Intersectionality

Intersectionality

Societies are always characterized by power and dominance structures. These distribute political and economic resources and privileges just as unequally as social participation. This creates inequality and discrimination. Power structures are shaped by gender, race, dis*ability, age or economic class. Discrimination manifests itself in the form of sexism or racism. In this way, social attributions and positions emerge, which are also expressed in identities. These, however, are always multifarious. Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term "intersectionality" in the late 1980s to indicate that different forms of power, privilege and discrimination interact (you can find basic connections here). For example, a person may be discriminated against sexistically, but as a white person, be part of racial discrimination and privileges thus obtained. This approach has established a transdisciplinary research and social movement from Gender and Black Studies as well as Black Feminism, which thinks together different fields of power and discrimination in given complexities.