Intersectional Feminism: A Big Word for a Basic Idea

“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”

Those are the famous words of civil rights activist, Fannie Lou Hammer. I chose these words because they show the need for a greater fight, not just for yourself or those who you have similar identities too but for all, and that is the concept of intersectional feminism.

Intersectionality and feminism are terms that go hand and hand and I truly believe that you cannot be a feminist if you are not an intersectional feminist. So, what is intersectionality?

Intersectionality is a term created by Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 90’s to further explain the injustices that people have been facing for years. It is the overlapping of identities to create a more complex person. One is not black and a woman, she is a black woman and needs to fight for her equality as a black woman.

Crenshaw calls this “injustice squared” in her Ted Talk titled “The Urgency of Intersectionality”. This term is to say that as a woman one faces injustices, and as a person of color one faces injustices, but when put together there is an even greater chance of facing discrimination or oppression. With that being stated, it is important to note that in the words of Audre Lorde “there is no hierarchy of oppression”. Ones struggles are valid, and intersectionality makes it clear that it is important to fight for all of the identities of those oppressed.

Feminism is the belief that all genders should be treated equally. Intersectional feminism is the idea that feminists need to tackle all issues that all women face- they cannot just focus on middle-upper class, straight, cis women. Feminism needs to focus on civil rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, disability rights, women of all social classes and cultures.

Unfortunately, in past feminist movements and often today, “feminists” of privilege section off what they should fight for to those who are like them. That is not feminism though. Feminism needs to be a fight for all women, we cannot exclude anyone in this movement. For example, there are feminists known as T.E.R.F.s or trans exclusionary radical feminists who claim that trans women are not real women as they look at sex and not gender. They are known to actively discriminate against this already marginalized group of women. This is a radical example though. Feminists also tend to discriminate on a much less noticeable basis.

For example, as a white, middleclass woman I see coverage and concern for a woman like me who were to get sexually assaulted, murdered, or abused but what if I told you that Native American women were getting murdered or raped at 10 times the rate of white women? Did you know that? Probably not and neither did I. Many people are not talking about this issue and while it might not be an active choice- we could just ignore it because it is not affecting us.

In fact according to Majandra Rodriguez, “Those who are most impacted by gender-based violence, and by gender inequalities, are also the most impoverished and marginalized—black and brown women, indigenous women, women in rural areas, young girls, girls living with disabilities, trans youth and gender non-conforming youth.”

This is just one example of the many things that the feminist movement must step up and fight for. How will we as women be able to say we are equal when the woman sitting next to us is not?

So, how can you be a better feminist? It is not difficult. First, self-reflect and ask yourself if you are fighting only for the issues that affect you or are you fighting for women of all identities. Then ask yourself what more you can be doing- thinking about it is one thing and action is another. Be an ally, stand up for others and share their stories. Use your privilege and voice to help communities other than your own.

The idea of intersectional feminism is easy- care about everyone and fight for equality for everyone.

Next week I want to see what others think feminism is and how think react to the “F-bomb”. I will be going about campus to ask people what they think about feminism. Follow me on social media for updates on what is to come.