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Intersectionality and its discontents: Intersectionality as traveling theory

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Abstract

‘Intersectionality’ has now become a major feature of feminist scholarly work, despite continued debates surrounding its precise definition. Since the term was coined and the field established in the late 1980s, countless articles, volumes and conferences have grown out of it, heralding a new phase in feminist and gender studies. Over the past few years, however, the growing number of critiques leveled against intersectionality warrants us as feminists to pause and reflect on the trajectory the concept has taken and on the ways in which it has traveled through time and space. Conceptualizing intersectionality as a traveling theory allows for these multiple critiques to be contextualized and addressed. It is argued that the context of the neoliberal academy plays a major role in the ways in which intersectionality has lost much of its critical potential in some of its usages today. It is further suggested that Marxist feminism(s) offers an important means of grounding intersectionality critically and expanding intersectionality’s ability to engage with feminism transnationally.

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... This study has several limitations stemming from deliberate methodological decisions made in the research design regarding the cultural context of analysis (the Global North), the chosen organizational framework (bio-economic companies aligned with the principles of capitalism and neoliberalism), and the prominence given to women in corporate positions (typically white, university-educated, and European, largely representing a corporate and liberal feminism). Moreover, given our affiliation with an academy that has been heavily criticized for its liberal and Eurocentric feminism (Grosser & McCarthy, 2019;Salem, 2018) we are aware of the potential bias that we, as researchers, may inadvertently introduce, so we have tried to be especially vigilant and critical in our inquiry, analysis, and discussion. ...
... This challenge to the structures of domination is articulated in more or less demanding formulations within popular feminist approaches, ranging from the vindication of individual freedoms guaranteed by the state through legal reforms (Abazeri, 2022) of liberal feminism (corporate and neoliberal approach), to feminisms that advocate a radical and systemic transformation at different levels, such as ecofeminism (Pérez Orozco, 2019), decolonial feminism (Abazeri, 2022;Lugones, 2008), Marxist feminism (Salem, 2018), and other new approaches to popular and radical feminism in the framework of the so-called fourth wave of feminism (Arruzza et al., 2019;Fraser, 2013;Maclaran, 2015). Feminist perspectives also differ in how they conceptualize pathways to a sustainable society (Table 1). ...
... Intersectionality has become one of the dominant approaches in feminist research, but that does not necessarily make it the most appropriate (Salem, 2018). While this approach emerges from the hand of Black women to point out the intertwining of systems of oppression (Crenshaw, 1989), this work is framed in a European liberal corporate context in which White, non-migrant or non-disabled women predominate (ENAR, 2019). ...
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This paper is situated within the framework of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and addresses how women in organizational spaces with strongly values-driven practices can contribute to a more sustainable development in the implementation of a Circular Bioeconomy. Companies aligned with this model have a special responsibility to orient their practices towards comprehensive and fair sustainability if they want to align themselves with the policy frameworks of ecological transition. The article asks whether there is a harmonization of the environmental and social dimensions of practices in companies aligned with the circular bioeconomy and how the participation of women in management positions (in this case, white women, college-educated and non-disabled women) can promote transformative organizational change. Based on the theories of CSR practices, critical feminist perspectives, and social practices theory, a comparative ethnographic approach is used, applying a multi-method (participant observation, interviews, and documents) and multi-site analysis with four companies. The study extends the empirical evidence aimed at favoring the adoption of integrated sustainable practices in organizations. Future research could investigate broader intersectional dynamics to provide more detail on the heterogeneity of the experiences and practices of women or feminist actors and their influence on organizations.
... The four characteristics of the phenomenon are mentioned briefly here and explained in the following four sections of the article. First, an epistemic fata morgana is a hermeneutical resource that is originally created by marginalized people to make sense of their own experience, but shared inter-communally, meaning that outside of the community of origin it has traveled (Lewis 2013;Salem 2018). Secondly, this hermeneutical resource describes something about which there is consensus in the dominant discourse that it is bad or undesirable (e.g., racism, sexism). ...
... While this might be somewhat dishearteningthere is much work to do-it does highlight, again, the importance of structural changes and the importance of expanding or changing one's epistemological system. 1 I do not claim or wish to claim that this happens in any and every case of sexual harassment within the university context. However, I do think the university as an institution has a proven structural problem, to the point that this phenomenon occurs, as do other issues within this context (Salem 2018). 2 In this paper I use the term marginalized to describe those who are structurally disadvantaged by prevailing power relations. ...
... 5 Another example of this might be what has happened to the term "intersectionality" in recent years. A hermeneutical resource originally developed by women of color in the United States, it has traveled to other hermeneutical communities and become quite important (Carastathis 2014;Nash 2019;Lewis 2013;Salem 2018). However, the way this concept is now used within mainstream academia is quite far removed from the concept originally put forth. ...
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In this article, I identify a conceptually distinct form of epistemic appropriation: the creation and proliferation of the epistemic fata morgana. An epistemic fata morgana is a hermeneutical resource that is hollowed out, stripped of its meaning and political power, and yet, posited as if it were still accessible. This resource is taken up by dominant knowers in a way that preserves only its perception, but not access to it. This process is illustrated by an examination of the resource “sexual harassment” within the university context. The epistemic fata morgana is an important addition to the field of epistemic injustice for it lends itself to highlighting the frustration that is felt by marginalized people, especially within institutional contexts.
... First, intersectionality has been overly concerned with the individual (Hancock 2007), ultimately undermining a working alliance to address power differentials (Reed 2019). Second, the instrumentalization of intersectionality into the inert idea of 'diversity' emphasizes differences rather than change (Mohanty 2013;Salem 2018). As Bilge (2013) points out, the neoliberal logic created conditions to disarticulate the founding conceptions of intersectionality at the same pace that 'diversity' became a precept of good governance and efficient business. ...
... The coalition alignment among peasants and identity-based movements suggests the fusion of traditional classbased mobilizations and identities as an organizing principle (Kelly 1998;Heery 2018). As the representation of diversity on social media does not automatically translate into intersectionality (Mohanty 2013;Salem 2018), this study encourages further ethnographic research and triangulation with existing literature on these specific intersections. The analyzed posts covered broad issues of land justice in Brazil and each post has the potential to become a case study on its own. ...
... Moreover, 'peasant' is an identity that can be easily scaled up and down (Wolford 2010) to represent both localized realities, such as the romantic love of two male farmers (Post 3), or a global network of activists (Post 6) brought together across national borders, as proposed by Davis (2016). Possible hypotheses to be generated from this study concern to what extent these frame alignments are overcoming the loss of emancipatory character that intersectionality has suffered (Hancock 2007, Mohanty 2013, Salem 2018, and Reed 2019. ...
... However, its increasing popularity has led to debates over its correct interpretation and application, and whether a correct method exists. Salem (2018) highlights several concerns, including the historical erasure of its radical beginnings in Black feminist histories and the shift from radical to liberal interpretations, which can dilute its potential to challenge the status quo. Another tension exists between Marxist approaches from the Global South, which emphasize the role of imperialism and colonialism in capitalism, and Northern feminist theorizing, which may be Eurocentric and centered on the experiences of white, middle-class women (Salem, 2018). ...
... Salem (2018) highlights several concerns, including the historical erasure of its radical beginnings in Black feminist histories and the shift from radical to liberal interpretations, which can dilute its potential to challenge the status quo. Another tension exists between Marxist approaches from the Global South, which emphasize the role of imperialism and colonialism in capitalism, and Northern feminist theorizing, which may be Eurocentric and centered on the experiences of white, middle-class women (Salem, 2018). This tension is compounded by differing views on the roots of intersectionality. ...
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Our goal for this special issue was to expand and deepen the understanding and application of the concept of intersectionality, recognizing its untapped potential. We invited open contributions from diverse academic and practitioner viewpoints, encouraging submissions from both the Global South and North. We aimed to explore various interpretations of intersectionality’s value across multiple contexts and disciplines. Using Collins and Bilge’s (2016) framework, we conceptualized intersectionality as a theoretical lens, analytical strategy, and form of praxis throughout our editorial process. We embraced these dimensions organically while maintaining sensitivity in our double-anonymous review. By sharing these insights, we reflect on our own (un)learning and its application to our academic practices. This editorial also serves as an introduction to the articles featured in this special issue, advancing the scholarly discourse on intersectionality and promoting ongoing dialogue in future research and practice.
... While the use of a shared terminology across countries and continents both testifies to and fuels transnational linkages, the attractiveness of new terms seems to lie in their vagueness. As a sort of empty signifier (Laclau, 2006), they can acquire different meanings in different contexts, often through symbolic struggles both inside and outside social movements themselves (Salem, 2018). ...
