Intersectionality
Our identities are multidimensional and so are the forms of oppression that we encounter - intersectionality serves as a tool to make these visible. Many consider intersectionality an academic term, however, the concept of intersectionality is profoundly influenced by the activist work that it is also based upon. From Sojourner Truth to the Combahee River Women’s Collective to Kimberlé Crenshaw - we owe the concept of intersectionality to the intellectual activist work of mostly Black (queer) feminist women.
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What is intersectional campaigning?
Intersectional campaigning is a community-based approach that places emphasis on the empowerment process. We aim to provide/share knowledge about campaigning that tackle social justice by considering intersectional perspectives.
An intersectional campaign places the interests of those who experience multiple oppression at the center of their campaign. Racism modifies the way Black women and women of Color experience sexism in contrast to white women.The concept of intersectionality allows us to see the intersections of racism and sexism, in this case.
Non-intersectional campaigns sometimes work with one marginalized person to use them as a token and often reproduce oppressive patterns towards the communities they intend to campaign for. This means that these campaigns will never work towards a society where all people (including, for example, women of color, women with a disability, lesbians and trans* people, etc.) are free from oppression.
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– und warum ist das wichtig?
If, for example, a feminist campaign only reflects the interests of white hetero cis women without a disability, it lacks the perspectives and lived realities of the (multiple) oppressed.
If those who do campaign work do not reflect on privileges and their own oppressive behaviours and thoughts, as well as the structures that they reproduce and/or uphold, then their campaigns and activism will reproduce oppression by rendering intersectional realities invisible and won't be able to fully provide ideas and visions for radical change that improves the lives of all people
Moreover, an intersectional campaign is meant to be an empowering process for those involved who face these multiple oppressions: not just the final result, but all phases of campaigning are supposed to value intersectionality. For example, individuals who are facing multiple oppression hold leading positions in the organization of the campaign, the campaign’s language does not reproduce oppression, and the campaign itself values community work, etc.
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