate all identities?”
The list of “how” questions could go on and on. The whole concept of women, gender, and
sexuality studies starts with the initial perspective of intersectionality. Intersectionality is best
understood as a metaphor to the cover photo: roads, highways, streets, etc. crossing, where the
roads represent the different existing identities in societies. Everyone has an aspect of
intersectionality, as no one should be forced to resonate with only one. The point where two or
more identities of an individual “crosses” is called intersectionality. An individual of a single
identity cannot automatically be assumed to share the exact experiences as others within the
group without considering intersectionality.
More specifically, personal experiences from white individuals and POC cannot be compared
based on race alone without looking at the intersectionality of gender identities as well. The
dominant race identification is white. That does not mean all individuals identifying as white and
as POC have the same grouped experiences. Women of color live entirely different experiences
than men of color do because of gendered social structures. If this intersectionality is not taken
into perspective when producing knowledge, guidelines, etc., discrimination will systematically
continue and WOC are left to fight a double-marginalized battle alone.
It is important to note that the use of this language when learning this aspect of social sciences
has not been normalized throughout time; therefore, it may be tricky to comprehend and take
time. Developing a foundation of knowledge on this topic deters people from pursuing it;
although, it is a vital component that prevents further normalization of male-dominant based
social structures.
Applying & analyzing with actual experiences — This is the best way to develop a well-rounded
perspective on the fight against discrimination and get intersectionality into the lens of
knowledge AND experiences. We are going to do this when initially introducing and discussing
intersectionality:
The following are identification terms and social structures that you may or may not resonate
and/or identify with:
race, gender, sex, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, class, generational status
(Multiple will more than likely apply)
Now that you have clearly seen some of these identification terms, you will be able to personally
view where your own positionality lies. After identifying these, you will see how a list may start
to form from a combination of your identities. Compare, contrast, analyze. This is
intersectionality.