Intersectionality
Topic: Equality and Social Justice · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Intersectionality is the idea that a person's identities overlap. Caste, gender, class and religion combine to create kinds of disadvantage that no single identity explains alone. Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term in 1989. It matters because policies aimed at only one form of disadvantage, such as gender alone or caste alone, can miss the people who face several at once.
Example
A Dalit woman faces caste discrimination and gender discrimination together. Her position is different from that of an upper-caste woman or a Dalit man, a point made by Gopal Guru (1995). Earlier, Ram Manohar Lohia's Sapta Kranti called for fighting caste, gender, colour and economic inequality at the same time. This anticipated the idea.
Don't confuse with
- Social exclusion: social exclusion means being shut out because of an identity. Intersectionality stresses how several identities combine to create a distinct disadvantage.