... Intersectionality has since become increasingly central to feminist theory and activism, as it is crucial for understanding the multifaceted experiences of marginalized groups (Crenshaw, 1991;Collins, 2015;, leading to its spread outside of its initial context in Black American feminism (Wolbrecht et al, 2008;Whittier, 2016;Terriquez et al, 2018;Evans and Lépinard, 2019;Montoya, 2021;D'Agostino and Brown, 2023). As several scholars have noted, intersectionality has migrated from academic debate to the frames and practices of social movements while also becoming part of debates around public policies Verloo et al, 2012;Verloo, 2013;Hancock, 2016;Salem, 2018;Collins, 2019;Lepinard, 2020;Hancock, 2021). It has been used to connect the many different forms of discrimination faced by women while also pointing to their common origin in the capitalist system and the need to fight all of these issues at once (Crenshaw, 1989;Hill Collins, 2020;Lutz et al, 2016). ...
Article
In the last ten years, feminist movements have seen a global resurgence, with massive protest campaigns addressing gender-based violence, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer rights (LGBTQ+ rights), health and reproductive rights, migration, and labour market issues, all influenced by intersecting oppressions. This article examines the incorporation of intersectionality into contemporary feminist movements in Italy, particularly through the lens of Non Una Di Meno. Drawing on social movement studies, the article explores how intersectionality has been adapted to address Italy’s unique feminist challenges. It investigates both the discontinuities brought by the intersectional perspective and the historical continuities with Italian feminist traditions. Through an analysis of collective framing, strategies and forms of action, this study highlights how intersectionality has catalysed innovation in Italian feminist movements, addressing complex social injustices while maintaining a strong anti-capitalist stance. The findings emphasize the importance of inclusive practices and the ongoing need for self-reflexivity in implementing intersectional approaches.
... When the concept was appropriated by academia, it marked an important turning-point in feminist studies worldwide and it durably transformed the way gender was conceptualized in research. However, as some authors have noted, the introduction of the concept within the academic institution, and notably, the Western academic world, has translated into a process of cooptation of the concept through which it has been gradually emptied of its counter-hegemonic power (Bilge 2013, Alexander-Floyd 2012, Ait Ben Lmadani and Moujoud 2012, Nash 2017, Salem 2018, Bilge and Hill Collins 2023. As such, the institutionalization of the concept of intersectionality and its growing popularity has been accompanied by a dual process of depoliticization and dissociation from the feminist anti-capitalist and anti-racist struggles from which it had emerged, and from the voices and bodies that led these struggles and linked theory to praxis (Ahmed 2004, Erel et al. 2008, Alexander-Floyd 2012, Ait Ben Lmadani and Moujoud 2012, Bilge 2013, Salem 2018. ...
... However, as some authors have noted, the introduction of the concept within the academic institution, and notably, the Western academic world, has translated into a process of cooptation of the concept through which it has been gradually emptied of its counter-hegemonic power (Bilge 2013, Alexander-Floyd 2012, Ait Ben Lmadani and Moujoud 2012, Nash 2017, Salem 2018, Bilge and Hill Collins 2023. As such, the institutionalization of the concept of intersectionality and its growing popularity has been accompanied by a dual process of depoliticization and dissociation from the feminist anti-capitalist and anti-racist struggles from which it had emerged, and from the voices and bodies that led these struggles and linked theory to praxis (Ahmed 2004, Erel et al. 2008, Alexander-Floyd 2012, Ait Ben Lmadani and Moujoud 2012, Bilge 2013, Salem 2018. According to sociologist Sirma Bilge, we are now witnessing the emergence of an abstract, contemplative, "decorative intersectionality". ...
... L'appropriation du concept par le champ académique a marqué un tournant important dans les études féministes dans le monde, transformant durablement la manière dont est conceptualisé le genre en recherche. Cependant, selon certain·e·s auteur·trice·s, l'introduction du concept dans l'institution académique, et, en particulier, dans le champ universitaire occidental, correspond à une captation du concept par celui-ci, le vidant, ce faisant, de son pouvoir contre-hégémonique (Bilge 2013, Alexander-Floyd 2012, Ait Ben Lmadani et Moujoud 2012, Nash 2017, Salem 2018, Bilge et Hill Collins 2023. L'institutionnalisation du concept d'intersectionnalité et la surabondance de son usage se sont également accompagnés d'une dépolitisation de celui-ci, marquée par une double dissociation, d'une part vis-à-vis des luttes féministes anticapitalistes et antiracistes dont il est issu, et d'autre part vis-à-vis des voix et des corps qui ont porté ces luttes et ont lié la théorie à la praxis, c'est-à-dire au combat pour une justice sociale anti-raciste et féministe (Ahmed 2004, Erel et al. 2008, Alexander-Floyd 2012, Ait Ben Lmadani et Moujoud 2012, Bilge 2013, Salem 2018). ...
... Cependant, selon certain·e·s auteur·trice·s, l'introduction du concept dans l'institution académique, et, en particulier, dans le champ universitaire occidental, correspond à une captation du concept par celui-ci, le vidant, ce faisant, de son pouvoir contre-hégémonique (Bilge 2013, Alexander-Floyd 2012, Ait Ben Lmadani et Moujoud 2012, Nash 2017, Salem 2018, Bilge et Hill Collins 2023. L'institutionnalisation du concept d'intersectionnalité et la surabondance de son usage se sont également accompagnés d'une dépolitisation de celui-ci, marquée par une double dissociation, d'une part vis-à-vis des luttes féministes anticapitalistes et antiracistes dont il est issu, et d'autre part vis-à-vis des voix et des corps qui ont porté ces luttes et ont lié la théorie à la praxis, c'est-à-dire au combat pour une justice sociale anti-raciste et féministe (Ahmed 2004, Erel et al. 2008, Alexander-Floyd 2012, Ait Ben Lmadani et Moujoud 2012, Bilge 2013, Salem 2018). On assiste ainsi, selon la sociologue Sirma Bilge, à l'émergence d'une « intersectionnalité décorative », abstraite, contemplative, dont l'usage, loin d'avoir une visée de transformation sociale, confère un statut d'expert·e -gage de ressources matérielles et symboliques -à celles et ceux qui la mobilisent, et assure le « rebranding » 7 des institutions universitaires à l'heure où celles-ci sont engagées dans une concurrence mondialisée pour obtenir toujours plus de partenariats internationaux, pour recruter des « talents » du monde entier, pour obtenir des labels « Diversité », « Science avec et pour la société », etc. Dans le contexte néolibéral des quatre dernières décennies, la circulation de la théorie de l'intersectionnalité et son entrée dans le monde universitaire s'est ainsi traduite, en partie, par sa marchandisation (Bilge 2013(Bilge , 2015. ...
... Intersectionality, a term first coined by Crenshaw, refers to the multiple marginalizations faced by Black women (Crenshaw 1989;1991). The intersectionality framework initially originated in the law literature and US context; however, currently it is used widely in other fields such as social sciences and literature and across globe -including the global south (Cho et al. 2013;May 2015;Salem 2018;Bauer et al. 2021). Intersectionality theory is a critique of the existing feminist literature, wherein it primarily posits that the singular-axis framework limits the inquiry to the otherwise privileged members of the group, thereby erasing the disadvantages faced by those in the intersectional categories (Crenshaw 2018). ...
... Some studies applied intersectionality by depoliticizing from its original black feminist movements, while others engaging with the broader framework of the experiences of Black women with differentiated dispossession. However, the concept of "intersectionality" has emerged as a significant aspect of social sciences scholarly writing, despite ongoing discussions on its exact meaning (Evans and Erickson 2019;Bauer et al. 2022;Siegel et al. 2023;Salem 2018;Davis 2020). The United Nations approval of intersectionality as a concept has amplified its acceptance and has depoliticized the thought. ...
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In the last decade, lack of consumption data has made it difficult to study the question of “socio-economic and gender equity in food security” . A limited existing research on food security in older people among India has focused on consequences rather than understanding factors contributing to it through innovative theoretical frameworks. This study examines the association between multi-dimensional marginalization of caste, poverty and gender on food insecurity among older adults in India using intersectionality framework. Intersectionality theory posits that multiple layers of marginalization experienced by individuals cannot be understood by treating the explanators distinctly as one master factor; rather, they should be studied in intersecting terms, not a sum of the parts. Using data from the nationally representative Longitudinal Ageing Study in India Wave-1 (2017–18) and robust econometric strategy, we find large differences in the levels of food insecurity status across the intersectional axes of caste, poverty and gender. The results indicate that systematic discrimination and multi-layer structural deprivation persist among the poor and non-poor schedule caste and schedule tribe males and females, with a smaller independent effect of gender within the caste and economic groups. Our findings are robust to multiple sub-samples. In conclusion, we advance that intersectionality framework is an innovative approach to identify most vulnerable people with food insecurity “within” and “across” the broad social categories.
... Pero para Garneau (2018), un número sustancial de las críticas provienen de diferencias epistemológicas y metodológicas obviando los contextos históricos y políticos de un concepto, que según Thomas (2020), se encuentran en constante construcción. Por ello Salem (2018), propone volver a poner en el centro planteamientos Marxista feministas que destaquen el papel de la división del trabajo, buscando con ello evidenciar las dinámicas de las distintas relaciones de poder y dar respuesta a las preguntas: "¿qué mujeres se ven afectadas? ¿y de qué maneras?" (p. ...
