Intersectionality: Making a difference - UK Essays.
Essays on Intersectionality The Concept of Intersectionality in Sociology Intersectionality is probably one of the most complex concepts in sociology. This is because it can always be examined on increasing levels, each person’s individual story adding to the collective.Intersectionality is a theoretical framework which explains violence or discrimination against humans. Now I will give you an example and then try to connect it to intersectionality. I will use an example of spider web to explain this theory. This example will give you some idea about intersectionality.Intersectionality is the idea that people do not function on only one aspect of their being, but instead, function on every aspect. Aspects that include race, gender, ability, etc. With this intersectionality comes innumerable categories that lie on the scale of privileged, oppressed, or somewhere in between.
Given the interconnection between the oppressive institutions in the society, the concept of Intersectionality is best suited to study gender inequality. Intersectionality perceives oppressive institutions as existing in a system that reinforce and complement each other (Crenshaw et al., 2013).Intersectionality, as coined by Crenshaw (1989) attempts to address the fact that the experiences and struggles of women of colour fell between the cracks of both feminist and anti-racist discourse (AWID 2004; Davis 2008). Subsequently, this concept had extended to the understanding of women holding different disadvantaged social identities.
Nobody knows what intersectionality means. I certainly don’t, and the more I read about it the more confused I become. There are a few things I think I know: it’s something to do with oppression, especially multiple oppressions; if you run in certain feminist circles, especially online, it’s bad to not be it (intersectional); if you run in certain socialist circles, it’s something to.
