PANEL SUMMARY : INTERSECTIONALITY
Reference:
Intersectionality A BRIEF INTRODUCTION AND PANEL PRESENTATION SUMMARY Gay Men’s Sexual Health Summit (May 9-10, 2013 Toronto, ON) – Summary Report prepared by the Capacity Building Committee of the CIHR Centre for REACH in HIV/AIDS, retrieved from http://www.med.mun.ca/getattachment/5f06091e-4231-49c8-86e1-78fbf0eba228/Intersectionality-GMSH-Panel-Summary---REACH-CBC---2014.pdf.aspx
Direct Quotation:
“Intersectionality, put very simply, says that social inequities are not the result of singular explanatory factors but the outcomes of intersections of different social locations, power relations and experiences. Intersectionality complicates common sense notions about subject positions by taking into account factors such as context, time, place, or the social environment.” ~Olena Hankivsky
Intersectionality is not new. It is a concept deeply rooted in work by feminists of colour, articulating their history and context in the struggle to have their issues centred in feminist debate. Kimberle Crenshaw first coined the term 25 years ago.1
Intersectionality is concerned with simultaneous intersections between forms of systemic oppression and privilege at the macro or structural level, meso, and micro or individual levels in ways that are complex, interdependent and reflect dominant power structures2 .
Intersectionality provides researchers a unifying critical framework from which to assess and address disparities, persistent inequities in health outcomes and paradoxes in unexpected health trajectories2 .
Intersectional practice avoids the conflation and obscuring of intragroup differences through reconceptualising identity. Crenshaw states that “Through an awareness of intersectionality, we can better acknowledge and ground the differences among us and negotiate the means by which these differences will find expression in constructing group politics
**Bowleg first highlighted the fact that intersectionality is essential to the practice of public health as it “ embraces…complexities that are essential to understanding social inequities”2 .
In an effort to apply the concept of intersectionality to health research and policy analysis, scholars and practitioners have obscured the fact that the framework was developed for practical application from the outset. Crenshaw’s framework has been integral to her legal work with marginalized communities of color for over 25 years. We can extend her application in the legal sphere to enhance our understanding of the differential negative impact of health practices and policy on marginalized groups. In research, we can use her work to enhance our comprehension of the differential negative health outcomes experienced by the most marginalized groups and individuals living with HIV.
The following summary of the GMSH Intersectionality panel discussion focuses on intersectionality in policy development, health research, legal practice, community activism and program delivery. The discussion draws heavily on the pioneering legal scholarship of Kimberle Crenshaw1 , the theoretical contributions and analysis of Patricia Hill Collins5 , and the important methodological work of Lisa Bowleg2,3 and Leslie McCall4 . Several researchers have specifically addressed the challenge an intersectionality-based framework poses to current HIV community work, policy and practice6,7,8,9 . This ongoing body of work and the discussions summarized below provide insight and perspective on how to ‘do’ intersectionality in community activism, policy, and research.
References
1. Crenshaw K. Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review. July 1991; 43: 1241-1299. 2. Bowleg L. The problem with the phrase women and minorities: Intersectionality— an important theoretical framework for public health. American Journal of Public Health. July 2012; 102: 1267-1273. 3. Bowleg L. When Black + Lesbian + Woman ≠ Black Lesbian Woman: The methodological challenges of qualitative and quantitative intersectionality research. Sex Roles. March 2008; 59: 312–325. 4. McCall L. The Complexity of Intersectionality. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 2005; 30: 1771-1800. 5. Hill Collins P. Intersections of race, class, gender, and nation: Some implications for black family studies. Journal of Comparative Family Studies. Spring 1998; 29: 27-36. 6. Bredström A. Intersectionality: A Challenge for Feminist HIV/AIDS Research? European Journal of Women’s Studies. August 2006; 13: 229–243. 7. Campbell C, Gibbs A. Stigma, gender and HIV: case studies of inter-sectionality. In Boesten J and Poku K. Gender and HIV/AIDS. Critical perspectives from the developing world. Surrey, UK: Ashgate; 2009 8. Logie CH, James L, Tharao W Loutfy M. HIV, gender, race, sexual orientation, and sex work: A qualitative study on intersectional stigma experienced by HIV-positive women in Ontario, Canada. PLoS Medicine. November 2011; 8: 1-12. 9. Grace D. Intersectional Analysis at the Medico-Legal Borderland: HIV Testing Innovations and the Criminalization of HIV Non-disclosure. In Situating Intersectionality: Politics, Policy, and Power, Ed. Wilson, A.R., Palgrave Macmillan, 2013: 157-187.
