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When I First Learned About Intersectionality, I Misunderstood It
Last year, I read a Facebook post, and it has stuck with me. Since the summer of 2020, my understanding of diversity, identities, and the intersection of identities has shifted and changed. Like the author of the Facebook post, I was forced to confront how and what this meant to me.
I think it is a helpful way to challenge our thinking — do we know and understand important concepts related to social justice work and our personal connection to the work? Are we centering ourselves in the work or are we doing the work to change ourselves, as well?
Read this incredible post by Mary Maxfield and her updated understanding of Kimberle Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality.
From Mary Maxfield’s Facebook Post on March 17, 2021
“When I first learned about Kimberlé Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality, I misunderstood it. I misunderstood it for years until I started teaching it, and my students started to parrot back my misunderstanding, and then — as things often do when you teach them — something new clicked. I want to say a little bit about what I got wrong and what I’ve since come to understand because I think intersectionality is crucial for actually conceptualizing and articulating events like the racist, misogynistic…