... Otras categorías que interactúan de manera directa con el género son la discapacidad o el edadismo, tanto desde la perspectiva de la oferta como de la demanda (Mendoza Ontiveros et al., 2015;Rodríguez Muñoz y Acevedo Duarte, 2015). Todo ello sin perder de vista al género, la etnia y la clase social como elementos articuladores, lo que, en opinión de Salem (2018), permite al concepto mantener su principal característica de reivindicación. ...
Article
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El turismo es una actividad feminizada que presenta diversas brechas de género; a partir de ellas se promueve la vulnerabilidad de las mujeres. El objetivo es analizar las emociones experimentadas por las mujeres en sus procesos de empoderamiento a través de la participación en el turismo. El propósito es presentar una propuesta conceptual para el estudio de las prácticas que promueven la vulnerabilidad para evitarlas. Para ello se realiza una revisión conceptual y se contrasta con los hallazgos de diversas investigaciones. Se destaca la necesidad de considerar las categorías que interactúan con el género, los impactos de la vulnerabilidad económica en otros tipos de vulnerabilidad. Las implicaciones a nivel conceptual visibilizan la importancia de las emociones, así como la vulnerabilidad epistémica y su posibilidad de reivindicación como constructos importantes para evitar la (re)producción de la vulnerabilidad en las organizaciones turísticas.
... the concepts of intersectionality and risk were first combined in studies of HIV risks, often in the field of health studies (see Bowleg 2012;Dworkin 2024; Giritli nygren and olofsson 2014). However, over the past decade, these conceptual considerations have proliferated in other fields (Salem 2018). ...
... thus, not only is it a matter of contextualising and including local experiences from 'non-north-Western' countries, it is a matter of reversing this unidirectional diffusion of ideas. Intersectionality and critical theory open up possibilities for such processes; however, they stem from and were mainly developed in north America and europe (Salem 2018). nevertheless, both intersectional and risk research are increasingly engaging in studies of the lived experiences of inequality and/risk. ...
... Intersectionality is a theoretical framework that originated from Black Feminist thought and liberation movements, addressing the intersecting forms of inequality experienced by women globally (Collins, 2006;Crenshaw, 1989;Salem, 2018). The term "intersectionality" was officially coined by Kimberly Crenshaw, an African American lawyer and scholar who examined the intersection of gender and race among women of color in the United States (Crenshaw, 1991). ...
... In the pursuit of an enriched understanding, the lens of intersectionality was applied during the data analysis and interpretation phases. Intersectionality was harnessed to a) discern recurring and prominent categories across the dataset, b) classify the identities of the key informants, c) situate the influence of social, cultural, and political contexts on these identities, and d) unveil covert manifestations of power dynamics, inequality, and oppression within the data (Collins, 2006;Salem, 2018). Employing data triangulation, a strategy aimed at generating a comprehensive understanding from diverse vantage points, constituted an integral part of our analytical process. ...
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This article examines the reunification experiences and gender dynamics of reunited Mexican couples post-migration, and the intersections that shape those experiences. In 2021, we conducted a critical ethnographic study guided by intersectionality theory in Veracruz, Mexico. We interviewed women who stayed behind (n = 20), return migrants (n = 12), health care providers (n = 6), and community leaders (n = 12). Data was analyzed using thematic analysis using NVivo software as aid. We found that the intersection of age, gender, and employment status influenced gender relations among reunited couples postmigration. Couples reinforced, negotiated, and resisted pre-established gender norms in Agua Dulce. The findings suggest that women have the capacity to act on the relationship pathway upon the return of their migrant partners at the dynamic intersection of age, gender, and employment status. These must be understood against the backdrop of gender norms in the study context. This article provides an important theoretical contribution to research and policy. The contribution lies in the rich intersectional understanding of how and why relationships are affected in different ways depending on intersecting factors across the pre-, during, and post- migration experience. Policymakers and stakeholders can use it to identify ways to enhance women’s agency.
... Finally, we discuss our findings and implications. Notably, given the scholarly concerns that intersectionality, as a theory that "travels" across disciplines, is at risk of "flattening"-losing its foundation and focus on systems of power and social justice and being depoliticized- (Cho et al., 2013;Collins, 2019;Salem, 2018), we discuss theoretical and methodological implications for future research. ...
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With an intersectional orientation, we examine associations between discrimination, health communication, and information-seeking intention about HIV prevention in the context of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among cisgender women through an online survey (N = 341). We elaborate on the idea that intersectional discrimination is a social determinant of health by considering the context with differing power relations—day-to-day life and the healthcare field—based on Bourdieu’s field theory, and explore moderating roles of health communication in this relationship according to the structural influence model of communication (SIM). The relationships between intersectional discrimination and intention show different patterns by the context in which intersectional experiences are considered, and the relationships are moderated differently by the mode of health communication. We discuss how to conduct intersectionality-informed health communication research without sacrificing intersectionality’s foundational foci.
... One potential approach to address this inherent self-contradiction is proposed by Sara Salem, who advocates for the integration of intersectionality with Marxist feminism from the Global South. This integration can serve as a means to rejuvenate and reinforce intersectionality's focus on power dynamics, revealing the processes through which social categories are constructed and the reasons behind their intersections (Salem, 2018). ...
Thesis
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This thesis aims to address the research question: In what way do social interactions in school shape the gender identity of students? Through a school ethnography conducted in a Hungarian primary school located in Budapest, Hungary, I investigate the complexities of gendered violence and its influence on students' experiences in the school environment. The fieldwork took place between the end of April and beginning of June in 2022, focusing on an 8th-grade class consisting of 28 students. By immersing myself in their everyday lives, including observing lessons and breaks, and conducting semi-structured individual interviews with 9 students, I sought to gain insights into their experiences and perspectives. My findings highlight the interconnected nature of gendered violence and social interactions in school, emphasizing the role of systemic violence, gender stereotypes, power imbalances, and discrimination in shaping students' gender identities. The research reveals the impact of intersecting identity categories on students' social positioning and the types of violence they experience in school. It also uncovers the normalization and oversight of sexual harassment and verbal abuse in schools, shedding light on the importance of parental attitudes in perpetuating gender inequalities in school. Ultimately, the insights gained from this research contribute to the broader scholarship on violence, gender, and social interactions in schools.
... In such a perspective multiple vulnerabilities and forms of oppression come together and presuppose a hierarchy of victimization that is weighted by group. But in spite of the growing popularity of intersectional approaches, many tend to prioritize specific axes such as religion, gender, or race, often neglecting class, which, despite its analytical potential, remains underexplored in shaping and understanding these intersections (Nesbit 2006: 172;Salem 2018;Ingram 2021). This is also evident in recent research on Islam in Europe and conversion, an area of particular relevance to this study (van Nieuwkerk 2004(van Nieuwkerk , 2006Rogozen-Soltar 2012;Vroon 2014;Galonnier 2015;Moosavi 2015;Özyürek 2015;van den Brandt 2023). ...
... There are arguments that despite its widespread use as an analytical and a practical tool, the true nature of intersectionality remains unclear, whether it is a concept or a theory or an idea. Salem (2018) argues that the 'travelling' nature of intersectionality as a theory allows for several critiques to be contextualised and addressed. Rarely debated are the three ways to define it: structural (the experience of oppression at the intersections between the different dimensions of identity), political (fighting for women's rights or Black people's rights, but with conflicting aims, thereby marginalising some groups who might have originally been marginalised within a political group) and representational (images of women of colour reflecting prevalent narratives of gender and race). ...
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The growing popularity of intersectionality theory, the critiques levelled against it and its use in gender and development (GAD) warrant a critical reflection by feminists, especially those working with less affluent women. This article examines the stretching of intersectionality in GAD research, policymaking and practice, and shows how it has been depoliticised into becoming a ‘catch-all’ term that can be used by all feminists as a shorthand for explaining differences within the category of ‘women’. The particular focus here is on the gender analytical frameworks that are generally based on a binary understanding of gender and used in the development industry, generally by liberal feminists. Finally, and as a corrective, the article explores the possibilities of an ‘intersectionality-informed’ approach to gender analyses.
... El pensamiento feminista decolonial e interseccional es fundamental para entender el trabajo de las Trabajadoras de Casa Particular (TCP) migrantes. Este enfoque, que integra las contribuciones de teóricas como Mohanty (2008), Lugones (2008), Espinosa (2009), Bidaseca (2011), Segato (2011), Fraser (2015, y Salem (2016), proporciona una lente crítica para examinar las múltiples opresiones que estas mujeres enfrentan, considerando cómo la historia colonial y las estructuras de poder impactan sus vidas en la sociedad contemporánea. Este enfoque no solo permite visibilizar las opresiones, sino también desafiar las narrativas hegemónicas que perpetúan estas desigualdades. ...
Article
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This study aims to describe how the migratory trajectories of migrant domestic workers begin in Chile and the role of migratory networks and emotional factors in their decisions. A qualitative analysis of six biographical narratives is employed to examine the complexities of their labor and migratory trajectories, influenced by intersecting factors such as gender, class, and ethnicity, within the context of global care chains. The results reveal five central moments when making the decision to migrate. The first moment is characterized by the fact that none of the cases had worked as domestic workersin their home countries. In the second moment, the need to change their circumstances in their home countries arises, often due to political crises, economic challenges, or gender-based violence. The third moment involves the existence of a migratory network of friends and family who assist in their journey.In the fourth moment, a significant emotional factor plays a central role in the decision to migrate, influencing the timing of the decision. Finally, in the fifth moment, the decision to migrate to Chile is made.
... Legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw [21], who substantially shaped the term intersectionality, emphasized its ability to draw attention to the specific experiences of individuals. Intersectionality has since traveled across various disciplines and fields of research [22]. As it can be seen as a framework for a multifaceted analysis of societal and organizational outlines that create or reproduce systems of (dis)advantage, intersectional perspectives have also become more prevalent in educational research [23]. ...
Article
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Teachers need to be well-equipped to work with diverse groups of students from various linguistic backgrounds. Following the PRISMA guidelines, this systematic review analyzed international empirical research on interventions aiming at preparing secondary pre-service teachers for teaching linguistically diverse students. The dataset includes papers from 2012 to 2022 retrieved through the electronic databases ERIC, Education Source, and Scopus. The goal of this review was twofold, namely (1) to investigate how interventions contribute to the development of strategies and skills for teaching linguistically diverse students and (2) to analyze which of the identified interventions considered aspects of intersectionality and, more specifically, in what sense. Multiple intervention strategies, such as assessment tools, self-inquiry, or practice experiences, were found. Regarding the targeted skills of pre-service teachers, this review identified the emerging themes of Methods and Instruction, Critical and Reflective Thinking, as well as Linguistic Awareness. While the term intersectionality was hardly used explicitly, several studies implicitly addressed intersectional matters. Single-issue approaches, which considered multiple diversity referents in an additive rather than an interconnected way, occurred most frequently. This review underlines the need for interventions in teacher education that are based on a broader understanding of linguistic diversity and emphasizes the importance of employing critical and intersectional perspectives.
... It elucidates how the accumulation of various social identities (gender, religion, sexuality, ethnicity, etc.) can act as a barrier, impeding individuals from accessing spaces, knowledge, and fundamental human rights. Yet, intersectionality theory, while providing valuable insights into the complexities of violence and peace, has been criticised for its absence in practice, its focus on multiple identities at the expense of broader structural factors, its complexity, the risk of essentialism, and potential Western biases (Salem, 2018). ...
Chapter
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Violence is intertwined with a gendered logic, encompassing physical, sexual, structural, cultural, and symbolic dimensions. However, this association becomes even more complex within the context of refugees and forced migration. This chapter delves into the conceptual and theoretical framework surrounding multidimensional gendered vulnerabilities and violence in the context of forced migration. It explores key concepts integral to my discussion, including Galtung’s conceptualisations of violence (direct, structural, and cultural violence), Bourdieu’s theory of symbolic violence, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and vulnerabilities. Additionally, this chapter examines intersectionality and the continuum of violence framework to deepen our understanding of gendered vulnerabilities and violence in forced migration contexts.
... It elucidates how the accumulation of various social identities (gender, religion, sexuality, ethnicity, etc.) can act as a barrier, impeding individuals from accessing spaces, knowledge, and fundamental human rights. Yet, intersectionality theory, while providing valuable insights into the complexities of violence and peace, has been criticised for its absence in practice, its focus on multiple identities at the expense of broader structural factors, its complexity, the risk of essentialism, and potential Western biases (Salem, 2018). ...
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This open access book investigates the gendered violence and vulnerabilities experienced by Rohingya men and women, drawing on qualitative data from refugee camps in Bangladesh. It shows that in Myanmar, men suffered torture and sexual violence, while women experienced physical, mental and sexual violence, legitimized by patriarchal norms. Sexual violence was wielded as a weapon to coerce their exodus from Myanmar and to disrupt the essential facets of Rohingya femininity, motherhood, and reproductive capabilities. Structural, cultural and symbolic violence affected the Rohingya differently across gender lines. A gendered threat narrative and othering cast women as ‘ugly’ and reproductive threats while men are framed as potential threats to national security and Buddhist nationalism. In Bangladesh, gendered othering continued, with Rohingya men seen as security threats and women as vulnerable victims. This book contributes to peace and conflict studies, gender studies, and migration and refugee studies, by analysing gendered violence.
... gender studies since the late 1980s (Salem, 2018). Guided by feminist theory, the review analyzes climate change and health impacts through a gendered lens, revealing disparities in nutrition, access to clean water, and mental health risks women face, especially in disaster-prone regions. ...
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The idea of this book series is for the scientists, scholars, engineers and students from the Universities all around the world and the industry to present ongoing research activities, and hence to foster research relations between the Universities and the industry. The purpose of this book is to provide a focal forum to share the latest research findings, knowledge, opinions, suggestions, and vision, while also providing a variety of interactive platforms in the field of Social Science
... Additionally, these principles emphasize the necessity of considering power dynamics beyond individual social strata in models, including instructional methods and school characteristics. Salem (2018) describes intersectionality as a theory that travels across time, place, and space; it has been adapted and used differently across contexts and communities. For instance, the rise of critical quantitative theories has brought intersectionality into quantitative research (Tabron and Thomas 2023). ...
Article
This investigation examines the efficacy of multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy (MAIHDA) over fixed-effects models when performing intersectional studies. The research questions are as follows: (1) What are typical strata representation rates and outcomes on physics research-based assessments? (2) To what extent do MAIHDA models create more accurate predicted strata outcomes than fixed-effects models? and (3) To what extent do MAIHDA models allow the modeling of smaller strata sample sizes? We simulated 3,000 data sets based on real-world data from 5,955 students on the LASSO platform. We found that MAIHDA created more accurate and precise predictions than fixed-effects models. We also found that using MAIHDA could allow researchers to disaggregate their data further, creating smaller group sample sizes while maintaining more accurate findings than fixed-effects models. We recommend using MAIHDA over fixed-effects models for intersectional investigations.
... This approach thus contrasts with views that reserve the label 'intersectionality' for the study of the experiences of Black women (e.g., Alexander-Floyd 2012). Although we acknowledge the origin of the term within Black feminist thought and movement, and also recognize the danger of "white-washing" the notion(Hancock 2016;Jordan-Zachery 2007;Salem 2018), we think it is fruitful to conceive of this approach as applicable to other relevant experiences in context (seeCrenshaw 1991Crenshaw : 1245).Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved. ...
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Intersectionality is the notion that concerns the complexity of the experiences of individuals in virtue of their belonging to multiple socially significant categories. One of its main insights is that the way society is structured around categories such as gender, race, sexuality, class, etc., produces distinctive and specific forms of discrimination and privilege for groups in the intersections. In this paper, we suggest conceiving intersectionality as a general metaphysical framework wherein specific claims to the effect that the experiences of discrimination of Black women, among others, can be fruitfully formulated and examined. The main claim is that intersectional experiences emerge from the conjunction of social categories when social structures make them relevant vis-à-vis discrimination and privilege. We then argue that our view has three main virtues: metaphysical neutrality, explanatory flexibility and methodological openness. Explaining these virtues will allow us to contrast our proposal with alternatives from the recent literature.
... Studies about Western countries show that there is an important difference between how intersectional theory is discursively used by feminist groups and how it is implemented as a feminist praxis (Lépinard 2016;Evans 2016) and a collective identity (Roth 2004). Yet, few studies have empirically considered the reception of intersectional theory in feminist groups from the Global South 2 ; indeed, there are questions regarding how and in what ways it travels as a concept (Salem 2018). Drawing upon original qualitative data and analysis of a Moroccan independent feminist group, I argue that intersectional praxis (1) raises the question of race in a non-whiteness context, (2) confronts male privilege inside social justice movements, (3) addresses elitism within second-generation feminist groups, and (4) fosters an activist 'repertoire' (Tilly 1984) which is based on creativity and self-transformation. ...
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As a theory, intersectionality emerged in the North but when it travels South and is appropriated by feminist groups in a context of non-Whiteness, actors are faced with an adaptation challenge since race is no longer the focal point. Considering privilege as contextual and relational, this chapter studies a Moroccan feminist group which defines itself as intersectional and examines how activists reinterpret intersectionality. Drawing upon original qualitative data and analysis, I argue that their intersectional praxis: 1) interprets privilege as Western hegemony instead of race relations; 2) confronts male privilege inside social justice movement in terms of narratives and frames; 3) addresses elitism within second-generation feminist groups; and 4) fosters an activist repertoire which is based on creativity and self-transformation.
... The concept of intersectionality has become more mainstream in academia and popular culture (Salem, 2018). With this visibility, Salem (2018) explores the recent turn 'from intersectionality as a moment of resistance to intersectionality as a neoliberal approach that erases inequality'. ...
