Intersectionality involves the social characteristics of one‘s identity, which incorporate societal, community, individual, and global factors like ability, age, class, sexual orientation, gender, and ability among others. According to Patricia Hill Collins and Kimberle’ Williams, the people of color feminists who developed intersectional theory, it is specifically concerned with social identities formation. The kinds of privilege and power that we have is determined by intersectionality and also examines the manner in which class, sexuality, gender, and race work in the concert for the creation of inequality. According to Collins the cultural patterns of oppression are interrelated and bound together by intersectional systems of society such as ethnicity, gender, race, and class that constitute the “interlocking oppression system.” The interlocking oppression systems mainly allow us to account for human agency and subjectivity.
These are fact that we resist, reproduce, and change the oppression systems. The oppression system are usually part of one‘s domination overarching structure. According to Collins, oppression are usually as a result of several forces that are working hand in hand and the domination matric mainly refers to the inequality, The cause of injustice is not one singular force, The lives of the Black women are affected by primary forces emanating from gender, race, and class. These forces according to Collins affects various other issues that come into play. The domination mainly operates through making the dominant ideologies to look like common sense, together with the ones in the subordinate system.
The experience of one’s own complex identity becomes sometimes contradictory, paradoxical, and conflictual since intersectionality is the aspects where the identity of one’s meet. Also known as “intersectional disempowerment”. Therefore, intersectionality is more general theoretical approach and wider, which can be used on examining any community or group Via placing them at the middle and trying to understand where they are within the domination matrix. Intersectionality recognizes that individuals may face multiple forms of discrimination or oppression simultaneously, and that the effects of these different forms of oppression are not simply additive but are instead interdependent and interconnected. For example, a Black woman may experience both racism and sexism, and these forms of discrimination may interact and compound each other, creating a unique form of oppression that cannot be understood by looking at racism or sexism alone.
The concept of intersectionality has been particularly important in feminist and social justice movements, as it has helped to highlight the ways in which certain groups of people may experience multiple forms of discrimination or oppression that are not always recognized or acknowledged by mainstream society. Intersectionality has also been used to advocate for more inclusive policies and practices that take into account the complex ways in which different forms of oppression intersect.
Critics of intersectionality argue that it can be overly complex and difficult to apply in practice. They also argue that it can lead to a focus on individual identity rather than collective action, and that it can sometimes obscure the larger structural factors that contribute to social inequality. Overall, the concept of intersectionality has been a valuable tool for understanding the complex and interconnected nature of social oppression and privilege. While it is not without its limitations and criticisms, it has helped to raise awareness of the ways in which different forms of oppression intersect, and has played an important role in advancing social justice and equity for marginalized communities.
