WHAT IS INTERSECTIONALITY?

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What is intersectionality

Key Concepts Some key concepts in the theory of intersectionality include the following:

1. Racism.

Racism is an oppression of a given population based on physical differences which

include the skin color, language, believes and ancestral origin. Categorically, race focuses on

stereotyping the population on the physical appearance and impression which it represents

(Parmar, 2017). The dominant race classification are the whites and the black (Parmar, 2017).

Racism raises the question of racial discrimination and racial profiling in western culture. It also

attributes to police brutality in a specific group. Currently, the links between the race and social

class dominates news sources. The blacks are associated with low class while the whites are

associated with a higher class in the society. The race creates a stereotype and discrimination

based on skin color.

2. Feminism

Feminism involves the advocacy of woman rights based relative to the gender

classification. The concept of gender categorizes a population based on masculine and feminine

characteristics (Aguilar, 2015). In a societal culture, femininity and masculinity influence the

social perspective on power, identity and role play (Aguilar, 2015). One class feels lesser and

alienated by another raising insecurity and inferiority. Evidently in the advent age, the feminism

predominantly rules the sphere of politics, business, leadership and engineering. Gender has its

influence on every existing society in the world. Gender therefore intersects all aspects of human

life.

3. Classism oppression
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Classism oppression is an unfair or prejudicial dealing of one class with the context of the

societal inferiority or poverty. The concept of class plays a role in promoting societal prejudice

of a stratified population (Harris, 2015). Similar to gender, class is an existent distinction in

every society. Class focuses on population stratification through social and economic status

(Harris, 2015). On class perspective, the relative standards define population into high, medium

and low class. The relative low class suffers oppression in most cases.

4. Sexual orientation discrimination

Sexual orientation discrimination is a discrimination acts based on the sexual behavior

and nature. The concept of sexual orientation distinguishes a population sexual identity and their

ideal attraction orientation to a specific gender. Sexual orientation can classify each member of

population. Apparently, bisexuals, heterosexuals and homosexuals describe a major group of

population (Ghavami, Katsiaficas & Rogers, 2016). Some sexual orientation are not common

which prompts oppression and stigmatization from a larger fraction of ideal heterosexual

members of the society. Heterosexual population will feel superior and desires to make the

whole world heterosexual. It has prompted the championship to permit same gender sex

(Ghavami, Katsiaficas & Rogers, 2016).

Here are several important readings of intersectionality:

Social geography I: intersectionality. Progress in Human Geography. By Peter Hopkin (Author).

(https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0309132517743677 )

The article describes the constitutive forms of intersectionality and their contribution to

the human geography. It furthermore, criticizes the ineffective and destructive use of

intersectionality. The book cites some of the negative aspects of intersectionality which causes

population segregation. The focused examples include colonialist, feminism and unwitting

racism and masculinist behaviors.

The metaphysics of intersectionality. By Sara Bernstein (Author).

(https://philarchive.org/archive/BERTMO-45 )

The article describes on the ordeals of the specific group of people who fall under

multiple categories of interception. The article uses and example of low class, black woman. The

person fitting in the description experiences a modal, casual and relational form of oppression.

The metaphysics and model of intersecting concepts of intersectionality results in a complex

system of society stratification.

Intersectionality, critical race theory, and the primacy of racism: Race, class, gender, and

disability in education. By David Gillborn.

(https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077800414557827 )

The book explores the aspect of critical race theory and the effects in the education.

Conclusively, the author highlights three key features of the racial stratification which represents

primacy. The empirical primacy causes oppression through the reality of schooling and

interaction, personal primacy influences the individual personal feeling on the racial identity

while political primacy defines the feeling as group or through activism.

Intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, and age on criminal punishment. By Darrell

Steffensmeier, Noah Painter-Davis, and Jeffery Ulmer (Authors).

(https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jeffery_Ulmer/publication/310813329_Intersectionality_of

_Race_Ethnicity_Gender_and_Age_on_Criminal_Punishment/links/59f75b0ca6fdcc075ec7b369

/Intersectionality-of-Race-Ethnicity-Gender-and-Age-on-Criminal-Punishment.pdf )

The authors identify the role of race, ethnicity, gender, and age on law enforcement. The

research indicated the influence on the intersectionality on sentences. Harsher consequences

apply to black and Hispanic male and females of all ages while lenient judgement is extended to

elder people.
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References

Aguilar, D. D. (2015). Intersectionality. Marxism and feminism, 203-220.

Bernstein, S. (2020). The metaphysics of intersectionality. Philosophical Studies, 177(2), 321-

335.

Ghavami, N., Katsiaficas, D., & Rogers, L. O. (2016). Toward an intersectional approach in

developmental science: The role of race, gender, sexual orientation, and immigrant status.

In Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 50, pp. 31-73). JAI.

Gillborn, D. (2015). Intersectionality, critical race theory, and the primacy of racism: Race, class,

gender, and disability in education. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(3), 277-287.

Harris, A., & Bartlow, S. (2015). Intersectionality: Race, gender, sexuality, and class.

In Handbook of the sociology of sexualities (pp. 261-271). Springer, Cham.

Hopkins, P. (2019). Social geography I: intersectionality. Progress in Human Geography, 43(5),

937-947.

Parmar, A. (2017). Intersectionality, British criminology and race: Are we there

yet?. Theoretical Criminology, 21(1), 35-45.

Steffensmeier, D., Painter-Davis, N., & Ulmer, J. (2017). Intersectionality of race, ethnicity,

gender, and age on criminal punishment. Sociological Perspectives, 60(4), 810-833.