Theories of Intersectionality and Oppression

If not met to the status quo, our sex,gender, ethnicity, able-sim, and class can cause us to be seen as less in society, thus effecting our multiple identities, the amount of power we have, and empowerment we feel or give; which ultimately excludes or includes our privileges. In conclusion, intersectionality is a growing problem in our society today; it continues to enforce oppression and enable people to truly define

Women and men are born equal. However, females are receiving unequal judgement and unfair treatment in the society, and thus Marilyn Frye brings up the notion of “oppression”, claiming that women are oppressed. Throughout the essay, I will first give the definition of Frye’s oppression and then list 5 critical qualifications to be considered oppressed. After that, I will explain my appreciation on Frye’s perspective on elaborating oppression using the “bird cage” analogy. I will support Frye’s “double-bind” argument for sexism followed by flaws in the argument. Furthermore, I will point out some social group are mistakenly placed inside or outside the parameters of oppression, once the theory of oppression extends over other marginal groups.

Intersectionality is a framework that must be applied to all social justice work, a frame that recognizes the multiple aspects of identity that enrich our lives and experiences. This framework synthesizes and complicates oppressions and marginalization’s. In the article, “Why Intersectionality Can’t Wait” Kimberle Crenshaw talks about how the purpose of intersectionality has been lost. Intersectional somehow creates an environment of bullying and privilege checking. This society cannot afford to have movements that are not intersectional because all races need to be embraced and have equality.

In this course we learned about many different types of oppression, from the time America was first “discovered” and the discoverers began oppressing the Indians, to slavery, to the oppression of the mentally handicapped, all the way to more “modern” times in schools were students are being oppressed.

Privilege and oppression provides a framework for understanding how institutional structures and ideologies shapes individual experiences. Privilege and oppression also explains “how power operates in society” which led to the formation of “a dominant group and a marginalized group” (Launius and Hassel, Threshold Concepts, 72-73). “Oppression can be defined as prejudice and discrimination directed toward a group and perpetuated by the ideologies and practices of multiple social institutions” (Launius and Hassel, Threshold Concepts, 73). While, privilege refers to the “benefits, advantages, and power that accrue to members of a dominant group as a result of the oppression of marginalized group”,

Lorde, writer of “Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference,” gives a firsthand insight on what it means to be a 49-year old, African American, middle class, lesbian woman. She describes how these identities, which she is absolutely proud of, work together as forces of “oppression” in order to create a systematic set of experiences that disempower her and empowers others. In fact, she focuses a lot on those who are empowered by the oppressions others experience. Lorde describes that “[i]n america, this norm is usually defined as white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian, and financial¬ly secure” (Lorde 285). Even though this approach is definitely related to intersectionality, the author does not explicitly state the term.

As many women struggled to retain their values and traditions, there were existing male dominated conceptions of race and white dominated conceptions of gender. Kimberle Crenshaw describes the concept of intersectionality where race and gender interact in various ways to shape multiple dimensions experiences for different groups

I would like to learn more about what else could be done to ensure a safe work environment for transgender individuals. I also would like to learn more about protective factors that these people have and what resources could be used as protective factors for young and middle adulthood transgender people. This project helps to increase awareness of oppression because, the cruel and prolong unjust treatment of individuals has been going on for a very long time and with understanding the trans community and the difficulties they face that I was unaware of we see how oppression very much still occurs today. This project also helped to relate intersectionality to oppression. As quoted in the power point by Audre Lord “There is no such thing as a

In my paper I will discuss the correlation between the terms assimilation/assimilationist, intersectionality, and oppression. The videos and readings of unit five I believe each share in some aspects a strong correlation with the terms mentioned above. Moreover, the videos and readings each highlighted the aspects of queer politics. I will highlight the racism and the different levels of disparities queer people of color face within the queer community.

This research paper will outline the causes and traits of oppression in America. Dynamics such as the social, historical, and psychological systems that serve as vessels of oppression will be addressed. Using academic research, the goal for this essay will be to discuss the characteristics of oppression and how those characteristics are connected to its origin. The research will develop major themes that will serve to define agents, including classism, discrimination, and the intersectionality of different types of oppression. Discussions on strategies for addressing and ending the current oppression in America and recommendations for the future will be highlighted as well.

Intersectionality Theory as a Methodological Tool The field of public health is increasingly becoming aware of the concept of social determinants, and the influence they have on the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities and children. Jones et al. (2009) made a critical distinction between social determinants of health and social determinants of equity. Social determinants of health are environmental and social factors beyond the individual that have an impact on health outcomes; social determinants of equity refer to systems of power, that structures opportunities, distributes populations into social contexts, and assigns value based on social interpretations of phenotypes (Jones et al., 2009).

The theory of intersectionality has received a widespread of various distinct definitions and usage; it is often unclear of its designed function may be. Intersectionality is defined as “the acknowledgment that different forms of identity-based discrimination can combine to give rise to unique brands of injustice”(Lucas 8). In other words, how the classification of one’s individuality such as gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and class can intertwine with each other among the social structure. The term was first coined by feminist and civil rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw who spoke upon the discrimination and marginalization of black women and how both institutions interconnect with one another. The significance of

Intersectionality is described in Gender: ideas, interactions, institutions as gender being part of an individual’s characteristics that interacts with other aspects of the person’s identity, such as their race and cultural background. This is a useful theory that helps understand gender and how it comes into play in society because it takes various factors in the person’s environment into consideration. Individuals tend to develop a gender strategy which refers to the way an individual chooses to doing gender after thinking about the various factors that shape them. It is important for the person feels comfortable with way they are performing gender. A person might choose to perform the gender expectations that come from belonging to a specific

In the present day, the belief prevails that all women experience oppression in different configurations and levels of intensity, but are more broadly bound together by the intersectional systems of their oppressive societies. Referred to as intersectionality, the term can be applied to the lives and experiences of women across a variety of social boundaries, such as those attached to an individual’s race, ethnicity, gender, class, and ability, among other ‘defining’ characteristics. Intersectional feminist ideology recognizes the singular lives of women living in different social spheres as being distinctly multi-layered; characterized largely by the existence of various institutions of oppression. Despite their obvious differences, the interconnectedness of these oppressive institutions with one another, according to the ideological lens, is transcendent, and thereby prevents them from being critically examined separately or regarded as mutually exclusive. However, though intersectional feminism is widely regarded today as an instrument of inclusion and unity for all women, as society evolves towards equality of the sexes, it is very much a modern invention, as feminists throughout the history of the movement found themselves divided by the myriad social disparities and conventions of oppression that intersectional thought seeks to reconcile.

The concept of intersectional feminism was coined by feminist scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw. It essentially provides the groundwork for analyzing many contemporary issues in gender studies and politics where there is an intersection between two or more identities that shape the experiences one may have of a certain issue. Many contemporary feminist scholars analyze issues through an intersectional lens as a collective attempt to dismantle the mainstream analysis of issue from a white, privileged perspective. The concept splits into three distinct branches when combined suggests that women experience oppressions in various ways and degrees of intensity. Oppressions, in fact, need to be analyzed with the consideration of multiple different identities such as ‘race’, gender, class, ability and ethnicity. Intersectionality can be applied to many contemporary feminist issues and trends, as a method to understand how certain identities influence the way particular events and issues are experienced. A contemporary issue that this concept can be applied to is the rampant spike of racism and violence against the African-American community in the United States that movements such as Black Lives Matter are trying to shed light on.