As I read on intersectionality in the book Engendering
Development: Capitalism and Inequality in the Global Economy, Trauger and
Fluri (2019) states that the intersectional approach observes various forms of
overlapping oppression. I was glad that the reading addressed this topic. Being a
woman is one thing, but being a black woman is another. This week I came across
a Ted talk by Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, who defined intersectionality.
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| Intersectionality |
She
described the term as the overlapping of social dynamics such as racism and
sexism that leads to multiple levels of social injustice. In her Ted talk, she
gave an example of an encounter she had with an African American lady named
Emma DeGraffenreid. Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw shared Emma DeGraffenreid’s
story with the audience, explaining how Emma sought better employment from a
local manufacturing plant. However, she did not get hired. Emma believed that
this was because she was a black woman. She took it to court, but
unfortunately, her case was dismissed by the judge. The judge argued that the
reason for the dismissal of Emma’s case was because the employer hired both
African Americans and women. Therefore, the case would have no stance for
either racism or sexism. The judge was not willing to acknowledge what Emma’s
actual case was about. She argued that the African Americans who were hired
were all men and the women who were hired were all white. Emma was thereby
facing a case of double discrimination, one being that she was a woman and the
other being that she was black.
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| Social Dynamics |
In this Ted talk, it highlights the realities that women of color face each day. It hinges on the fact that their experiences are not the same as the white woman. Intersectionality thus urges society to consider all social dynamics at the crossroad that may lead to multiple overlapping forms of social injustices.
Video on Intersectionality
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWP92i7JLlQ
Trauger, Amy and Jennifer L. Fluri. (2019). Engendering
Development: Capitalism and Inequality in the Global Economy. New York:
Routledge.
This is an exciting and engaging post, Vanessa! The issue of intersectionality is now more important than ever before. It is essential that the social dynamics that lead to the discrimination, oppression, and marginalization of some groups of people are identified and addressed in the discourse on equity and development. The narrative in the video is the icing on the cake as it explains some underlying aspects of inequality that have been ignored or are missing in mainstream discourses. Sometimes we focus on the peripheral aspects of inequalities and miss the bigger and underlying picture that lead to social injustice.
ReplyDeleteVanessa, the pictorial presentation and the explanation you have given to intersectionality make it very comprehensible. You are right when you emphasize how crucial intersectionality is. Indeed, intersectionality observes various forms of overlapping oppression, but it can also be used as a tool to unravel issues of power and privilege. Evidently, our multiple identities in various ways shape our experiences in society. Just as stated by Trauger and Fluri (2019), our individual multiple identities such as race, gender, ethnicity, class, sex and religion among others intersect at various levels to render us vulnerable to exploitation, which reinforces the power and influence of those who already benefit from capitalism. Examining this pandemic from an intersectional lens, it can be argued that women are very much affected. Nonetheless, black immigrant woman, who works in the informal sector and living in a less privileged area stands the risk of being more affected by the pandemic. Her multiple identities make her a vulnerable subject to effects of the pandemic; suffering from racial discrimination, being laid off work because of the pandemic, having no access to testing facilities because of lack of health insurance and being overburdened with domestic duties because of the lock down. All of these identities play out such that a single focus on one will obscure her experiences and other oppressions that she suffers.
ReplyDeleteIn development interventions, therefore, it is very essential to look at intersecting identities as they play out within and across place and space and device effective solutions that are inclusive and, place-specific and not one-size fits all.