Intersectionality And Gender

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Intersectionality, as defined by the book is the, “overlap between multiple identity categories” (Sarah & Jones, 2018). To clarify, this the way that multiple spheres of identities come together to form the coinciding identity of a person; each singular identity grants the person more or less privilege. An example of this would be that a person who identifies as a Straight, female, Latina faces different privileges and inequalities then a person who identifies as a white, Transgender, male (Sarah & Jones, 2018). Being a person who identifies as the sex they were assigned at birth, allows for more privilege over someone who does not. On the other hand, being white puts the other person at an advantage over the Latina due to race being a huge …show more content…

One concept that melds with this is chivalry in the courts; which is the argument that women in the CJ system have an easier time due to their gender. To expand, if a man and a women are being tried for the same crime, such as domestic violence, the women would have a higher chance of receiving a lighter sentencing. Therefore, if we are able to identify the issue, then we are able to identify a solution. A quick answer to this argument is that there is a failure to identify that the only women benefiting from the chivalry argument are white women (Sarah & Jones, 2018). Within the text book they explain that due to their identities standing in favor of themselves they receive a better outcome. This is not the case for Latinas, and Black women who tend to receive the full extent of the law along with their male counterparts. While this only examines one issue with intersectionality in the courts, identifying this problem can help to begin the process to fix the great issues. In conclusion, intersectionality has flourished in people’s minds after it had been coined by Black-feminist Kimberle Crenshaw in the late 1980’s (Sarah & Jones, 2018). Moreover, the criminal justice system has showed its failures in understanding this for almost 20 years, and continues to show a lack of finesse in dealing with cases justly, and fairly to this day. To close, the need to explore and the need to apply the ideology of intersectionality to all the areas within the criminal justice system, will help to alleviate some of the issues that individuals continue to face due to lack of