Hello, fancy Readers!
***Trigger Warning: This post will be discussing a large array of triggering content, including-- but not limited to-- racism; murder; violence against PoC, women, and queer people; police brutality; ableism; body shaming; rape; sexual assault; victim-blaming; slut-shaming; abortion; white supremacy; transmisogyny; transantagonism; homoantagonism; discrimination against groups of marginalized people; abuse; rape culture; and others*** Please proceed cautiously. I did my best to note all potential triggers, but there's always a chance I may have missed some. Please also be cautious when following links as there is sometimes language that could potentially be triggering. If you note any triggers that I have missed, PLEASE bring it to my attention so that I may immediately include it in the above list of triggers. Thank you!
So for our first Feminist Friday, I'd like to discuss some basic core concepts. These are some of the ideas intersectional feminism focuses on, and they will be critical to your understanding issues in our society as they are today and also the topics we discuss on this blog.
[Image Description: Light green background with faded, comical stars. Drawing of green She-Hulk in purple and white leotard and with hulking (lol I crack myself up! xD) muscles holding a male-read person in a black jacket with a black ski mask on and that looks as though they've been beaten up. She-hulk is smiling knowingly at the viewer. To the left of the drawing is text in dark green bubble print that reads "She-hulk smash the patriarchy!" with hearts where the dashes and periods would be.]
Let's start by defining what intersectional feminism is.
[Image Description: White background with goldish stars all over. There is text in rainbow colors outlined in black that reads "intersectional feminism."]
Feminism is many things and goes by many definitions, often different for each person.But for the purposes of this page, here is my current working definition of feminism.
Feminism is the belief that all genders are of equal importance and is the recognition that that belief is unfortunately not held by most people and institutions; because this belief is not held, the oppression of both cisgender and transgender women is pervasive in society. Feminism is also the act of rebeling against these systems of oppression whether it be through signing online petitions, speaking up against misogynistic companies or individuals, protests, internalizing and practicing feminist ideals, or other manners.
Now that we have that down, let's move on to the concept of intersectionality, a term and method of approach coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw. Crenshaw initially created the term in the 1980s to describe the intersecting oppressions of racism and sexism women of color-- and especially black women. She did this in response to the need for black women's voices to be heard, validated, and addressed in the overhwelmingly white-centric feminist movement and the overwhelmingly male-centric anti-racist movement. This need for the practice of intersectionality has not decreased with time, either; in fact, the definition of intersectional feminism has only grown to include more intersections such as ableism, classism, fat antagonism, transantagonism, and homoantagonism among other things.
Check out Crenshaw's own words in this wonderful interview of her by Bim Adewunmi in an article for New Statesman:
For Crenshaw, a law professor at UCLA and Columbia, intersectionality theory came about specifically to address a particular problem. “It’s important to clarify that the term was used to capture the applicability of black feminism to anti-discrimination law,” she says. In the lecture she delivered at the LSE later that evening, she brought up the case of Degraffenreid vs General Motors, in which five black women sued GM on the grounds of race and gender discrimination. “The particular challenge in the law was one that was grounded in the fact that anti-discrimination law looks at race and gender separately,” she says. “The consequence of that is when African American women or any other women of colour experience either compound or overlapping discrimination, the law initially just was not there to come to their defence.”
The courts’ thinking was that black women could not prove gender discrimination because not all women were discriminated against, and they couldn’t prove race discrimination because not all black people were discriminated against. A compound discrimination suit would, in the courts’ eyes, constitute preferential treatment, something nobody else could do. Crenshaw laughs when she adds: “Of course, no one else had to do that. Intersectionality was a way of addressing what it was that the courts weren’t seeing.”
It is very important to note that much of this morphing of definition occurred when white feminists stole the term and its original intended use and began to appropriate the term for their own purposes, declining to credit Crenshaw with creating intersectional theory or to acknowledge the original purpose of the term. Their doing so has highlighted the very reason for which Crenshaw felt compelled to create the term. So if you do use it, you must be aware of the history of it-- particularly if you are white. I still struggle with the right and wrongness of using the term myself as a white person, being aware of the appropriation and imbalance and having been unable to determine a non-appropriative, equally concise and descriptive term for my feminism.
