What social/historical elements existed that led to intersectionality emerging as a strand of Black Feminist thought? Discuss the elements of intersectionality’s emergence in a history of social movement activism.
Intersectionality is a concept by which the individuals can be able to describe multiple oppressions that they go through. In obtaining the proper description, oppressive from aspects such as sexism and racism are interconnected and examined using an approach that is similar. This concept is based on the feminist theory with the assertation that the live of human beings is layered into multiple identities that experience the oppression and privilege feelings simultaneously[1]. Through intersectionality, the analysis of the lived experiences of black women can be obtained; this approach also utilizes the scholarly and social justice works of women of color to portray the way the various factors of social relations and identity are developed by the different systems that are in power. The use of intersectional scholarship combines multiple disciplines so that one can be able to understand the various elements of culture that affect the perception that different have people towards women of color. Racial justice social movements like labor movements in the 19th century, especially during the establishment the women suffrage movement, black women could not be able to raise issues of sexism and racism that used to bother them. The social justice did not have a method of combining all the oppressive experiences that the women of color were going through, black feminist then had to find a way of defending the women of color which led to the development of the concept of intersectionality.
The development and growth of intersectionality are attributed to works of women of color who have been able to theorize the existing relationships between the elements of gender, class, race and other aspects that can be used portray differences that exist in the society. The black feminist promoted the school of thought which states that class oppression, sexism, racism, and gender identity are all related in a big way and that they need to be handled through related theories that which can treat each of the element differently. During the establishment of the working women suffrage movement, the components of racism, sexism and class oppression were rife, and the black women faced a lot of injustices. The white women and working men feared that the women of color who had just been liberated as slaves could have more influence than them. Because of this, black women feminists used the concept of intersectionality to make sure that they overcame any form of social injustices. In this paper, we will discuss the social and historical elements which led to the use of intersectionality by women of color. During this period, the black women did not have a way to fight for their rights. They also wanted to make sure that all their issues are addressed as one, women, both white and black were being discriminated against by men in the trade unions. On top of this, black women were being discriminated against because of their race. The black women feminists developed intersectionality to make sure that the rights of the black women, both as women and blacks were defended.
In the article “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics,” Kimberle Crenshaw presents different ways that black women are oppressed in multiple ways because they are women and people of color. She observes that the ways that the black women are discriminated against do not fall under the legal classifications of either sexism or racism, it is a combination of both racism and sexism which does not have any form of legal recourse. During the rise of the women suffrage movement in the 19th
century, many white women avoided including the issues of racial discrimination against the black women in their struggle[2]. Similarly, the legal and judicial system did not provide necessary structures to allow the women to file both racism and sexism complains. Because of this, the black feminists established intersectionality through which they promoted the welfare of black women. The black women feminists wanted to develop a way through which they could present the combined complains in a legal system and get justice, through intersectionality, the feminists would be able to present them in a court and find legal redress over them complains. The white women inside the labor movements during the suffrage movement in the 19th century fought against sexism and avoided the racial discrimination that was being experienced by women of color. The black feminist, however, developed the concept of intersectionality through which they fought against racism and sexism that was being experienced by women of color.
Apart from racism and sexism, another element that made the black feminists to be associated with the thought of intersectionality was gender identity. During the suffrage movement and the development of labor movements, the women who are fight for the welfare of women in the workforce did not find ways to incorporate both racism and sexism into their agenda. They also had reservations about women of color who had just been liberated from slavery. On the other hand, men in the labor movement only concentrated on the issue of racism and did not find ways to integrate sexism into their struggle[3]. At this moment, the black women did not have a personal sense of belonging; they did not know how to identify themselves by gender and the oppression that they were experiencing. Because of this, the black feminist had to find ways to fight against sexism and racism, the multiple oppressions that they were going through. Black feminists could allow the black women to identify themselves with others in case there were cases of oppression making it easier for them to fight for their rights. They combined both sexism and racism which led to the establishment of the thought of intersectionality.
It is through the elements of sexism, racism and gender identity that the thought of intersectionality was associated with the black feminists. They had to find ways to combine all the oppression that they were going through so that they could find a better way to fight for their welfare.
Bibliography
Collins, Patricia Hill. "Black feminist thought in the matrix of domination." Social theory: The multicultural and classic readings (1993): 615-625.
Crenshaw, Kimberle. "Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics." U. Chi. Legal F. (1989): 139.
Hesse-Biber, Sharlene Nagy, ed. Handbook of feminist research: Theory and praxis. SAGE publications, 2011.
[1] Hesse-Biber, Sharlene Nagy, ed. Handbook of feminist research: Theory and praxis. SAGE publications, 2011.
[2] Crenshaw, Kimberle. "Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics." U. Chi. Legal F. (1989): 139.
[3] Collins, Patricia Hill. "Black feminist thought in the matrix of domination." Social theory: The multicultural and classic readings (1993): 615-625.
