If you’re a radical feminist or allign yourself there, you’ve probably been lectured on the importance of intersectional feminism. I would like to talk about this concept, from both my personal experience and hard data
The term and concept of intersectionality was introduced by American civil rights activist Kimberlé Crenshaw nearing the 21st century. That recently! Crenshaw used it to explain the opression of black women in ways that could not be understood by the experience of racism, or the experience of sexism, hence intersection.
In modern days, it’s usually watered down to the inclusion of “trans women” and other gender identities, stripping it of its history and witholding a valuable way to understand feminism for non-white young women, as well as those same-sex attracted, lower class or disabled. To place these women in the same group as “trans women”, it’s to ignore the sex-motivated root of opression. It is also gender-motivated, but because the feminine gender is associated with the female sex.
I, the author of this article, am a young woman with autism, as well as a Kinsey 5 (strongly same-sex leaning bisexual). I suffer from discrimination for my orientation and disability, and from the theoretical framework of intersectional feminism I don’t live the same womanhood as a straight and neurotypical woman. Does not make her more womanly, doesn’t make me less womanly. It’s just a different experience. Dumb example, but a big, scary dog will be viewed differently from a small, lanky one. Yet the material reality is there: they are both dogs.
Get to work.
The best way you can practice intersectionality is being vocal, and listening to experiences different to yours. Be sure your statements are inclusive of differing experiences within womanhood, though this is tricky because it really depends on which cause you are fighting for. The best, truly, is that you fight for your own causes and other women’s, but remind yourself you cannot fight for and include everything in this world (another modern day lie.)
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