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Australia is already experiencing climate change losses and damages. Australian governments and other institutional actors acknowledge vulnerability, yet they centre building resilience to climate change. Resilience is frequently used as a synonym for vulnerability reduction, but important ideological differences exist. Indeed, scholars have suggested that resilience, as a politico-ideological tool of subject formation, can be considered a type of governmentality. While there is much research on the political and ideological dimensions of resilience, there is less focus on illuminating how resilience, as a form of climate governmentality, interacts with vulnerability to climate change. Drawing on a climate ethnography in regional Australia, I ask how do resilience discourses and interventions influence vulnerability to climate change in regional Australia? To answer this question, I explore examples of the historical-structural, intersectional and psychosocial determinants of vulnerability, identify key resilience discourses and interventions and examine how, what I term, climate resilience governmentality is influencing vulnerability to climate change. Unable to identify clear causality, I instead show how resilience governmentality is working to reinforce rather than redress the root causes of vulnerability in regional Australia. I observe that resilience discourses emphasise shared responsibility, but in practice, this translates into a focus on individual capacities. Subjects' psychological dispositions are targeted and neoliberal rationalities are desired outcomes. Climate resilience governmentality is not linked to a withdrawal of the state. Instead, it is a top-down process based on government prioritisation, subject formation strategies and the building of non-governmental institutional landscapes to provide services. I argue that climate resilience governmentality is a form of governmental gaslighting because it denies the lived experiences of precarity, insecurity and structural violence throughout regional Australia. I suggest that significant government investment in regional communities, critical societal reflection and truth-telling are urgently needed to reduce vulnerability in regional Australia.
... As Salem proposes (2018), this investigation not only conceives intersectionality as source of understanding and confronting social health inequality but also how intersectionality can examine the circumstances of migrant women residing in a Palma neighbourhood, in which there are various asymmetrical relationship axes of power at play that contribute to the discrimination and exclusion these women face (30) . ...
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COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the Spanish population, as well as on Social Determinants of Health among which sex, sex/being a woman and being a migrant stand out. The goal of this study was to describe the beliefs and knowledge that migrant women from a racialised neighbourhood had about COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic. To do this, a qualitative study was carried out in a particular neighbourhood in Mallorca. The analysis used a hybrid-focus with a coding tree that was open to other emerging categories, segmented as per the variables of having contracted COVID-19 or not having contracted the virus. 20 adult migrant women were interviewed and 7 categories emerged from their discourses: (1) regarding knowledge of the virus; (2) sources of information; (3) incorrect beliefs about the virus and use of home remedies; (4) economic difficulties when complying with prevention measures; (5) general and specific knowledge about diagnostic testing; (6) regarding difficulties on isolating themselves; and (7) vaccination acceptance. We found differences in favour of women with an academic background. These women were more empowered, being more critical of the information they were given and able to look for resources in the community, Making sex inequalities more visible—both existing and emerging— will help to generate effective public policies that promote equality in healthcare and social spheres
Article
‘A rapist on your path’ is a performance created by Las Tesis in Chile in 2019. The performance spread across the world and was performed by other groups of women in different countries. It is a rare example of a Southern-born protest making its way to Western contexts. This article highlights the role of women of Latin American origin in organising the re-creations of the performance and analyses their activism in two European cities, Helsinki and Brussels. It is argued that performing in the streets was about spreading the message of the performance and an act of solidarity with activists in Chile. The performance also enabled the performing groups to gain visibility and voice and to network with other groups. Performing in the streets was also a way of breaking away from the Western feminism entrenched in institutions and the academia, and to critically assess Western feminist approaches. Feminist protesting on the streets targets patriarchal structures as the root cause of gender-based violence. Spreading Southern perceptions on the streets of European cities challenges understandings of feminism as entrenched in the academy and in institutions and instead, opens feminist debates to all.
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This article explores the precarity of Hazara Afghan refugee migrants in a small Australian rural township to elucidate the complexity of the experiences and recognise the multiple and fluid identities of refugee migrants through the lens of intersectionality. The use of an intersectional approach allowed us to unpack precarity in refugee mobilities and better place and understand rural Australia as the social context for their resettlement experiences. Our article highlights how pathways to permanent settlement and family reunification are structured by the refugee visa regimes, which require refugees to work or study in rural areas. This structuring of refugee rural mobilities through refugee visa regimes intensifies the levels and experiences of everyday precarity, exploitation and marginalisation. This article considers how intersectionality can help us understand the complexity of the experiences and recognise multiple identities and inequalities that are dependent on the particularities associated with a rural context. The qualitative fieldwork involving semi‐structured interviews with Hazara Afghan refugee migrants and community stakeholders demonstrates how different identities intersect to create disadvantages and inequalities for Hazaras, which we explore through the intersections of precarious legal status (as refugees/asylum seekers), employment, age and masculinity.
Article
Introducción. El auge de sistemas de Inteligencia Artificial para el tratamiento de información y la relevancia empírica del enfoque interseccional incita la búsqueda de un punto de confluencia entre ambos métodos de análisis. Objetivos. El potencial analítico que ofrecen los sistemas de aprendizaje automático, dada su elevada capacidad de procesamiento de datos masivos, sumado a la mejor disposición del enfoque interseccional para abordar problemáticas sociales, al incidir sobre los diferentes ejes de identidad/opresión que vertebran la posición de las personas, invita a plantear una simbiosis entre ellos hasta alcanzar una Inteligencia Artificial Interseccional. Metodología. Para ello, se realiza una aproximación conceptual a ambos métodos y se estudian los tres momentos en los que podría evaluarse la interseccionalidad de los sistemas de inteligencia artificial: en la configuración de las bases de datos de entrenamiento, en el descubrimiento de correlaciones entre variables durante el desarrollo de los modelos y, finalmente, en la fase de auditoría como categoría de fiabilidad del sistema. Resultados. Tras la revisión doctrinal y de supuestos empíricos ya desarrollados, se observa cómo es posible poner al servicio de la sociedad una Inteligencia Artificial que, lejos de generar sesgos, contribuya a la visibilización de realidades olvidadas y colectivos discriminados desde una perspectiva Interseccional. Conclusión. En una sociedad democrática una Inteligencia Artificial Interseccional no solo es posible sino deseable como herramienta para potenciar la diversidad y la inclusión.
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The dynamics of knowledge production in the discipline of international relations (IR) frequently reproduce problematic and outdated idea(l)s about what counts as ‘proper’ scholarship, with positivist research setting the standard for legitimacy. This essay challenges the racialised hierarchies that reproduce unreflective endorsement of these (white, Western) ‘standards’ of knowledge production. Our review begins with an elaboration of epistemic whiteness as the foundation for a critical examination of race and racialised power in the discipline. We provide a timely and necessary review of the dynamics of racialised power in IR to expand the parameters of debates about race, racism, and coloniality. We introduce the concepts of Indigeneity and intersectionality as tools we can use to destabilise whiteness in the discipline. We conclude our discussion by showing how these two concepts can enable potentially transformative re-imaginings of IR, as we hope to foster new and plural ways of thinking world politics otherwise.
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This essay explores the asymmetric impact of an emerging and increasingly normalized refugee crisis on LGBT+ politics/advocacy in risk societies through an intersectional lens. It adapts Crenshaw’s three-dimensional forms of intersectionality as a framework to challenge the idea that refugee crises are exceptional. Drawing on informal conversations, published policies, reports, and news covered by invested parties, this ethnographic case study disrupts generalized hegemonic discourses on Lebanon’s perpetual state of crisis that manipulates security construction and normalizes heteronational attitudes and ad hoc strategies that complicate the localization of global LGBT+ rights in times of crises. It contextualizes the resonance and/or alienation of global crises on local governance of queer Syrian refugee identities and agency. This study offers a complex understanding of LGBT+ politics and global crises in liquid modernity, where compounded forms of privilege and oppression shape the precariousness of queer Syrians’ experiences and agency in the case of Lebanon.
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Resumen La teorización feminista negra se desarrolló fuera del mundo académico formal para satisfacer las necesidades de las mujeres negras, pero no terminó ahí. Esta reseña ofrece acceso a algunas “guerras” y debates actuales acerca de las políticas del conocimiento sobre teorías, conceptos y praxis feministas negras que se han profundizado dentro de la sociología y se extienden cada vez más a paneles de conferencias en vivo, debates en línea y legislaturas. Las características compartidas dentro del feminismo negro incluyen una atención persistente y crítica a la producción de conocimiento, el poder y el cambio social de las mujeres negras, pero hay mucho más que eso. Basándose en la sociología y otras disciplinas, esta reseña del feminismo negro/interseccionalidad cubre familias de feminismos negros, tendencias de citación disciplinaria, consideraciones metodológicas y tensiones en torno a la encarnación en las demandas sobre el feminismo negro y la interseccionalidad. En las conclusiones proponemos rumbos para destrabar conflictos, desestabilizar guerras y avanzar hacia la alegría y la liberación mientras la lucha continúa. An English translation is available online at https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-090123-032434
Article
Black feminist theorizing developed outside the formal academy to meet the needs of Black women but did not end there. This review offers entrée to some current “wars” and debates on politics of knowledge about Black feminist theories, concepts, and praxis that have deepened within sociology and increasingly extend into live conference panels, online debates, and legislatures. Shared characteristics within Black feminism include persistent and critical attention to Black women's knowledge production, power, and social change—but there is much more. Drawing on sociology and other disciplines, this review of Black feminism/intersectionality covers families of Black feminisms, disciplinary citation trends, methodological considerations, and tensions around embodiment in claims to Black feminism and intersectionality. In the conclusions, we propose directions to untether conflicts, unsettle wars, and move toward joy and liberation as the struggle continues. A Spanish translation is available online at https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-030424-062839
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The teaching of mathematics globally at university level, has created an environment that favours the performance of men over women. Men tend to perform better than women at university level. The gender gap has been explained by using biological and social cultural theories. It is also noted that at doctoral level the number of women who earn degrees is very minimal and the women graduates tend to be viewed as less competent when compared with men. The study employs poststructural feminism, socialcultural, and situated learning theories to explore the gender gap in mathematics. Gender stereotypes seem to have a major impact on performance of women in mathematics.
