What is intersectionality? |
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"Intersectionality" was coined in 1989 by professor Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe how race, class, gender, and other individual characteristics “intersect” with one another and overlap. Crenshaw, Professor of Law at UCLA and Columbia Law School, has spent more than 30 years studying civil rights, race, and racism. For more information about Kimberlé Crenshaw and her work, read her TED Talk bio.
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Intersectionality and inclusion for people who have disabilities |
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The intersection of identities — gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, religious — creates complications for people with disabilities when seeking full inclusion. Sometimes it is hard to know why people discriminate. Is it because you are disabled, or queer, or Muslim, or a woman?
The challenges of being a part of a group which is being discriminated can intensify when an individual faces multiple biases simultaneously. In these instances, being disabled may not be the biggest barrier to community inclusion. Religious or gender affiliation may elicit more negative reactions, including violence, than a person’s disability.
Disability pride can be tested when a person is seeking to honor and balance all the identities that make him or her a unique individual. Some identities create barriers to disability services, while others further intensify exclusion and misidentification of people with disabilities. Undocumented immigrants with disabilities, for example, may not be eligible for all of the services they need, and family supports are often required to supplement care even when disability stigma exists within the family or culture.
While having an invisible identity may seem like a privilege, it can lead to a person being defined by what is most visible, even though this may not be how he or she personally identifies. Invisible identities can also continue the notion of a hierarchy, with visible disabilities or identifications considered more significant than invisible ones.
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Disability activist Jeiri Flores describes her experience with intersectionality |
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We live in an evolving world where we are constantly reminded of how much we don’t know, don’t understand, and don’t recognize.
Nothing in this life is simple when you belong to multiple identity groups, meaning you rarely, if ever, are working to overcome a singular issue.
As a disabled woman of color, when I enter a room, I never know which one of my identities will cause the most ruckus. Will it be because I am disabled, or woman of color, or young, or because of my social-economic status? I never truly know.
But what I do know is that there are very few spaces in which I can simply exist. If I want to thrive anywhere, I have to work to get in, work to stay in, and over extend myself if I ever want to progress.
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From the Editor: Welcoming everyone to the conversation on disability |
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Through Bridges, we welcome guest editors and writers of diverse races, ethnicities, genders, ages, creeds, sexual orientations, and religions, bringing their voices and viewpoints to the conversation about disability.
I’m excited to welcome and learn from new contributors who are offering new perspectives through Bridges. At Starbridge, we are here to transform communities to include everyone.
Best to you and yours,
Maria Schaertel
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At Starbridge, we believe that Diversity and Equity and Inclusion are core values to our organization. We are committed to ensuring that we are welcoming to people of all identities and we strive to ensure fairness and justice in all matters.
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