In this essay I will explore intersectionality and how it can contribute to the advancement of geographical thinking, specifically drawing on examples concerned with race, gender, and disability. Geographical thinking on race has been largely shaped by Critical Race Theory, encompassing the thinking of Derrick Bell, Richard Delgado, and Kimberle Crenshaw, a movement which can be defined as, 'a collection of activists and scholars engaged in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power.' (Delgado and Stefancic, 2012, pg.7) Arguably, intersectionality is central to this thinking and to understanding human differences because it allows for a comprehensive insight into how these differences manifest socially, politically, and economically, avoiding exclusion as far as possible. Kimberle Crenshaw (1989) claimed the term 'Intersectionality' to address the problematic commonality of discrimination cases is based on a singular claim, leading to the marginalization of those subject to multiple forms of discrimination. Delgado and Stefancic (2012) define Intersectionality as 'the examination of race, sex, class, national origin, and sexual orientation and how their combination plays out in various settings' (58). Arguably, the fact that antidiscrimination law fails to recognize these individuals, means that intersectionality is crucial to advance geographical thinking on differences because it allows for the voiceless and overlooked to be recognized. However, I will critically explore some of the drawbacks of intersectionality and how its application may hinder geographical thinking, specifically about how the popularisation of the concept may be problematic and questioning whether the concept is useful outside of the US context, drawing on the thinking of Carastanthis (2016), Price (2010), and Kobayashi (2014).
Firstly, I will briefly explore the foundations of Critical Race Theory and geographical thinking on race. From observing relevant geographical literature, it is evident that race is largely recognized as a social construction (Kobayashi, 2014). Kobayashi highlights how geography has been dominated by the white race, limiting the history of effective racial thinking, but the 1960s US civil rights movement was a pivotal moment as more diverse geographers emerged, Kobayashi critically argues that the earlier thinkers failed to address racialization, although they advocated for social justice, they failed to develop an overarching explanation, but focused on class. On the other hand, arguably the emergence of thinkers like Crenshaw and Delgado contradicts this as they explore some of the underlying explanations as well as social injustice. Kobayashi identifies two dominating discourses shaping the understanding of racial construction, arguing that they both deviate from geographical questions surrounding race, alternatively concerned with the relationship between humans and the environment and the status of geography as a science. Despite this Kobayashi recognizes the importance of how geographical understanding of human relations has shaped thinking about race, although race has been addressed in a partial and fractured way, especially in the context of the black-white binary. Delgado and Stefancic (2012) define Critical race theory as questioning the foundations of liberal order, encompassing ideas surrounding equality theory, legality, rationalism, and neutral principles of law, distinguishing it from the earlier civil rights movement. Supporting Kobayashi's observation, Delgado and Stefancic assert that 'The social construction' thesis is at the center of Critical Race theory, asserting that race is not objective, but rather an outcome of social thought, exploited to advance the position of certain individuals. Considering this point, they argue that ignoring intersectionality alienates large groups, which is why forming a singular movement against racism may be problematic, as other disparities can lead to marginalization, evident in the experience of African American Women. Gilmore (2002) states, 'A geographical imperative lies at the heart of every struggle for social justice; if justice is embodied, it is then therefore, always spatial, which is to say, part of a process of making a place.' (16) emphasizing the importance of geographical thinking on race being at the core of this thinking, drawing attention to the unequal distribution of power, to address the underlying causes and structures facilitating discrimination, a problem which arguably the application of intersectionality attempts to address. Price (2010) suggests that geographers' involvement in the study of race has contributed significantly to not only understanding racialized processes but also how differences 'intertwine', linking to the work of Crenshaw. Price emphasizes the influence of Critical theorists shaping current geographical thinking on race about scale and location, arguably it has facilitated the shift from the goal of equality to social justice through radical reform, recognizing the importance of the law in establishing change, drawing on the thinking of Derrick Bell. Ultimately, a common theme throughout geographical thinking on race and other differences is the fact that race is a social construction, and the centralization of single disparities can lead to the marginalization of many individuals. It can be inferred that it is crucial to understand the importance of acknowledging gender, class, and culture, as well as race, (Gilmore, 2002), supporting Crenshaw's advocacy for intersectionality.
