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Intersectional Activism

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LGBTQ activists can utilize numerous approaches for achieving civil rights, and most fall under one of two categories: single-issue approach and intersectional activism. Every political organization, whether it is Lamda Legal or allgo, is associated with either the classic mainstream gay rights movement or the modern workings of queer liberation. While both forms of political activism are somewhat similar regarding their goals and focus on LGBTQ issues, they are actually incredibly different from one another. The overall focus, the method used to promote equality, and the consequences of each all differ greatly depending on whether a group uses the single-issue approach or the intersectional approach.
Often associated with the mainstream gay …show more content…

Intersectional has a very obvious benefit, which is an increase in diversity as well as representation, which could even lead to higher amounts of participation and support. The single-issue approach has the advantage of focusing on human rights issues an “gay issues”, which has led to “Stunning success. . . and policy wins” (Defilippis & Anderson-Nathe, 110). The biggest cost of both types of activism is that their issues, goals, and focus may push away prospective supporters, because the approach may be too specific (or even too broad), which could cause donors to look somewhere else. This sense of identity found in almost all activist groups (especially minority political groups) can create problems as well as solve problems. All organizations know that identity categories are “Both necessary and dangerous distortions”, because a clear focus of who is considered a part of said identity can alienate as well as mobilize people. Basically, while a minority group needs to establish who they are organizing in order to recruit members, they need to be concerned with the large amount of people they are turning away. Depending on the approach used, the way one views oppression, the practice of political activism, and the associated pros and cons will be incredibly different. Whether it is choosing to organize around a small or large class of people or deciding if the targeted issue is considered a “gay issue” or a versatile issue, the characteristics of a group can greatly impact the future of the rights group. So, with diverse leadership, a sense of identity, and inspiring goals, perhaps both single-issue and intersectional groups can succeed in the current political

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In “Intersectional Resistance and Law Reform,” Dean Spade proposes that the United States was founded through “racialization…(which) continues to operate under new guises… that produce, manage, and deploy gender categories and sexuality and family norms” (16). More over, these laws and norms tend to maintain the “status quo,” and employ an inherently flawed justice system that is only equipped to address single-axis discrimination issues (5). Thus, the intersectionality movement is largely dismissed by the social and justice systems, as it utilizes “critical intersectional tools… that are often (too) difficult for legal scholars to comprehend” (17). Interstionality’s progress is also impeded by advocates leaving to support single-axis issues. However, Spade warns that this approach is ineffective, as it fails to protect the most marginalized members of society.

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The predominant ideas put forth in the piece from the Combahee River Collective were those that addressed the shortcomings of the feminist movement to include all women and to address the full range of issues that oppress individuals and groups of people in our patriarchal society. This greatly furthered my ongoing development and understanding of what intersectionality is, what its goals are, and how it can help everyone instead of the predominately white, cisgendered, heterosexual, upper middle class women that composed and continue to compose a large portion of the feminist movement. One of the biggest shortcomings that are addressed in this piece focused on the racism within the feminist movement and its limited or even minimal efforts

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In Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim Crow, she analyzes the use of the War on Drugs to not truly be against crack, but those of a minority; as well as considering the shift of using race to describe and discriminate in the Criminal Justice System, and in society. On top of the switch of who is able to define someone as colored, the Criminal Justice System is in a sense, the new Jim Crowe, seeing that the system affects those in the minority groups more than those who are not. It used to be that the everyday person could describe a person by their race or skin tone, which would then group minorities by their described race. Grouping these people made discrimination stronger, especially when history of how these people were treated is

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In the 1970’s African American women created the Combahee River Collective to address the unique struggles that African American women face in their day-to-day lives. In 2016, black activists founded The Movement of Black Lives to advocate for all black people more generally. Both groups incorporated at least some intersectional ideas into their arguments and used similar stylistic strategies to communicate their ideas. However, these groups differed in the ways that they established target audiences, the breadth of institutions that they addressed, and in the ways they used word choice to further their causes. Both The Combahee River Collective and The Movement for Black Lives incorporated intersectional ideas into their arguments by acknowledging

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When it comes to racial discrimination and women facing unfair treatments to gain achievement, they feel that more work and change need to be done. They also believe in same-sex marriage and homosexuality being accepted in

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The fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the 1980s significantly overlapped with the ongoing struggle for women's rights. Both movements challenged oppressive gender norms and sought to dismantle patriarchal structures. Lesbian activists played a prominent role in advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, often aligning their cause with feminist movements. The 1980s witnessed the emergence of lesbian feminist groups, such as the Combahee River Collective, which fought for the rights of both lesbians and women. These coalitions highlighted the shared experiences of discrimination

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“Lesbian feminism highlighted many lesbians’ feeling that an enormous political and social divide existed between their worlds and goals for liberation movements and those of their male counterparts” (Alexander, Gibson, and Meem 74). There was a strong divide between “the bar” and the more political LGBT work being done outside the bar. LGBT activists critiqued those who they believed “wasted time” in the bar scene as being unconcerned about larger political issues. On the other hand, “it was not uncommon for disco queens and bar dykes to see the earnest activists as outsiders and downers” (Alexander, Gibson, and Meem

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Figure 2- All existing pilots in the United States from 1960-2010 separated in 3 categories: Airline Transport Pilot(ATP), Commercial Pilot, and pilots that are not for hire further divided by sex. Intersectionality Intersectionality is the study of intersections between different groups of minorities; specifically, the study of the interactions of multiple systems of oppression or discrimination. As quoted by McCall, “intersectionality is a methodology of studying the relationships among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relationships and subject formations” [5].

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If they joined forces, like some parts of both communities are already doing, they could accomplish many things, especially since a lot of the discrimination they’re fighting against is centered in the same locations and its causes are oftentimes related. So even though some feminists dislike gay activism and some gay activists disagree with feminism, wouldn’t it be beneficial for both sides if they looked past those differences and fought together for those who need it

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The threat to violence and discrimination is increases due to the fact that she is of color and transgender at the same time. This discrimination at its highest level is portrayed through threats to violence, racism and misogyny. Intersectionality can be traced back to the ignorance and homophobia currently surrounding trans-identity. Intersectionality can be a powerful tool to unmask problems that arise from perceiving discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, age or even religion as all related and forming intersections with each other.

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Without applying intersectionality in analysis, oppression can only be understood in general terms, which can cause forms of oppression to become undetected (Mattsson, 2014). Instead, intersectionality, demonstrates the complexity of gender, sexuality, class, and race avoiding stereotypes as a whole, rather than simplifying an individual based on one characteristic (Mattsson, 2014). For example, when I was working at a Community Centre in the Jane and Finch area, I had a conversation with my co-worker. He described the barriers and struggles he has faced because of his race and socioeconomic status. It was through this conversation that I realized the pre-conceived notions my co-worker had about me, as a white individual who did not grow-up in the same neighbourhood.

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As intersectionality applies to oppression, the more levels of

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In 2015, the Obergefell v. Hodges case ended the “state bans on same-sex marriage”, therefore legalizing same-sex marriage (Important Supreme Court Cases). Now, “same-sex couples can now receive the benefits...of marriage that were largely exclusive to heterosexual couples” (Koch). The ruling has led to the modern fight for gay civil rights. Exposure to the LGBTQ+ community, the southern “Bathroom Bills”, and other fights for transgender rights, and the press for more LGBTQ+ representation in the media has erupted from this case. Both rulings had very big impacts on their respective communities.

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She explains how the lack of awareness about intersectionality skews the data behind studies on controversial

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