What is Feminism?

What is Intersectional Feminism?and How did it come to be?

Made in collaboration with #FeministAdvisor @blairimani.

Where feminism broadly fights sexism in social, economic, and political contexts, intersectional feminism honors the intersectionality of multiple identities–race, sex, gender, class, disability, sexual orientations, ect.–in addition to the ways these identities relate to systems of privilege and oppression.
We’re all capable of supporting intersectional feminism.
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The current wave of feminism must prioritize intersectionality.
Where feminism broadly fights sexism in social, economic, and political contexts, intersectional feminism honors the intersectionality of multiple identities–race, sex gender, class disability, sexual orientation, ect.–in addition to the ways these identities relate to systems of privilege and oppression.

Kimberlé Crenshaw coins the term ‘intersectionality’ in 1989.
In 1989, Black legal scholar, feminist, and law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw–published a paper titled “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex.” In it, she focuses on three legal cases that deal with racial discrimination and sex discrimination illustrating that Black women are subject to discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and combination of the two.

Crenshaw argued that the experiences of Black women are erased from feminist scholarship and anti-racism discourse because there is no consideration for the overlapping or intersectional experience of being both Black and a woman. As noted by Crenshaw, the erasure of Black women’s experiences results in Black women being denied protections under law.

Although Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term ‘intersectionality,’ she recognizes that women like 19th century Black Liberation Activist Anna J. Cooper, Sojourner Truth and Ida B. Wells were among the first to articulate its significance.

Denying intersectionality is dangerous.

Oppression is real and oppression can overlap. A Black lesbian woman, for example, experiences anti-Black racism, homophobia, and sexism simultaneously and denying this truth prevents us from fighting for everyone’s liberation.
Erasing this is harmful and perpetuates oppression. Regardless of political beliefs we’re all capable of supporting intersectional feminism.

The term “Intersectionality” only hit the mainstream in recent years.

It was added to the Oxford English dictionary in 2015 as grassroots activism and academic scholarship continued to evolve. It’s important to remember where the term and theory came from and not lose sight of its origin’s as we move forward toward freedom.

The term continued to be amplified in cultural discourse during the country’s racial reckoning in 2020… and it’s here to stay.