Feminism and intersectionality

Intersectionality in feminism is crucial because a white woman may be oppressed due to her gender but she has an advantage of her race. Whereas a black woman has a limitation of her gender as well as race. On top of it all, An Asian woman experiences discrimination because of her sexual orientation, her gender, and her ethnicity too.

There is Intersectionality

“Intersectionality and the recognition and confrontation of our privilege can make us better people with better lives.”

― Ijeoma Oluo, 

Intersectionality is an idea that broadens the aspect of the first two waves of feminism. These waves largely focused on white middle-class women. It is an analytical framework that helps to understand the characteristics of social and political ideologies of people. These identities create different ways of privilege and discrimination. The factors of advantages and disadvantages include sex, caste, race, class, height, disability, religion, sexuality, appearance, and height. These social identities intersect and overlap. They are also empowering and oppressive. This framework was developed in the late 20th century. It analyzes how these overlapping systems of power affect those who the society sidelined. 

Kimberlé Crenshaw coined this term in 1989. She explained it in a paper to help people understand the oppression of African-American women. In the paper, Crenshaw defines three features of intersectionality that affect any woman who is not white. The features are structural, political, and representational. The structural intersectionality explains how domestic violence and rape happens with non-white women. Political intersectionality examines how the laws and policies have decreased the visibility of violence against women who are not white. Whereas those laws and policies were made to increase equality. The third feature, representational intersectionality suggests the wrong portrayal of non-white women in pop culture. It obscures the authentic image of living people.

There is Feminisim

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.”

― Cheris Kramarae

As Cheris Kramarae puts it, feminism is an ideology that aims to define and establish the economic, personal, political, and social equality of the sexes. Also, it includes social as well as political movements. This ideology mainly focuses on fighting against gender stereotypes. It also has an intention to establish educational, professional, and interpersonal opportunities for all women. For a long period, the society discarded basic rights of women. The rights include the right to vote, to hold public office work, to earn equal own property, receive education, enter contracts, to have equal rights within marriage, to maternity leave. Many revolutions have also taken place in the field of fashion. Access to social integration and legal abortions is a revolution in itself.

Feminist ideologies have been evolving over the years. They represent different aims and objectives for different eras. The first wave of feminism was in the 19th century. It was liberal feminism that aimed at political and legal quality through reforms. The second wave came in the 1960s. It was Radical Feminism that fairly focused on eliminating male supremacy. The 20th century brought newer forms of feminism with it. Although, these forms had a partial approach. They considered only, heterosexual, white, middle-class, college-educated, or cisgender perspectives. Such forms gave birth to a multicultural form of feminism such as intersectional feminism.

And then there is Intersectional Feminism

“If you see inequality as a “them” problem or “unfortunate other” problem, that is a problem.”

― Kimberlé Crenshaw

Intersectional feminism is not as recent as it seems. It is much older and relatable. This term explains how the feminist movement in every era can be more inclusive and diverse. It is fundamental how women’s overlapping identities can impact the way they experience oppression and discrimination. Intersectional feminism is important in this era. This is because women are prone to multiple forms of vulnerability. Although women today have progressed and are independent. Some sects are still deprived of basic human decency. It will be wrong if privileged feminists would not focus on them.

Very much the same

If feminism is a slice of bread, then Intersectionality is butter. Both complement each other. Where there are some loopholes in the concept of feminism the term intersectionality helps in making it complete. In a world where only one of the terms exists, it will be chaos. For without intersectionality it will be difficult for women of color to have a voice against every oppression. As intersectionality is empowerment for all the people who are underrepresented and come from different domestic groups.