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re y feminism will be

intersectional, or it will be
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Intersectional feminism: What it is, and why it is important

By Jessica Berget, Staff Writer

 

here is a lot of racism in the history of feminism. Unfortunately, name to it.
some of the most well-known feminist icons were racist. For
example, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, leader of the American Suffrage The roots of intersectionality can be traced back to 1851, when black
movement, hated the idea that “degraded black men” had the right

to vote, while women were denied. This was not an isolated incident.

abolitionist Sojourner Truth read “Ain't | a woman” at a Women’s
Convention. Her poem addresses the difference in the oppression of
white women versus the oppression of black women. “That man over

White women leading the marches for the equality campaigns of the

suffrage movement had stated that the black suffragists would have there says that women need to be helped into carriages and lifted

to walk at the back of the parades, yet another form of segregation. over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever

Similarly, the recent women’s march in Vancouver neglected to helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best

; es vee | - on
contact Black Lives Matter Vancouver to invite their participation. place! And ain’t | a woman’
It is because of these reasons that it is so vital we consider Feminism isn't a “one size fits all” ideology. There are many different

intersectional matters when discussing feminism. But what exactly is sizes, as there are many different variations of oppression. Not all

intersectionality? women face the same oppression, and there are many different
Intersectionality is a concept used to describe the ways in which interlocutors that contribute to one’s oppression (Google “wheel of
oppressive institutions such as racism, sexism, homophobia, intersectionality” for clarification on this concept).
transphobia, xenophobia, islamophobia, ableism, and classism Not all oppression is the same. |n fact, there are many different

are all interconnected (a lot of buzzwords, | know). The term oppressions that one may face at the same time, because they

intersectionality” was originally coined by critical race theorist intersect. White, upper class, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied

and American professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. The theory of women will only face one form of oppression, namely sexism, while

Intersectionality already existed, but she had been the one to givea black women will have to face a complex mix of both sexism and