Article
This article explores the political economy of eldercare labour and the gendered politics of care work in China. Building on insights from research conducted in 2016–17 in Shanghai, we argue that gendered regimes of productive and reproductive labour, processes of class formation and economic reforms articulate with a regime of differential urban citizenship rights – urban and rural hukou – in shaping and influencing the lived experience of paid eldercare workers. As a framework for understanding ‘who cares’ in local eldercare labour markets in China, we follow recent work interweaving social reproduction theory (SRT) and intersectionality. In conversation with those debates, we experiment with mobilising intersectionality alongside SRT as we explore these eldercare workers’ paths into the sector, but argue that attention to the Chinese context and Chinese feminist contributions can also transform SRT and intersectional approaches through historically and materially grounded analyses of evolving relations of exploitation and oppression. This approach enriches the feminist political economy of paid eldercare through attention to who is channelled into this work in one of the world’s largest, and fastest-ageing, economies.
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Die Verbreitung von Intersektionalität geht mit Vereinnahmung von marginalisiertem Wissen einher. Dies stellt eine Form epistemischer Gewalt dar. Der Beitrag untersucht am Beispiel der eigenen Dissertation die Frage, wie ich mich auf Diskurse um Intersektionalität beziehen und gleichzeitig deren Vereinnahmung entgegenwirken kann. Eine Situationsmap als Werkzeug nutzend, steht die Kritik von antirassistischen Feminist*innen an weißdominierter Geschlechterforschung im Fokus. Aus dieser entwickele ich drei Orientierungslinien: Anerkennung marginalisierten Wissens, Förderung von Verteilungsgerechtigkeit und Reflexion eigener Ausschließungspraxen. Die Anwendung der Orientierungslinien auf die eigene Forschung zeigt eine Herausforderung auf: Anerkennung bleibt selektiv. Dies kann verschiedene marginalisierte Gruppen in Konkurrenz zueinander setzen. Auch ist die Förderung von Verteilungsgerechtigkeit im Rahmen einer Promotion begrenzt, die letztendlich auf die eigene Einschließung ins Wissenschaftssystem abzielt. Der dritten Orientierungslinie folgend werden die Spannungsfelder in einen kritischen Fragenkatalog für Forschungsprojekte übersetzt.
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In recent years, the concept of intersectionality has gained significant prominence in the policy discourse of the European Union (EU). However, several scholars have noted a lack of engagement with intersectionality’s core social justice principles and stressed the need to carefully examine how intersectionality is taken up in EU policy. To contribute to this effort, the authors propose a new ‘EU-Intersectionality’ framework to analyse intersectionality in EU policy, combining elements of Critical Frame Analysis and identifying eight core criteria to operationalize intersectionality in EU policy texts and leverage its politically emancipatory potential. The resulting framework sheds light on how intersectionality has fared within EU policy contexts. Specifically, it asks which dimensions of intersectionality are captured, and which elements are left behind. We illustrate the framework by analysing the EU’s ‘Union of Equality’ strategies on anti-racism; gender equality; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer equality; Roma equality and the rights of persons with disabilities. We conclude that the EU-Intersectionality framework allows to dissect the varied and conflicting ways in which intersectionality is operationalized within EU policies – while some aspects of the ‘Union of Equality’ agenda resonate with the social justice aims behind the concept, the use of intersectionality remains superficial and largely maintains the status quo. Our findings caution against the co-optation of intersectionality in EU policymaking, while recognising the progressive advancements made within the EU equality policy area.
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După căderea comunismului, situația femeilor migrate de etnie romă originare din România demonstrează a fi în plină evoluție, în ciuda gravelor problemelor de respingere și marginalitate socială a acestora. Feminismul periferic, ca formă de recunoaștere a drepturilor femeilor de la marginea societății, vine să pună în prim plan complexitatea problematicii acestei lucrări axată pe trivalența migrație romă – etnie romă – femeie romă, într-un spațiu social atipic, departe de ceea ce numim “acasă”, datorită multitudinii de puncte de vedere sociale transformatoare. Obiectivul studiului empiric este dat de intenția de a demonstra procesul de emancipare și reconstrucție a identității de gen a femeii rome imigrante din România în Spania (în concret în Comunitatea Valenciană). Demersul științific pornește de la următoarea ipoteză principală: „Sub impactul procesului migrator european și al prezenței feminismului periferic contemporan femeia imigrantă romă de origine română este capabilă de reconstrucția propiei identități de gen” și ajunge, în urma triangulației metodologice (calitative, cantitative și spațiale), triangulației teoretice (teoriile migrației, etniei și feministe) și tematice triangulate (migrația romă – etnia romă – femeia romă) să pună în practică, în principal, trei tipuri de instrumente de cercetare: chestionarele, interviul și tehnica Focus Group. Rezultatele obținute demonstrează dorința de emancipare a femeii imigrante de etnie romă marcată de un punct de cotitură fără întoarcere în schimbările caracteristicilor etnice rome, nu doar la nivel personal, ci și la nivel familial. Se observă capacitatea de adaptare la noul habitat social valencian, respingerea violenței domestice, schimbarea mentalității personale în fața unei noi societății unde, cea de- a doua generație de migrante rome, va contribuii la crearea unui nou ADN feminin rom emancipat și transformat din punct de vedere al dezvoltării personale și al identităţii sociale. Noile trăsături de identitate socială, suprapuse și marcate de ultimele experiențe de viață (migrație, patriarhat, pandemie COVID-19), demonstrează influențele asupra femeii rome spre o adaptare socială rapidă și eficientă fără precedent în istoria contemporană. Reconstruirea valorilor personale ale romei migrante din România demonstrează capacitatea de a se reinventa, de a se emancipa și crea o nouă identitate de gen, impregnată de trăsăturile mișcării feministe spaniole contemporane. În concluzie, teza de doctorat își propune reconsiderarea conceptului de feminism perifieric rom actual prin prisma înțelegerii transformărilor etniei rome atât din punctul de vedere al noii Geografii de gen cât și al Sociologiei de gen contemporane. Se deschide o epistemologie de frontieră, nu numai fizică, ci și ideologică și culturală, care va permite înțelegerea conceptelor cheie legate de feminismul rom românesc european pentru a-l face vizibil în contextul neoliberal occidental al studiilor feministe periferice contemporane.
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This document represents my Phd Thesis summary. The main purpose of the paper is to reconsider the concept of current ethnic feminism and to know in depth the reconstruction of the gender identity of the Romanian Roma migrant woman in Spain (Valencian Community), processes generating a new social evolution in a migratory space of arrival dominated by the fourth feminist wave and marked by a new Roma migrant area, increasingly demanding with the Spanish reception area, in our case Valencian. The PhD Thesis has 191 pages and will be published in 2024.
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Climate change uniquely affects those who are at the intersection of several inequalities simultaneously, such as those based on gender, age, and disability. This makes them ‘directly affected’ by climate change, which is crucial in establishing ‘victim status’ under Article 34 of the European Convention on Human Rights. At the same time, as a result of unequal power relations, intersectional victims face exclusion from, or minimal participation in, political decision-making processes concerning climate change. This further justifies their claim to victim status as a matter of procedural climate justice. As agents of change, intersectional victims, namely elderly women and girls with disabilities, can be empowered to contribute to climate decision making, thereby reshaping unjust power relations. The article examines two climate cases currently before the European Court of Human Rights: Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland , brought by elderly women, and Duarte Agostinho et al. v. Portugal and 32 other States , brought by children and young people.
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La práctica de articulación interseccional de ciertas luchas anticoloniales, desde el siglo XVIII hasta nuestros días, está en el polo opuesto al de las teorizaciones de la interseccionalidad que dominan actualmente en el mundo académico y que resultan de la despolitización y edulcoración del concepto. Entre los dos polos, tenemos los más diversos anudamientos entre la teoría y la práctica, entre ellos los que encontramos en el trabajo crítico de Crenshaw y de quienes la siguen sin traicionarla, pero también todo lo demás que suele olvidarse y que describimos como la interseccionalidad antes de la interseccionalidad. Encontramos aquí la defensa de los indígenas por Quiroga y Las Casas, el pensamiento de Flora Tristán, el anarquismo, el aporte de Marx y Engels, algunas propuestas marxistas, freudianas y freudomarxistas, la reflexión implicada en los activismos afroamericanos, el trabajo de Frantz Fanon y el marxismo feminista en general.
