On Intersectionality
What is Intersectionality?The Oxford English Dictionary defines intersectionality as follows,
The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. In its most basic form, intersectionality is the idea that many factors affect one thing. This model, in Psychology, is called Systems Theory. A relevant example might be that a person's wellbeing is not only affected by their amount and quality of sleep, but also by their diet, their genetics, their amount of exercise, their mood, their social interactions, and so much more. A more general example might be that a person is affected interpersonally by how someone else perceives things like their sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and biological sex.
First, it is important to recognize that the social hierarchy referenced by the Dictionary definition is made up of a series of socially constructed identity categories. What this means is that concepts like "gender" or "race" exist as a means to categorize people (i.e. this person is a black man). In doing so, these concepts carry the weight of social roles and expectations that have developed and changed over time. For example, the idea of womanhood includes things like motherhood, feminine aesthetics, and emotionality. Women are expected to be emotional (at least more emotional than men) but not hysterical, they are expected to stay are home and take care of the children, and they are expected to adhere to modern standards of beauty. The problem here lies in the idea that these identity categories are too often considered as independent from one another. Gender is treated as a separate issue from sexual orientation, but the reality of the situation is that the two are deeply interconnected. But, the problem is complicated further when considering how these identity categories contribute to the social hierarchy both on their own and when considered in tandem with other categories. A simple example of this is biological sex. Between men and women, men are considered more privileged than women and this breeds a system of discrimination and oppression against women. These differences are bred from social ideas about what sexed males and sexed females can do or be. This can be seen in social structures like wage gaps. Men, on average, make more money than women even in similar jobs with similar titles. This same structure becomes more complex if you consider more identity categories. A white woman has a much different social experience than a black man. Despite black and white men all being men, a person's whiteness inherently makes them more privileged, to the extent that a white woman (even if discriminated against for her woman-ness) is more privileged than a black male. The distance between a white woman's experience and a black woman's is even more drastic. Suffragettes in the United States even preferred to fight for the freedom of black men before they would join arms with their black sisters in the fight for the right to vote. The complexity of this structure is infinite, especially considering that there are so many categories of identity that already exist and that new ones are being created or considered all of the time. The point is that a person is affected by many factors in regards to their identities, including but not limited to: age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, class, race, ethnicity, nationality, and ability. The concept of intersectionality recognizes that all of these things (most not listed) intersect in many ways and that these complicated intersections breed a system of privilege, disadvantage, and oppression. Intersectionality also demands that as many of these factors as possible be taken into consideration when interacting with people in different ways, especially when thinking about equality work (we'll come back to this idea in a bit). Examining Categories/IntersectionsSexYuval-Davis (2006) touches on the idea of how stereotypes relate to intersectionality. Stereotypes are harmful because they project (mostly) negative attributes onto large groups of people who inhabit a specific identity category. Then, all members of that group are associated with that attribute with complete lack of consideration for individual differences.
Stereotypes play a significant role in enforcing social roles and expectations of what it means to be things like a "woman" or "gay". By this, I mean that there are social conceptions about how one must act and look in order to pass as this identity. Brah and Phoenix (2004) touch on this idea in reference to Sojourner Truth's speech "Ain't I a Woman?" They remind us that our concept of a woman is as follows: white, middle class, western, emotional, stay-at-home, beautiful, skinny, young adult, and heterosexual. Race/EthnicityRefugees who attempt to assimilate into a host culture that is quite different from their own face a unique form of othering. Toivanen (2014) highlights this when talking about Finnish whiteness and how migrants or even native Finns often face discrimination based solely on their perceived race or ethnicity (194). Physical characteristics like skin color are markers of racial group but should not be considered as the sole, defining factor. Toivanen (2014) talks about how being considered Finnish is heavily dependent on a person's ability to adapt to cultures, traditions, customs, and the language but even when all of this is considered, a person is still able to be judged based on their skin color and subsequently othered.
