What is Intersectionality?

What is Intersectionality?
Intersectionality is a framework for understanding how multiple aspects of a person's identity—such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and ability—intersect to create unique experiences of privilege or oppression. It was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, who highlighted how legal frameworks often overlooked the experiences of Black women, who faced both racial and gender discrimination.

Examples of Intersectionality:

A Black woman may experience both racism and sexism in ways that are different from how each would affect her separately.
A queer, low-income person may face compounded barriers related to poverty and marginalization based on their sexual orientation.

Kimberlé Crenshaw, a speaker at the 2017 NAIS People of Color Conference, civil rights advocate, and professor at UCLA and Columbia Law Schools, discusses intersectional theory. This theory examines how overlapping social identities, especially those of minorities, connect to systems of discrimination.