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This article joins feminist theory with testimony to deliver a manifesto for development and change. I begin with a review of the intersectional, postcolonial, and decolonial literatures, showing how transnational feminisms are rethinking development from below. Next, I share my growth as a white feminist scholar engaged with antiracist and decolonial praxis. Bringing theory into dialogue with lessons from the field, I identify six pathways for emancipation, or personal commitments to decentering whitestream logic in research and practice. These pathways have helped awaken me from the enchantment of a modern-colonial world-system engaged in endless warfare with difference. Recognizing that we do not have to be alike to be united in the struggle for global justice, I encourage you to share your own commitments to development. Through knowledge sharing, we may reclaim institutional spaces for the purpose of healing justice, helping address the trauma of systemic oppression from within as well as from without.
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This article identifies a set of power relations within contemporary feminist academic debates on intersectionality that work to “depoliticizing intersectionality,” neutralizing the critical potential of intersectionality for social justice-oriented change. At a time when intersectionality has received unprecedented international acclaim within feminist academic circles, a specifically disciplinary academic feminism in tune with the neoliberal knowledge economy engages in argumentative practices that reframe and undermine it. This article analyzes several specific trends in debate that neutralize the political potential of intersectionality, such as confining intersectionality to an academic exercise of metatheoretical contemplation, as well as “whitening intersectionality” through claims that intersectionality is “the brainchild of feminism” and requires a reformulated “broader genealogy of intersectionality.”
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Those involved in queer politics were caught somewhat off guard when Judith Butler refused Berlin's Christopher Street Day (Gay Pride) Civil Courage Prize being awarded to her due to the failure of the organisers to distance themselves from a political programme that uses racist discourse for political gain. This paper will not focus on the homonationalist organisations associated with the festival organisers but rather on progressive queer and feminist groups who claim an anti-racist position yet do not change their white-dominated structures to engage in anti-racist praxis. It remains a challenge for white-dominated progressive feminist and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)/queer groups to change racist structures. This has the effect of propagating an exclusionary white queer and feminist politics. To counter this, white allies need to commit to an accountable positionality.
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This essay grows out of a presentation on a panel called “Lost in Translation” at the Critical Race Studies conference in 2010. It is a reflection on the neoliberal knowledge economy, the traffic in antiracist feminist theory, and the way my work has been read (lost or found in translation) and has crossed geopolitical and racial/cultural borders. The essay comments as well on the development of my intellectual project in relation to my location in the US academy and the intellectual and political communities that have made the work possible. The larger frame I seek to examine using responses to my work in three sites—Sweden, Mexico, and Palestine—is the way feminist, postcolonial, and antiracist theory emerges from a particular geopolitical, intellectual space; the way it enacts crossings; and the way it is trafficked, consumed, and understood in different geographies. Given the global and domestic shifts in social movements and transnational feminist scholarly projects over the past three decades, my major concern pertains to the depoliticization of antiracist feminist/women-of-color/transnational feminist intellectual projects in neoliberal, national-security-driven geopolitical landscapes.
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This article examines the general shift in feminist scholarship from the use of the concept of patriarchy to the concept of intersectionality from a transnational feminist perspective. It first reviews some central critiques of patriarchy (the problems of unidimensionality, universality, and tautology) and then examines intersectional scholarship that emerged in response. Reviewing research applications of intersectionality since the year 2000, it argues that these applications constitute an incomplete shift from the concept of patriarchy. That is, it argues that unrecognized problems with the concept of patriarchy continue to haunt contemporary intersectional applications. Specifically, intersectional scholarship tends to suffer from the ongoing legacy of patriarchy’s reification of nation-state borders and its failure to interrogate the significance of cross-border processes for shaping gender relations and identities. Next, in contrast to such conceptualizations of patriarchy, this article examines the empirically specific classic and modern patriarchies of early modern and modern Europe. In doing so, it demonstrates the cross-border dimensions of these patriarchies, particularly their importance for imperial and colonial processes. It also discusses contemporary patriarchies in the anticolonial and postcolonial world in similar transnational perspective. It argues that many of the patriarchies that are today discussed as domestic patriarchies—often in quite complex ways, via the language of intersectionality—are actually embedded within deep transnational histories that must be recognized and interrogated.
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Today intersectionality has expanded from being primarily a metaphor within structuralist feminist research to an all-encompassing theory. This article discusses this increasing dedication to intersectionality in European feminist research. How come intersectionality has developed into a signifier for ‘good feminist research’ at this particular point in time? Drawing on poststructuralist and postcolonial theory the authors examine key articles on intersectionality as well as special issues devoted to the concept. They interrogate the conflicts and meaning making processes as well as the genealogies of the concept. Thus, the epistemology and ontology behind the ‘intersectional turn’ in feminist theory is the main concern here. The authors argue that the lack of ontological discussions has lead to its very popularity. Intersectionality promises almost everything: to provide complexity, overcome divisions and to serve as a critical tool. However, the expansion of the scope of intersectionality has created a consensus that conceals fruitful and necessary conflicts within feminism.
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For many years, feminists throughout the world looked to the United States for the most advanced theory and practice. Today, however, US feminism finds itself at an impasse, stymied by the hostile, post-9/11 political climate. Unsure how to pursue gender justice under current condition’s, we are now returning the favor, by looking to feminists elsewhere for inspiration and guidance. Today, accordingly, the cutting edge of gender struggle has shifted away from the United States, to transnational spaces, such as „Europe“, where the room for maneuver is greater. The consequence is a major shift in the geography of feminist energies.
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Paying attention to the history of the concept of intersectionality is essential if it is to be used to illuminate rather than disguise the dynamic politics of multiple inequalities in particular sites. The European borrowing of an originally US-centered term raises interesting questions of the kind of political work it is intended to accomplish. The naming of certain issues as “intersectional” (which implies that others are not) and the frequent use of the term “diversity” as a near-synonym to intersectionality as a process (which tends to remove it from a political to a managerial context) are two of the potential problems that arise in transplanting this term from one specific context to another. Intersectionality arose as Crenshaw’s means of naming the exclusions in US antidiscrimination law targeting race and gender separately; what work does intersectionality do instead in a context in which diversity is framed as an addition to gender mainstreaming (“gender plus”) or as localizing and individualizing culture as “differences” in Europe? Can intersectionality travel transnationally without either obscuring the distinctive history of racialized nationalism in the US or encouraging avoidance of confronting modern forms of racialization in Europe? Looking at several specific cases illuminates this argument about the "traveling discourse" of intersectional feminist policy discourse.
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Since its inception, the concept of `intersectionality' — the interaction of multiple identities and experiences of exclusion and subordination — has been heralded as one of the most important contributions to feminist scholarship. Despite its popularity, there has been considerable confusion concerning what the concept actually means and how it can or should be applied in feminist inquiry. In this article, I look at the phenomenon of intersectionality's spectacular success within contemporary feminist scholarship, as well as the uncertainties and confusion which it has generated. Drawing upon insights from the sociology of science, I shall show how and why intersectionality could become a feminist success story. I shall argue that, paradoxically, it is precisely the concept's alleged weaknesses — its ambiguity and open-endedness — that were the secrets to its success and, more generally, make it a good feminist theory.
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Queer theory offers itself as radical epistemology to uncover pervasive forms of power, not only around sexuality but also around ‘race’ and transgender. Queer of colour theorists and some trans theorists have remained sceptical about these grand claims, and pointed out the notorious silence about racism and transphobia in the mainstream of queer theorising ((charles), 1993; Cohen, 2001; Haritaworn, 2007). Their critique echoes an older tradition of theorising multiple relations of oppression that has been particularly advocated by lesbians of colour like Audre Lorde (1984), Gloria Anzaldúa (1987) and Gloria T. Hull, Patricia Bell Scott and Barbara Smith (1982, 1983). While the anti-racist feminisms of the 1980s have produced their own silences, especially around transgender and dissident sexualities, we will here argue that their call to positionality is vital in developing a queer theory and research practice that addresses the silences around raciality. This chapter is an attempt to find a language for our dissatisfaction with the silencing of the knowledge productions and political activisms of trans people of colour, queers of colour, women of colour and migrant women in the UK and Germany; at the same time it is about exploring the possibilities and limits of the concept of ‘intersectionality’. In nearly two decades of a critical debate about how multiple oppressions around gender, ‘race’ and class interlock, ‘intersectionality’ emerged as a concept which promises a comprehensive theorising of various power relations.