AgeDiscrimination based on age primarily focuses on what a person should be doing at a certain age and what they are capable of. This idea is heavily dependent on the concept of the social clock. However, age presents an interesting problem in areas like work life or gender transition. "The ageing body can limit prospects for undergoing sex reassignment surgery (SRS)" (Siverskog, 2015 p. 4). For many, their physical ability in age determines their ability to work and alters their perception of their body (and vise-versa). Aging transgender individuals may feel that they lack resources after a certain age and may wind up feeling unfulfilled.
AbilitySimilar to the stereotypes of women mentioned earlier, a particularly vulnerable group are those who are differently abled. Stigma exists in regards to people who have special intellectual or physical needs. Primarily, these people are socially othered. They become defined by their disabilities and are then seen to be lacking in other qualities like gender, race, and sexual orientation (Malmberg, n.d.). This inevitably brings up questions of "normality" and "intactness". People with disabilities are often seen as people who are unable to be independent, which practically ensures that they will be treated like children or treated as though they are helpless.
Malmberg touches on the idea that owning ones' disability is an act of political and social revolution and warfare. It challenges others to question stereotypes about disabilities and consider the whole of a person instead of defining them by their ability. LGBTQIA+Taylor (2009) furthers this same idea in touching on LGBT+ populations who are made to fit certain images in order to pass as their identity. Taylor specifically focuses on lesbians and how coming out within the community is considered a challenge because they may face othering from the general community but also other lesbians within the community. This can happen as a result of not being a stereotypical lesbian.
On a similar note, El-Tayeb (2012) asserts questions of authenticity and purity in relation to identities and how they can be questioned by people outside of (and sometimes within) the LGBT+ community. Bisexuality is often questioned for its validity as an identity. However, El-Tayeb focuses on LGBT+ individuals who exist in nations or countries who have strong social values against being gay. There is blatant denial of the existence of these people and they face discrimination and often encounter dangerous situations as a result. On EqualityThe Oxford English Dictionary defines equality as follows,
The state of being equal, especially in status, rights, or opportunities. Equality is the idea that everyone has the right to be given the same resources and opportunities so that all people are treated equal. In relation to intersectionality, this means that those that are disadvantaged within the social hierarchy are given the same resources and opportunities as those that are privileged in attempts to balance the power differences. The problem with this is that it does not take individual differences into account. Even if you give everyone the same tools, some people are bound to excel while others are bound to be left behind because everyone will use their tools in varying ways.
A similar concept that is more applicable is equity. The concept of equity states that everyone is given what they need so that everyone is treated fairly and thus everyone is made to be equal. This means that those who are disadvantaged within the social hierarchy are catered to as individuals and given the necessary tools and resources that will best help them to excel and succeed as the rest of their peers, privileged or otherwise. Considering Equality WorkEquality work is work in any capacity that is done with the intent to give equal rights to the oppressed groups you are working with or for. A person could work at the government level and attempt to pass laws about gender equality to grant women the same rights as men. Meanwhile, another person might work primarily at the grassroots level and be focused on raising awareness about learning disabilities. At any rate, the most successful forms of equality work take an intersectional approach. It is, however, recognized that this method is not always feasible to implement since many organizations are only able to account for specific intersections of identity and focus on oppression that is situated at said intersection (i.e. race and gender).