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In my opinion, Crenshaw set the foundations for thinking surrounding intersectionality, I will draw on both her 1989 and 1991 papers to illustrate her key arguments. Crenshaw (1989) uses the legal experiences of Black Women in the US, asserting that merely including them in the already established system would be ineffective in addressing their unique experiences, demonstrating how the role of intersectionality can help advance thinking on discrimination, as it addresses the complexities in the context of racism in the United States. I will draw attention to the case of DeGraffenreid v General Motors to show that intersectionality is crucial in advancing geographical thinking on race; the court rejected the attempts of Black female employees to bring a suit because the company had specifically discriminated against Black female employees, as they were required to file on the grounds of either race or sex discrimination, but their claims of sex discrimination were rejected based on the lack of discrimination against white women, and their claims of racism were rejected. Intersectionality would have allowed the women to seek justice as victims of both race and sex discrimination, Crenshaw proposes that they should not need to compromise to be recognized by these broader groups, they are categorized by the experiences of white women and Black men, not as a group in themselves. Crenshaw's overarching argument is that the uniqueness of marginalized groups, like that of Black women has been disregarded, and antidiscrimination laws are flawed, with a limited definition of discrimination in terms of a singular disadvantage. Embracing intersectionality would mean that groups experiencing multiple forms of discrimination would not be left to wait until they are absorbed by a more generalized claim, but Black women, for example, would have the right to be recognized as a separate group, as their experiences differ to Black men and white women. Crenshaw demonstrates there are many examples in which Black Women have been discriminated against not just because they are women or Black, but faced with double discrimination as Black women. Crenshaw reflects that both feminist and antiracist movements have failed to address intersectionality, leading to compromising the needs and rights of Black women in favor of a larger overarching agenda, ineffectively resisting the patriarchy and structural racism, as both groups respectively reinforce the subordination of people of color and women. Specifically, concerning Feminist theory Crenshaw considers that it has evolved from the White racial context, meaning that Women of Colour are overlooked as White women speak for all women, failing to acknowledge conflicting negative stereotypes associated with sex and race, e.g., Black women are not regarded as passive and traditionally worked, therefore the White woman's agenda of disputing the expectation of being a housewife does not apply to Black women who have historically been expected to have employment outside of the household, which is an example of how a White dominated movement can fail to understand the experiences of individuals subject to multiple forms of discrimination, further emphasizing the importance of intersectionality. An example of this in the case of antiracist movements is the lack of support for statistics being released on domestic violence against women of color out of the fear that this will reinforce the stereotypes that Black men are violent, even though statistically Black women are more likely to be raped than a Black man is to be falsely accused of rape. Crenshaw (1991) draws attention to how Rape legislation has marginalized the experiences of Black women, as women they are sexually vulnerable, yet as African Americans they are subject to negative racialized sexual stereotypes, the intersecting of racial stereotypes with the narrative that some women are 'good', and others are 'bad' prevents them from being taken seriously by the court. Crenshaw reinforces her ideas surrounding the marginalization of Black women, as their political, social, and economic needs are less likely to be met as the mainstream modes of information are targeted at white women and inaccessible to minority groups. In addition to this feminist movements often direct their efforts to white women who were not expected to be victims to demonstrate that violence is not just a minority problem, consequently this further marginalizes Women of color, indicating that the message of 'all women' is distorted, further demonstrating the importance of how intersectionality considers the marginalization of minorities within broader groups. Disagreeing with common geographical thought that race and gender are socially constructed, Crenshaw argues that this suggests that these categories are insignificant, but as illustrated by the various case studies there are meanings and consequences attached to them, facilitating social hierarchies. (Crenshaw, 1991)
David Gilborn (2015) illustrates how intersectionality can advance geographical thinking on race, class, gender, and disability, specifically in the context of the Black middle class in the UK, demonstrating that the perceived advantages of a higher social class do not necessarily apply when the individual has other differences. The goal of this research was to establish the importance of intersecting race with other forms of discrimination, predominantly learning disabilities, and exploring the treatment that these families receive from institutions. It is largely revealed that schools were reluctant to address the Black parents' concerns that their children were struggling with learning difficulties, as 'In [their] research, where Black children's performance was at stake, schools seemed happy to assume that the lowest level of performance was the 'true' indicator of their potential.' (280) demonstrating how negative racial assumptions can potentially prevent individuals from receiving support, in this case addressing the intersection of race and disability is crucial to understanding their disadvantages. Black parents have to advocate for their children to a much larger extent than white parents to be considered by the school, whose only disadvantage is the learning difficulty in question. This is supported by Paulette's experience, whose concerns regarding her daughter's academic performance were ignored by the school, claiming that her daughter simply needed to 'work harder', however, after an independent assessment revealing dyslexia and a move to a private school her daughter's grades increased from Es to Bs, demonstrating how multiple differences need to be addressed to achieve justice. It can be inferred that Paulette's daughter was ignored due to two differences, supporting Crenshaw's advocacy for intersectionality. In the two rare cases schools did undertake formal assessments they had the incentive of avoiding addressing racism, one being when Felicia complained to the school about how her son was the victim of racist bullying, and they responded by claiming that he should get tested for underlying problems impacting his academic performance. Felica's experience shows how schools are willing to address learning disabilities when it suits their needs, and how racial discrimination intersects with negative assumptions concerning other differences, indicating the importance of intersectionality. As well as this, the UK education system arranges students in hierarchal grouped sets based on academic performance, the study revealed that it is common for Black students to be placed in the lower sets based on negative racialized assumptions and low expectations, in which they are commonly ignored and adopt poor behavior due to a lack of hope, it could be argued that because schools fail to consider that Black children have learning difficulties and assume their poor performance based on their race, the UK education system lets down many individuals who fail to reach their full potential. Gillborn draws attention to a child who was condemned 'to the very lowest teaching groups where his confidence and performance collapsed.' (282), based on the combination of his Special educational needs and race, despite thriving in primary school in which they acknowledged his needs and supported him accordingly, the high school failed to do so. Ultimately, Gilborne's study reveals that despite their perceived higher social status as belonging to the middle class, black families in the UK are disadvantaged by their race, and it is evident that this intersects with other differences meaning that children belonging to ethnic minorities are further disadvantaged than white children with the same difficulties, and more likely to be ignored by the educational system due to racial stereotypes. Gilborn concludes that intersectionality can be useful, but there must be the awareness that it has the potential to devalue or even suppress those racially discriminated against.
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