Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberly Williams Crenshaw, it refers to the way in which different forms of discrimination and oppression intersect and coincide with each other, how more than one form of discrimination can be experienced by a single person, for example, a black woman may experience sexism and racism and these forms of discrimination are not separate experiences, but instead they are simultaneous occurrences, they coexist and correspond with each other creating a distinct form of inequality. Intersectionality is related to the power structures in society, how they overlap, and how they oppress and impose structures of domination upon different social groups and identities. Recognition of intersectionality as a feature of many people's social experience is an important area in the study of contemporary society, it highlights systems of oppression within society that bleed into our social institutions. Without the recognition and study of intersectionality, there would be no opportunity to build effective frameworks by which discrimination could be fought. The following essay will look to identify and discuss the importance of recognizing intersectionality in the analysis of contemporary society and the obstacles that this approach poses to it.
The recognition of intersectionality is a useful mechanism within the study of contemporary society, it provides us with the stepping stones towards changing the faults in our societal structures. A vital element of this is the development of the language to use in studying this issue which assists us in understanding the nuances of intersectionality, and a widespread understanding of it as a feature of contemporary society is what assists meaningful and effective collaborative action, through which the multi-layered structural faults in our society can be identified, and frameworks for changing these systems of oppression and overlapping structures of domination and power can be constructed and applied (TED, 2016). Crenshaw has highlighted the importance of intersectionality as being acknowledged within society, as it helps us examine the way in which, for example, race discrimination and gender discrimination are not mutually exclusive, she explains that without recognizing intersectionality, we end up following single-axis frameworks in which we are lead, for example, into making assumptions of women as being white, and of black people as being men; and that this is an issue for black women because the intersectional forms of discrimination which they experience are recognized as being mutually exclusive, which they are not (Crenshaw, 2017). Through recognizing intersectionality as being a part of society we can work towards improving it as a whole, working towards improving our systems of democracy, and taking steps towards achieving equality in contemporary society.
Firstly, when studying healthcare within contemporary society, it is helpful to consider intersectionality because it provides insight into the ways in which social factors dictate one's health, how one's race, socioeconomic background, and other situational and social factors are connected to and are predictors of your health (López and Gadsden, 2016). The Survey of Consumer Finances Data carried out in 2019, highlights the huge wealth disparities between white families and Black and Latinx families, with black families both median and mean wealth being under 15% than that of white families. Thus, if you are Black or Latinx and a woman, you are more likely to experience the barriers arising from the unfair advantage that white people have in terms of earnings, combined with the gender pay gap, this disadvantage is one reason why adequate healthcare is made much less accessible to women of color (Bhutta et al., 2020). We also see how having various stigmas attached to you affects one's behavior in relation to health as stigma often results in conscious and/or subconscious prejudice, and this is true within healthcare accessibility and outcomes for stigmatized groups. For example, Turan, M. T. et al. (2019) discuss how intersecting stigma leads to a lesser likelihood of African Americans disclosing an HIV diagnosis, as well as transphobia within healthcare results in less accessible HIV healthcare for transgender women as compared to cis-gendered women. These intersecting stigmas too can be applied to not only physical, but mental health, stigmatised individuals are not only more vulnerable to mental health issues, but mental health services are less accessible for the same issues of disparities in wealth (Turan, M. T. et al., 2019).
The recognition of intersectionality within healthcare when studying contemporary society is beneficial, the ability to identify these issues as being a result of intersectional forms of discrimination, not just for example, because of the stigma attached to having an HIV diagnosis, but also because of the simultaneously occurring stigma attached to being transgender; through this recognition, researchers can begin to construct effective methods of measuring intersectional forms of discrimination which allows for greater analysis of healthcare in contemporary society. Through this researchers can strategize and build new models of healthcare which do not have these caveats and which address problems of discrimination within the system. This all can contribute to improved policy making which properly addresses the reality of intersectional oppression and stigma, aiming to reduce stigma and improve accessibility and outcomes throughout our healthcare systems (Turan, M. T. et al., 2019).
Furthermore, accessibility to healthcare is inextricably linked to employment and the intersectional forms of oppression which cause a lack of employment opportunities, and the lower income of minorities, highlighted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, calculating that the earnings of white workers are 30% higher than Latinx workers and 26% higher than the earnings of Black workers, all of which were calculated in the second quarter of 2021, this combined with 67% of those working at and below minimum wage being women, makes the employment and sufficient income even more of a struggle for racial and ethnic minorities who are women (Institute for Policy Studies, 2021). By acknowledging this fact of intersectionality having an impact on one's income and employment, we can work towards effective solutions, policies, and new models by which discrimination is reduced and countered within the employment process so that income is not determined by one's social and situational factors.