Lombardo and Verloo (2009) talk about how equality work has been approached by the European Union (EU). The EU has plenty of policies surrounding gender equality and anti-discrimination on the grounds of various identity categories. However, their approach to the creation of these policies is a bit skewed. By this, I mean that the EU tends to organize policy makers in inclusive and also non-inclusive ways. They have attempted to account for the intersections of identity by having different political groups (i.e. a gender equality group and a disability focused group) work together to draft policies that would directly affect the people who inhabit that intersection. The problem with this lies in the fact that there are far greater numbers of intersections within identity than there are politic groups able to accurately represent these intersections. I also have my doubts that members of these various intersections are properly represented in these political spaces. In more recent years, it has been noted that different issues or categories of identity get prioritized. Over the past several decades, the fight for gender equality has seemingly lost momentum with each “win”. The EU’s “multiple approach” to inequalities shifted the priority from gender discrimination to race and ethnicity discrimination. It is recognized by Lombardo and Verloo that at this point “there are no procedures to coordinate work systematically around the intersection of different inequalities” (2009, p. 484). It seems that the next real attempt to incorporate intersectionality successfully in public policy is for branches of government to cooperate with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In this way, the various intersections of identity can be more closely examined from local, trusted sources who exist and demand the recognition of these intersections. On top of that, people who inhabit these intersections are granted more of a political voice and are thus representative of multiple identity categories but specific intersections between them. About Trasek & My ExperienceTrasek Ry is an NGO located in Turku and Helsinki, Finland that focuses to further the rights of gender variant and intersex individuals (equality work focused on gender and sex discrimination). This issue is focused on as a human rights issue, and therefore also an equality issue. Things as simple as access to healthcare and medical procedures is limited and conditional for transgender individuals. Currently, in order to access hormones and surgery, a trans person would have to obtain letters from the Tampere and Helsinki Gender Clinics and provide medical proof that they are sterile. Non-binary and other gender variant individuals are excluded from this policy because they are not male-to-female (MTF) or female-to-male (FTM) transgender.
In an interview with Panda Eriksson, Trasek's new president, we discussed the concepts of equality and intersectionality. They stated that equality should include the notion of equity. To Trasek, as an organization, equality is about getting the necessary resources to those who are in need (specifically transgender and intersex people) so that people are catered to individually but the end goal is still that everyone has received the necessary tools, resources, and opportunities to ensure that survival and the ability to thrive are the same for all peoples. Panda also mentioned that their personal view of feminism is intersectional. They are attempting to bring this view into Trasek as a practice. To do so, they are attempting to make meetings open to the public so that people from all walks of life have the ability to contribute. They find it unfair for the board members to speak on behalf of everyone if there are identities that aren't being included in the conversation or considered when making decisions. It is still a work in progress, as it is still being integrated into how Trasek operates as a whole, but the idea is that this approach will remain so that people who have lived, personal experience (who would then be considered "experts" on the subject) can share their own opinions and experiences to ensure that as many voices as possible are heard. Trasek pursues these goals of equality by operating at every level. They do grassroots operations in the community with a number of local events but also participate in events as high up as the United Nations (UN). It is in their interest to call attention to problematic government policies and advocate for social change at all levels. Primarily, they are a reactive organization. As Panda said, "Something has to happen before we can try to do something about it." I volunteered with Trasek for a grand total of 10 hours over the course of about two weeks. In this time, I was able to witness work at both the grassroots and local government levels. Unfortunately, Trasek doesn't have their own office, so they often utilize a shared space between them and another local LGBT+ organization, Seta. However, this leads to a greater variety of community outreach and more shared events between the organizations to help build a network. Since Trasek is mostly reactive, many of their projects and events are spontaneous (planned in advance but still reactive to something recent or in the process of being amended). They are also mostly volunteer based, which creates a small problem in staffing and bias. The people who are most personally affected are those that are most frequently and most passionately involved in