Question

What is intersectionality and why is intersectionality so important when thinking about LGBTQ issues? (300 words minimum)

Links below about intersectionality:

https://www.equality-network.org/our-work/intersectional/

http://www.pewglobal.org/2013/06/04/the-global-divide-on-homosexuality/

Answer 1

• First coined back in the 1980s by Kimberlé Crenshaw to address the ways in which gender and racial discrimination overlapped, especially with respect to black women and the feminist movement, intersectionality has taken on a life of its own over the past three decades. It now speaks to the ways many seemingly disparate interests and issues intersect.
• Intersectionality, as defined in an article by Steve Williams, is "a sociological theory about how an individual can face multiple threats of discrimination when their identities overlap a number of minority classes, such as race, gender, age, ethnicity, health and other characteristics."
• Intersectionality is generally applied to women, but it doesn't have to be. We can look at a homosexual latino man and apply a lens of intersectionality to his situation, too. He might be facing racism as an immigrant to the United States or homophobia as a result of his sexual orientation. In turn, these overlapping identities could contribute to narrowing of job opportunities.
• Take the LGBTQ rights movement that is often called upon to speak for the wider LGBTQA community. These figureheads are overwhelmingly white, cis-gendered, able-bodied men and women and that can be a problem, given that they are representative of only one aspect of the LGBT community.
• The exclusion and erasure of intersectional people from our communities is reflected in service provision. Often LGBT-focused organisations have little knowledge of, for example, race issues. This can lead to racism attitudes and practices carried by staff and other service users remaining unchecked, thus creating an unsafe space for a minority ethnic LGBT person who wants to access the services.
• The reality of living at the intersections of Blackness and queerness is that it has been seen the ways in which the LGBTQIA+ movement has failed the Black community.While LGBTQIA+ people have no problem marching at those corporate-sponsored Pride events, these very same people avoid marching at Black Lives Matter events.
• Despite the leadership of Black Lives Matter being predominantly LGBTQIA+, the mainstream LGBTQIA+ movement has failed to show up and act in solidarity, because the movement lacks an analysis on race.
• If the LGBTQ movement wants to be intersectional, it must march alongside Black Lives Matter, because Black Lives Matter is a queer movement. When we march for Black Lives, we are marching for Black LGBTQIA+ people.
• As such, while intersectionality might not be a perfect term, recognizing its uses and limitations helps to ensure that we don’t overlook the challenges faced by people who belong to multiple marginalized groups as we strive to achieve a more just society.