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When studying legal systems and frameworks in contemporary society, it is crucial to account for intersectionality, as many of the legal structures in place intrinsically support structures of institutionalized and systematic marginalization of and discrimination against minorities. This issue is highlighted by Spade (2013), who describes that the recognition of intersectionality allows us to examine the limitations of our legal systems. Spade (2013) demonstrates how, through leaving the presence of intersectionality unacknowledged and unidentified, laws, principles and policies brought into the legal system which aim towards preventing and reducing discrimination will remain, for the most part, ineffective, due to the fact that marginalized groups are less likely to be able to afford an attorney, and even then, proving intent of discriminatory behavior in a legal case is a struggle as discriminatory practices are often subtle andor perpetrated subconsciously, thus, providing proof of purposeful discriminatory behavior is of even more difficult for those who experience it in intersectional forms (Spade, 2013; TED, 2016). Intersectionality needs to be recognized so that people who are subject to intersectional forms of discrimination, are able to receive justice, a single axis framework prevents this because, through such a framework, discrimination is not seen as being intersectional and instead, as mutually exclusive. Through recognition of this as being an issue within our legal systems, we can implement policies that effectively combat this discrimination and make legal aid more widely and easily accessible. The acknowledgment of this can also aid in preventing the intersectionally discriminatory imprisonment of marginalized groups within society.
Each of the aforementioned systems are interconnected and each influences the other, it is important to recognize that dismantling discrimination cannot be achieved through single policies in 'problem areas', as this does not address the lasting effects of an inherently discriminatory society, the after-effects of redlining in the United States is a perfect example of how the entire structure of contemporary society is developed from a discriminatory and oppressive framework, which by its very nature disadvantage minorities. While these incremental changes in healthcare, employment, etc. are necessary, their application needs to be a part of a holistic approach in which these social institutions and structures are recognized as being part of an oppressive system, and through collaborative action, each can be addressed as interrelated and then progress towards not only dismantling but then constructing fair systems and institutional structures. This approach is based on the stepping stone of first recognizing intersectionality within the study of contemporary society, and while this is crucial, it is not without challenges, this approach poses many difficulties, primarily due to the fact that the study of intersectionality is an ongoing work in progress.
A challenge that has arisen from developing the study of intersectionality, has been trying to develop an effective framework. A common framework within intersectionality has used a method that categorizes social factors, splitting them into categories of race, gender, class, and so on, and making comparisons of each; the challenge here is that such a framework is limiting as there is a likelihood that various social factors will be missed or disregarded, the categorization of such factors is also considered by some, as antithetical to the core idea of intersectionality; categorizing social factors may indicate they produce separate experiences, when intersectionality needs to be focused on how they coexist and produce experiences which are simultaneous in nature and create a unique experience within society (Cho et al., 2019). Categorization of identities, which Crenshaw (1991) refers to as identity politics, is problematic because there needs to be a greater focus on the societal structures of inequality instead, as this is much more revelatory of what intersectionality arises from and results in, highlighting power dynamics throughout and within social institutions, and emphasizes the overlapping nature of intersectionality (Cho et al. 2019; Crenshaw, 1991).
On the other hand, such categorizations may be necessary in order to actually identify intersectional forms of discrimination. Frameworks that look at developing our understanding of intersectionality should be focused on what intersectionality results in, instead of what it is in and of itself (Cho et al., 2019).
Another challenge that has been posed through the recognition of intersectionality in contemporary society has been highlighted by Bilge (2013) who draws attention to the growing risk of the depoliticization of intersectionality resulting in 'ornamental intersectionality' where institutions put up an ostensible front of having changed their discriminatory framework, but in reality, the structure of these institutions which produce and uphold inequality remain unaddressed and untampered with (Bilge, 2013). This is reminiscent of rainbow capitalism, a term used to describe the practice of companies showing superficial support of the LGBT community throughout Pride month in order to make a profit, without addressing or tackling the practices their company participates in which negatively affect the very community they claim to support (Gluckman et al., 2012).
In summary, intersectionality is a very important area that needs to be recognized when studying contemporary society. It is a feature within our societal structures and institutions. Its recognition is required so that frameworks for tackling intersectional forms of discrimination can be built, and so that the experiences of those who are intersectionally disadvantaged can be more widely understood. The recognition of intersectionality allows for collaborative action toward the dismantling of oppressive structures which produce and uphold injustice. There are challenges in developing our study of this issue due to its complexity and open-ended definition, there are many problems in developing frameworks for intersectionality to be studied and risks in regards to losing sight of why recognition of such issues is needed but nevertheless, without recognition of intersectionality as a key element of contemporary society, inequality, both intersectional and not, will continue but through recognition and continued collaborative action, such issues can be tackled.
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