Intersectionality is this idea that race, gender, and class can be combined to other social aspects. It is this idea that parts of the social world like politics for example can create assumptions about specific groups. Intersectionality typically has three levels that explain and describe what it really is. It can be described on a level of one person experiencing their own life as an individual. Every person has their own characteristics and all those characteristics within one person is what makes up this level of intersectionality. The next level is solely focused on women as a whole. All women no matter their race, class, or any other identity face oppression. This second level takes into consideration that despite anything else a woman will experience some sort of unfairness. The third branch is focuses on social injustice and there will always be social injustice if there is racism and other discriminatory factors. Intersectionality connects all different factors that can affect a person from being themselves and having total freedom and interpreting it as a social issue.
When you take intersectionality and ecofeminist perspectives and combine them they make a really interesting connection. Going back to the beginning of this semester we learned about the basic ideas of ecofeminism and to sum it up it a connection that women have with nature. To go into more detail, we can draw upon some readings from earlier in the semester. Women over the years have consistently been seen as the ones who have more of a connection with nature. This goes back to the life of women and men during hunting and gathering. Men would go out hunting for animals or go to work while women would stay home and take care of the house or go out to find plant-based ingredients. This is where ecofeminist believe that the connection women have with nature all started. I think going back to Warren’s reading in the first week she explained this connection really well. She talks about the basic ideas of ecofeminism but then goes on to explain the woman and nature connection and how this can be traced back for many years. This connects really well with the ideas of intersectionality.
Carson explained intersectionality in a really interesting way. She talks about sea life and how all the creatures in the ocean are seen to also be this web of intersectionality. All life human a non- human has a form of hierarchy and in this reading, Carson explains that by talking about sea life. An article by Arica Coleman explains when intersectionality was first termed and the movement that evolved. She explains how women have always been at a disadvantage, but there has also been a lot done throughout history to help women. However, not all experience the same disadvantages. Women of color and middle class white women do not face the same challenges (Coleman).
Coleman, Arica L. “What Is Intersectionality? A Brief History of the Theory.” Time, Time, 6 Nov. 2019, time.com/5560575/intersectionality-theory/.
Hi Lindsey,
I think it’s really important for people to understand that intersectionality is not only a female issue. It affects all people. For example, my husband is a white cis gendered man, who is very smart and went to private schools growing up. Seems like he’s is from the cream of the crop top shelf vision of what America views as superior. However, he was the shortest boy in an all boys private school. He was beat up, picked on, and harassed for years. So he is not perfectly privileged, and he is male.
My brothers, are both gay, and they were both marginalized during their lives growing up, they were bullied and shunned, yet grew up white from middle class parents in an affluent neighborhood. My youngest brother learned how to fight because he had to defend himself everyday. So it’s really important that we not use intersectionality in relation to just women. It explains all aspects of the social equity.
This article explains in greater detail of how intersectionality affects all people regardless of gender. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understanding-the-erotic-code/201906/understanding-intersectional-identities Intersectionality if you think about, is really the very thing that shapes who we are as people. It is our experiences in life that make us who we are.
Hi Lindsey,
I enjoyed the way you broke down intersectionality from a social aspect to a political aspect in relation to women and the oppression and struggles they/we endure. Also, how intersectionality is a way that makes up who we are, but is also a way for us to connect and relate to others on a more interpersonal level. I found an article from USAtoday, that compliments your work well. It is about how the word and/or phrase intersectionality is and was used upon feminists years ago and currently in order to prove that feminism is and can be inclusive to everyone.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/01/19/feminism-intersectionality-racism-sexism-class/96633750/
Hi Lindsey,
I have to agree with the reply of our classmate Tonya about intersectionality not being exclusively female centered. I definitely agree with your points that intersectionality contributes to an individual’s personal experiences and it can also be beneficial when looking at the roles of women in society through an intersectional lens. However, intersectionality, as Tonya states, is a framework that allows for analysis of the experiences of all human social identities. I would also personally argue that intersectionality is much broader than just race, gender, and class as well. I think of intersectionality as an encompassing term, so when I think of people whose experiences that might be different than mine, that brings in race, ethnicity, dis/ability, geographic location, and many other factors into the mix as well. The example that A.E. Kings discusses about intersectionality being like a web is a great way to visualize just how broad this perspective can be.
Your point about when we initially learned about women connecting with nature definitely feeds into the basis of intersectionality in ecofeminism. For my response, my first thought was the experiences of women in the Global South and the environmental impacts they face at disproportionate rates. The disproportionality, when looked at through an intersectional perspective, can be attributed to their gender, race, socioeconomic status, and geography. As you stated, women are seen to be more connected to nature due to the shared oppressions, and women in the Global South are arguably more connected to the environment than most. Seeing the environmental impacts that are placed on these women cannot lead to the implication that all women face these same impacts. When observing the other social identities of women in the Global South is when we may realize that intersectionality plays a key role in recognizing the ecological differences that are faced compared to women in the United States.
Hi Lindsey,
I think you did a good job at showing your understanding of the connection between intersectionality and ecofeminism. I also looked back at the Warren and Hobgood-Oster readings. the connection I made between the two was the fact that ecofeminist make an assertion that ” all forms of oppression are connected and that structures of oppression must be addressed in their totality. “ This was similar to the intersectionality theory because Crenshaw emphasizes that people can experience multiple oppressions or privileges at the same time. This goes into the web of intersectionality. I watched a video on explaining intersectionality in a previous WGS and found it helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1islM0ytkE