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In this article I use tools of critical and poststructural discourse analysis to examine a particular rhetorical frame adopted by some European social scientists and philosophers dealing with the feminist concept of intersectionality. These scholars must negotiate a complex discursive terrain framed by what David Theo Goldberg calls ‘racial Europeanization,’ a metadiscursive regime that denies the continuing existence of European race and racisms. The result is to suppress the availability of conceptual tools that will allow people to recognize, analyze, and debate what might count as structural racisms and how racial differences can be negotiated effectively. Acceding to this suppression restricts the tools available when critics must engage with racial arguments in criticizing US intersectionality. I examine here three cases in which critics fail to give due attention to the imbrication of race, nation, and power in their arguments, the women they target, and the forms of intersectionality they wish to critique. The critics utilize structures of argument that evoke histories of racial hierarchy and colonialism, treating the intersectionality of US women of color as a site to colonize and control. They deploy rhetorics that map closely to structures of thinking described by Albert Memmi in his description of colonial racism. I demonstrate how the critiques of intersectionality frame US feminist scholars of color and their constituencies by ‘depersonalizing’ and ‘collectivizing’ them through what Memmi calls ‘the mark of the plural,’ through binary and hierarchical rhetorics, and through ‘fixing’ the nature of the black feminists who introduced the concept of intersectionality as a theoretical tool. The unacknowledged expressions of racial privilege that characterize these critiques demonstrate that feminists need to transform the terms of reading and writing to take responsibility for the ways feminist discourses function as technologies of power.
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Taking as its starting point the success of the concept of intersectionality in generating feminist inquiry in Europe, this article explores the disavowal and displacement of race that have accompanied intersectionality as it has traveled across the Atlantic. In a context in which race continues to be a structuring principle in European societies, the article explores some implications for feminist practice. It argues that such disavowal and displacement has several effects: it serves to ghettoize race as meaning-making and a site of knowledge production, it silences and subordinates those identified with the genesis of intersectionality as an analytic, and it occludes whiteness as a racialized and racializing category. Working within a psychodynamics-of-organization and black feminist frame, it argues that this has profound implications for interactions among feminists racialized as white and of color as they encounter each other in spaces of feminist infrastructure.
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Intersectional insights and frameworks are put into practice in a multitude of highly contested, complex, and unpredictable ways. We group such engagements with intersectionality into three loosely defined sets of practices: applications of an intersectional framework or investigations of intersectional dynamics; debates about the scope and content of intersectionality as a theoretical and methodological paradigm; and political interventions employing an intersectional lens. We propose a template for fusing these three levels of engagement with intersectionality into a field of intersectional studies that emphasizes collaboration and literacy rather than unity. Our objective here is not to offer pat resolutions to all questions about intersectional approaches but to spark further inquiry into the dynamics of intersectionality both as an academic frame and as a practical intervention in a world characterized by extreme inequalities. At the same time, we wish to zero in on some issues that we believe have occupied a privileged place in the field from the very start, as well as on key questions that will define the field in the future. To that end, we foreground the social dynamics and relations that constitute subjects, displacing what often seems like an undue emphasis on the subjects (and categories) themselves as the starting point of inquiry. We also situate the development and contestation of these focal points of intersectional studies within the politics of academic and social movements—which, we argue, are themselves deeply intersectional in nature and therefore must continually be interrogated as part of the intersectional project.
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In 1989, Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw published “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.” Because Crenshaw’s intervention focused on highlighting how Black women are structurally disadvantaged in both law and civil rights discourses, some scholars have marginalized intersectionality by assuming that the theory concerns only Black women, or only race and gender, and by arguing that intersectionality conceptualizes those social categories in fixed and static ways. These interpretations both misdescribe Crenshaw’s articulation of intersectionality and conflate the work a general theory of intersectionality might perform with the specific work Crenshaw mobilized her theory to do. To challenge these narrow readings of intersectionality, this essay examines how law and civil rights advocacy produce racialized modes of gender normativity. More specifically, I employ intersectionality to engage men, masculinity, whiteness and sexual orientation—social categories that are ostensibly beyond the theoretical reach and normative concern of intersectionality. My aim is to show the ways in which formal equality frameworks in law and civil rights advocacy produce and entrench normative gender identities. Colorblindness and masculinity are deeply implicated in this. I introduce two concepts—colorblind intersectionality and gender-blind intersectionality—to illustrate how. Colorblind intersectionality refers to instances in which whiteness helps to produce and is part of a cognizable social category but is invisible or unarticulated as an intersectional subject position. For example, white heterosexual men constitute a cognizable social category whose whiteness is rarely seen or expressed in intersectional terms. Gender-blind intersectionality describes a similar intersectional elision with respect to gender. By linking intersectionality to a critique of formal equality, colorblindness, and gender normativity, this essay relocates intersectionality as both a product and an articulation of critical race theory.
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Der vorliegende Sammelband vereinigt die Beiträge europäischer und US-amerikanischer WissenschaftlerInnen, die sich zum größten Teil bereits seit Jahrzehnten mit Fragen der Wechselwirkungen sozialer Kategorien auseinandersetzen. Gleichzeitig sind alle AutorInnen professionsbiographisch in der Geschlechterforschung verortet. Ihre Beiträge in diesem Sammelband zeigen, dass intersektionale Perspektiven zwar Geschlecht nicht als Masterkategorie setzen, sondern gleichwertig mit anderen Dimensionen sozialer Ungleichheiten analysieren, aber dennoch mit einem normativen commitment (Davis) bezüglich feministischer Theorietraditionen bzw. Theoriebildung einhergehen. Dies unterscheidet Intersektionalität auch von alternativen Konzepten wie bspw. Heterogenität oder Diversity. Folglich will Intersektionalitätsforschung nicht Geschlechterforschung ersetzen, sondern diese bereichern.
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In this paper, I reflect on institutional speech acts: those that make claims "about" or "on behalf" of an institution. Such speech acts involve acts of naming: the institution is named, and in being "given" a name, the institution is also "given" attributes, qualities, and even a character. By "speech acts" I include not just spoken words but writing and visual images—all the materials that give an institution interiority, as if it has a face, as well as feelings, thoughts, or judgments. They might say, for example, "the university regrets," or just simply, "we regret." More specifically, in this paper, I examine documents that are authorized by institutions (such as race-equality policies, which are often signed by, say, the vice-chancellor on behalf of an institution), make claims about the institution (for instance, by describing the institution as having certain qualities, such as being diverse), or point toward future action (by committing an institution to a course of action, such as diversity or equality, which in turn might involve the commitment of resources). Such speech acts do not do what they say: they do not, as it were, commit a person, organization, or state to an action. Instead, they are nonperformatives. They are speech acts that read as if they are performatives, and this "reading" generates its own effects. For John Langshaw Austin a performative refers to a particular class of speech. An utterance is performative when it does what it says: "the issuing of the utterance is the performing of an action" (1975, 6). For Austin, conditions have to be in place to allow such words to act, or in his terms, to allow performatives to be "happy." The "action" of the performative is not in the "words," or if it is "in" the words, it is "in" them only in so far as the words are "in the right place" to secure the effect that they name. Performatives succeed when they are uttered by the right person, to the right people, and in a way that takes the right form. As Judith Butler argues, "performativity must be understood not as a singular or deliberate 'act', but, rather as the reiterative and citational practice by which discourse produces the effects that it names" (1993, 2, emphasis added). The speech acts that commit the university to equality, I suggest, are nonperformatives. They "work" precisely by not bringing about the effects that they name. For Austin, failed performatives are "unhappy": they do not act because the conditions are not in place that are required for the action to succeed (for example, if the person who apologizes is insincere then the apology would be unhappy). In my model of the "nonperformative", the failure of the speech act to do what it says is not a failure of intent or even circumstance, but it is actually what the speech act is doing. In other words, the nonperformative does not "fail to act" because of conditions that are external to the speech act: rather, it "works" because it fails to bring about what it names. My paper will be structured by taking up four specific forms of institutional speech acts: admissions, commitments, performances, and descriptions. Second, in this paper, I want to suggest that the nonperformativity of antiracist speech acts requires a new approach to the relation between texts and social action, which I will be calling "an ethnography of texts." Such an approach still considers texts as actions, which "do things," but it also suggests that "texts" are not "finished" as forms of action, as what they "do" depends on how they are "taken up." To track what texts do, we need to follow them around. If texts circulate as documents or objects within public culture, then our task is to follow them, to see how they move as well as how they get stuck. So rather than just looking at university documentation on diversity for what it says, although I do this, as close readings are important and necessary, I also ask what they do, in part by talking to practitioners who use these documents to support their actions. This paper hence draws on interviews with diversity and equal opportunities...
Article
Intersectionality has become the primary analytic tool that feminist and anti-racist scholars deploy for theorizing identity and oppression. This paper exposes and critically interrogates the assumptions underpinning intersectionality by focusing on four tensions within intersectionality scholarship: the lack of a defined intersectional methodology; the use of black women as quintessential intersectional subjects; the vague definition of intersectionality; and the empirical validity of intersectionality. Ultimately, my project does not seek to undermine intersectionality; instead, I encourage both feminist and anti-racist scholars to grapple with intersectionality's theoretical, political, and methodological murkiness to construct a more complex way of theorizing identity and oppression.Feminist Review (2008) 89, 1-15. doi:10.1057/fr.2008.4
Article
This short article explores some of the enduring preoccupations, possibilities and dilemmas that continue to engage feminists in varying locations in Europe. It raises questions of the ethics of feminist practice when key concepts and theoretical approaches travel across locations and are taken up in these different contexts to address specific intersectional constellations.
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