(Edited on February 2, 2015: After more thinking on the subject, I would absolutely, 100% say that it is wrong for myself, as a white person, to identify as an intersectional feminist. Someone online put it in an excellent way: it's for black women and how they relate to feminism. It's not meant to describe issues on multiple issues for women of all races but for black women and the unique situations they face AS BLACK WOMEN. So this is something to think about, friends. :] From here on out, this blog will be happy to discuss and boost intersectional feminism as always, but it will not be identifying itself as an intersectional feminist blog-- simply a feminist blog that addresses multi-issue feminism. :])
For more on intersectional feminism and works by Kimberlé Crenshaw, please check out these great recources.
The Girls Obama Forgot: My Brother's Keeper Ignores Young Black Women
Kimberlé Crenshaw's Biography and Bibliography on UCLA Law
Now that you have a, hopefully, clearer idea as to what intersectionality represents, let's briefly delve into examples of some of the issues intersectional feminism faces today.
[Image Description: White background with goldish stars all over. There is text in rainbow colors outlined in black that reads "issues faced by intersectional feminism."]
|
Issue |
Specific Examples and Further Details |
|
Racism |
Ferguson, MO and the ongoing, nationwide murder of black people |
|
White supremacy; genocide of people of color (PoC); discrimination in the work force; police brutality; incarceration epidemic |
|
|
Misogyny & Sexism |
MRA's (Men's Rights Activists) and Misogyny |
|
Slut-shaming; domestic abuse; murder of women; exclusion of women in the workforce; sexism in the media |
|
|
Reproductive Rights |
|
|
Restriction of women's ready and free access to abortion, birth control, and other forms of reproductive freedom and self-determination by the state |
|
|
Sexualization & Objectification |
Robin Thicke's Videos; Judge G. Todd Baugh & the 30-Day Rape Sentence |
|
Hypersexualization of women of color (WoC); sexualization of young girls; objectification of women in various media |
|
|
Transgender Issues |
|
|
The murders and persecutions of transgender people, particularly transwomen and transwomen of color; transmisogyny; trans denial and erasure; exclusion by the LGB community |
|
|
Sexual Harassment |
|
|
Cat calling; sexual harassment of the queer and PoC communities; in the workplace and in public |
|
|
Ableism |
Ezell Ford and the ongoing, nationwide murder of mentally ill people |
|
Abuse, violence, and murder of physically disabled and mentally ill people; ableist language; discrimination against people with disabilities/disabled people |
|
|
Body Policing |
Fat Shaming |
|
Fat antagonism; healthcare industry bias and neglect |
|
|
Rape and Sexual Assault |
|
|
Victim-blaming; slut-shaming; rape culture |
|
|
Queer Issues |
|
|
Murder, violence, and abuse of queer people; discrimination against queer folk in the workplace; discrimination against transgender people within the queer community |
|
|
Classism & Poverty |
|
|
Demonization of and discrimination against people in poverty/on welfare; health insurance access; education access; livable wages; unions; workers' rights; corporate greed; homelessness |
This is by no means a complete list of all the issues feminism faces today, but it's good for seeing how each of these issues affects women often in more than one area. As the indomitable Audre Lorde said,
[Image Description: Black text that reads " 'There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not lead single-issue lives.' -Audre Lorde"]
Now that I've given you plenty to mull over, sweet Reader, I hope you'll be inspired to get involved, to learn more about these issues, and to reflect on the different issues affecting people today-- you and others not like you. And next time we meet on Feminist Friday, with these ideas in mind, we'll be discussing privilege and oppression, the roles we all play in each, and how we can all responsibly use our privileges to help break down these systems of oppression.
If you can't wait that long (the boiling blood of righteous fury!) or want some great places to learn more and get involved, check out these, some of my favorite sites. As always, read the comments policies and be respectful in these spaces, especially if you are white, male, cisgender, heterosexual, or any of the above combinations.
I can't wait to hear your thoughts, fellow geeky feminists! :D Please be sure to read the comment policy before you contribute on this subject and remember to be respectful of marginalized groups you are not apart of. ♡ What are some questions you have about intersectional feminism? How do you think you could be more aware of some of the issues mentioned here? And why do you think these issues don't get discussed more often in mainstream media-- and how can we fight that? Share your thoughts below in the comments!
Until next time, fair Readers!
Mischief Managed~
Jessi
Recent Comments