What does “intersectionality” mean?

(adj. “intersectional”)

It’s the awareness

that every human
has many identities
that aren’t separate,
but “intersect.”
 Where did the term come from?
The term “intersectionality” was coined in 1989 by lawyer Kimberle
Crenshaw. She saw that Black women were losing lawsuits after
they were denied jobs or promotions specifically as black women.

She pointed out that while discrimination by race was illegal, and
discrimination by sex was illegal, those separate laws didn’t
prohibit employers from refusing to hire black women if they did
hire Black men and white women. Nonsensical, because identities
intersect; Black women’s experiences are distinct.

The term spread beyond law into college courses and social justice
activism, and broadened to include class, age, sexual orientation,
disability, religion, nationality and other social identities.
Why does understanding
intersectionality matter?

If you understand intersectionality,

you’ll avoid generalizations about
any whole social group, without
recognizing subgroups.
E.g. you wouldn’t say “women
don’t want to be stuck being
And you’ll see yourself and
housewives anymore,” as if that
others as complex beings
applied to women of color and
who can’t be reduced to just
working-class women who always
one box.
worked outside the home.