Trasek's events and gatherings. Trasek has chosen to limit their scope of focus to issues pertaining specifically to transgender and intersex individuals. Because of this, intersectionality is difficult to achieve throughout their work. The people who are involved are also usually affected by the LGBT+ intersection within their own identities. They do what they can to create equal and safe spaces for LGBT+ individuals (specifically trans and intersex folks), and to do so they often have to partner with other organizations in order to ensure they can provide as many resources as possible to help anyone they can. In my time there, I was able to attend a meeting about the Trans Rights Laws in Finland. The entire meeting was in Finnish, so it wasn't as accessible for a native English speaker like myself. As far as I was later told, the people who showed up were reasonably critical of how the law should be amended and made sure to consider every possible angle that could be thought of among those who attended. They compared Finland's model with models from other countries and sought to identify why the current laws are problematic and how to change them in a way that is feasible. Unfortunately, Finland's current political climate limits the amount that can be changed (but in light of recent elections, Trasek is now represented by one member in parliament). I also attended a meeting regarding VinoKino, Finland's only LGBT+ film festival. Once more, this event took place in Finnish, but the gist of the meeting was logistical things like pamphlets and whether or not to host discussions about documentaries after they were aired. In addition, I went to a Rainbow Cafe night and a viewing for Eurovision. These events were both English speaking and heavily exposure based. By this, I mean that the point of their occurrence is to help build a community and allow for people to have a safe space to network and make connections. Taking a leadership role in this kind of organization, although gratifying and rewarding, can also be dangerous. Advocacy for the rights of the oppressed often lead to conflict with privileged groups. The trouble that Trasek faces ranges from a lack of support (numbers can be scarce at times) to members of the board being threatened. This is the sad reality of doing equality work. Often, it is a challenge that remains an uphill battle. When you are a member of an oppressed group and you fight for equality for those within your group, the usual social response is to maintain the pecking order and ensure that drastic change is not made to social hierarchy. In moving forward, Trasek hopes to amend the Trans Rights Law, the Name Act (which will grant Finnish citizens the ability to name their children whatever they please, regardless of gender), and continue to bring affected, oppressed peoples together in a safe environment. With Panda as president, the group is attempting to adapt to a more intersectional method of practice in the way they function in all capacities. But regardless, their aim is still focused on transgender and intersex individuals, and they are taking the fight on one day at a time. |
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References
Brah, A. & Phoenix, A. (2004). Ain’t I a woman? Revisiting intersectionality. Journal of International Women’s Studies. Vol. 5 #3. 75-86.
El-Tayeb, F. (2012). ‘Gays who cannot properly be gay’: Queer muslims in the neoliberal european city. European Journal of Women’s Studies. 19(1). 79-95.
Lombardo, E. & Verloo, M. (2009). Institutionalizing intersectionality in the european union? International Feminist Journal of Politics. 11:4. 478-495.
Malmberg, D. (n.d.). “To be cocky is to challenge norms” The impact of bodynomativity on bodily and sexual attraction in relation to being a cripple. 194-216.
Siverskog, A. (2015). Ageing bodies that matter: Age, gender and embodiment in older transgender people’s life stories. Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research. Vol. 23, No. 1. 4-19.
Taylor, Y. (2009). Complexities and complications: Intersections of class and sexuality. Journal of Lesbian Studies. 13:2. 189-203.
Toivanen, M. (2014). The visual lexis of (national) belonging and non-belonging in the accounts of young kurds in finland. Nordic Journal of Migration Research. 192-200.
Yuval-Davis, N. (2006). Intersectionality and feminist politics. European Journal of Women’s Studies. Vol. 13(3). 193-209.
El-Tayeb, F. (2012). ‘Gays who cannot properly be gay’: Queer muslims in the neoliberal european city. European Journal of Women’s Studies. 19(1). 79-95.
Lombardo, E. & Verloo, M. (2009). Institutionalizing intersectionality in the european union? International Feminist Journal of Politics. 11:4. 478-495.
Malmberg, D. (n.d.). “To be cocky is to challenge norms” The impact of bodynomativity on bodily and sexual attraction in relation to being a cripple. 194-216.
Siverskog, A. (2015). Ageing bodies that matter: Age, gender and embodiment in older transgender people’s life stories. Nordic Journal of Feminist and Gender Research. Vol. 23, No. 1. 4-19.
Taylor, Y. (2009). Complexities and complications: Intersections of class and sexuality. Journal of Lesbian Studies. 13:2. 189-203.
Toivanen, M. (2014). The visual lexis of (national) belonging and non-belonging in the accounts of young kurds in finland. Nordic Journal of Migration Research. 192-200.
Yuval-Davis, N. (2006). Intersectionality and feminist politics. European Journal of Women’s Studies. Vol. 13(3). 193-209.