Intersectionality A BRIEF INTRODUCTION AND PANEL PRESENTATION SUMMARY Gay Men’s Sexual Health Summit (May 9-10, 2013 Toronto, ON) – Summary Report prepared by the Capacity Building Committee of the CIHR Centre for REACH in HIV/AIDS, retrieved from http://www.med.mun.ca/getattachment/5f06091e-4231-49c8-86e1-78fbf0eba228/Intersectionality-GMSH-Panel-Summary---REACH-CBC---2014.pdf.aspx
Direct Quotation:
“Intersectionality, put very simply, says that social inequities are not the result of singular explanatory factors but the outcomes of intersections of different social locations, power relations and experiences. Intersectionality complicates common sense notions about subject positions by taking into account factors such as context, time, place, or the social environment.” ~Olena Hankivsky
Intersectionality is not new. It is a concept deeply rooted in work by feminists of colour, articulating their history and context in the struggle to have their issues centred in feminist debate. Kimberle Crenshaw first coined the term 25 years ago.1
Intersectionality is concerned with simultaneous intersections between forms of systemic oppression and privilege at the macro or structural level, meso, and micro or individual levels in ways that are complex, interdependent and reflect dominant power structures2 .
Intersectionality provides researchers a unifying critical framework from which to assess and address disparities, persistent inequities in health outcomes and paradoxes in unexpected health trajectories2 .
Intersectional practice avoids the conflation and obscuring of intragroup differences through reconceptualising identity. Crenshaw states that “Through an awareness of intersectionality, we can better acknowledge and ground the differences among us and negotiate the means by which these differences will find expression in constructing group politics
**Bowleg first highlighted the fact that intersectionality is essential to the practice of public health as it “ embraces…complexities that are essential to understanding social inequities”2 .
In an effort to apply the concept of intersectionality to health research and policy analysis, scholars and practitioners have obscured the fact that the framework was developed for practical application from the outset. Crenshaw’s framework has been integral to her legal work with marginalized communities of color for over 25 years. We can extend her application in the legal sphere to enhance our understanding of the differential negative impact of health practices and policy on marginalized groups. In research, we can use her work to enhance our comprehension of the differential negative health outcomes experienced by the most marginalized groups and individuals living with HIV.
The following summary of the GMSH Intersectionality panel discussion focuses on intersectionality in policy development, health research, legal practice, community activism and program delivery. The discussion draws heavily on the pioneering legal scholarship of Kimberle Crenshaw1 , the theoretical contributions and analysis of Patricia Hill Collins5 , and the important methodological work of Lisa Bowleg2,3 and Leslie McCall4 . Several researchers have specifically addressed the challenge an intersectionality-based framework poses to current HIV community work, policy and practice6,7,8,9 . This ongoing body of work and the discussions summarized below provide insight and perspective on how to ‘do’ intersectionality in community activism, policy, and research.
References
1. Crenshaw K. Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review. July 1991; 43: 1241-1299. 2. Bowleg L. The problem with the phrase women and minorities: Intersectionality— an important theoretical framework for public health. American Journal of Public Health. July 2012; 102: 1267-1273. 3. Bowleg L. When Black + Lesbian + Woman ≠ Black Lesbian Woman: The methodological challenges of qualitative and quantitative intersectionality research. Sex Roles. March 2008; 59: 312–325. 4. McCall L. The Complexity of Intersectionality. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 2005; 30: 1771-1800. 5. Hill Collins P. Intersections of race, class, gender, and nation: Some implications for black family studies. Journal of Comparative Family Studies. Spring 1998; 29: 27-36. 6. Bredström A. Intersectionality: A Challenge for Feminist HIV/AIDS Research? European Journal of Women’s Studies. August 2006; 13: 229–243. 7. Campbell C, Gibbs A. Stigma, gender and HIV: case studies of inter-sectionality. In Boesten J and Poku K. Gender and HIV/AIDS. Critical perspectives from the developing world. Surrey, UK: Ashgate; 2009 8. Logie CH, James L, Tharao W Loutfy M. HIV, gender, race, sexual orientation, and sex work: A qualitative study on intersectional stigma experienced by HIV-positive women in Ontario, Canada. PLoS Medicine. November 2011; 8: 1-12. 9. Grace D. Intersectional Analysis at the Medico-Legal Borderland: HIV Testing Innovations and the Criminalization of HIV Non-disclosure. In Situating Intersectionality: Politics, Policy, and Power, Ed. Wilson, A.R., Palgrave Macmillan, 2013: 157-187.
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