The Intersectional Approach to Art and Beyond
“There is no such thing as a single issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives” -Audre Lorde
The Birth of Intersectionality
American society has been managed and built off an oppressive system used to feed power to the categorized “white man” and gain more influence through the effects of racism, sexism, prejudices and neglect. That was how our country was built, through injustice and the outcry for democracy for the handful of individuals that “for the people '' actually stood for. As history progressed, American ideologies and opinions have grown and created a multitude of relationships, connections between separate factions of life, societies, and political opinions that have been altered and relinquished throughout the years. But, by the consequence of our forefathers, there are people in power that are given a voice by the color of their skin, the family they're born into, or the makeup of their genes and there are people who are automatically burdened by their experiences and things they can not control and thus, perpetuating factors of discrimimation and oppression on all accounts of their identity.
A whole sea of injustices are still prevalent and active today but after Kimberley Crenshaw masterfully articulated her theories in her legal forum: Demarginalizing The Intersection of Race and Sex, at the university of Chicago in 1989, The birth of a new theory, intersectionality, was brought to light. Intersectionality has changed the way we have approached racism, sexism, ableism, classism and more, theorizing identity in a more complex fashion and digging deeper in the discrimation and oppression that was built by our oppressors. To make an impact in the oppressive and discriminatory systems that are deeply embedded in American culture, art, and society, we need to address the interconnectedness of these issues and how supporting one aspect of an oppressed identity is to support all of them. Through art and emotion based learning we are able to better understand the feelings that our differences and perspectives impede us from fully understanding.
What Is Intersectionality Really?
Intersectionality, as Crenshaw puts it, ‘underscores the ‘multidimensionality’ of marginalized subjects’ lived experiences``(Crenshaw, 1989). It is the concept used to describe how oppressive systems are interconnected. Factors of oppressive systems are class, ability, education, gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, and weight. The more of these factors included in an identity, the more our society restricts one on a basis of that identity. As Leslie Mchall, a sociologist and political scientist, states in her journal, The Complexity of Intersectionality: “since symbolic violence and material inequalities are rooted in relationships that are defined by race, class, sexuality, and gender, the project of deconstructing the normative assumptions of these categories contributes to the possibility of positive social change.” And intersectionality represents just that, the action of digging deeper in the structures that are inherently created to support oppression and to unveil the true complexities that it is to be an individual with more to them than the chosen part of their identity to either oppress or fight for. For example, feminism is used to classify the support of women in our culture and to solidify their voice and their place in society, yet, white, able bodied, cis women are usually the vocal point of that conversation but they are a small faction of what it means to be a woman. To be a black woman, one struggles with racism as well as sexism. To be a black, gay, women, one is struggling with sexism, racism, and homophobia. That's what intersectionality seeks to point out, theorize, and integrate in our understandings of change, “that different methodologies produce different kinds of substantive knowledge and that a wider range of methodologies is needed to fully engage with the set of issues and topics falling broadly under the rubric of intersectionality”(Mchall). And to that account, these intersectional parts don't just add together to make a black individual oppressed by racism and a woman oppressed by sexism, it's the multiplication of these identities that create the oppressive state through which society has not given a voice credit to this “unique” personality.
A quote from, Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center (1984), puts it eloquently when stating, “Feminists have not succeeded in creating a mass movement against sexual oppression because the very foundation of women’s liberation has, until now, not accounted for the complexity and diversity of female experience.” To stand against sexism, with an intersectional approach, is to stand against racism as well as any other oppression based structure because the “complexity and the diversity of the female experience” is universal and equally important as any umbrella term of hate. Intersectionality takes a stance on dividing the straight lines created in toppling down the patriarchy and the white supremacy of our county, to intersecting lines that give voice to many that don't adhere to one act of oppression. An intersectional approach is fighting discrimination within the discrimnination and tackling the inequalities within the inequalities.
Understanding Intersectionality
Intersectionality seeks to demonstrate the variation of oppression between another variation of oppression and being able to perform this analysis involves critical thinking. This process is anything but simple: how can one apply an intersectional approach to one's own ideas, understanding, and activism if they are not directly affected by said oppression or their ideologies and rooted perspective can not grasp the concept of intersected reflection? To that, I would suggest embracing art. Gregory Currie, known for his work on philosophical aesthetics and the philosophy of mind, states, “…we experience genuine emotions when we encounter fiction, but their relation to the story is causal rather than intentional; the story provokes thoughts about real people and situations, and these are the intentional objects of our emotions”(Naar, Art and Emotion). Currie suggests that even though we may not directly resonate with the story, it brings up emotions that are directly connected to our own thoughts and feelings, creating that connection and enhancing the message.
Reading about something is one thing, letting the words take over as the reader becomes one with the page is transient, it leaves an impression but reading helps reflect on the words written while art helps reflect on one's own experiences, accompanied by strong visual aid. As Currie writes, “the story provokes art about real people and situations”(Naar, Art and emotion). In this case, the art is the story and the real people are the individuals that need to be appreciated through intersectionality. Though we may not directly relate to the artist and their experiences, art lets the perceiver not only ingest the content and opinion that the artist presents fluidly, but because emotions are typically felt appropriately proportionate to its object, it allows the perceiver to reflect on their own truths and knowledge to truly wrap their head around something, previously not easily understood.
Here is an example of Laura Callagans work, one artist that accepted intersectionality as a powerful theory for change and integrated it into an illustration that is easily perceived by all. Callagan puts it neatly by saying, “Intersectionality and inclusion is still a glaring problem in modern feminism so I felt it was important to represent women from a broad section of society to serve as a reminder that a voice for some, not all, is not good enough”(DNAMAG). The colorful interpretation of a scene amongst women literally draws attention to the idea that we are all different and women are not equally oppressed yet still share similarities in their adversities. Though not written out descriptively what this piece means to Callagan, the interpretation of differences and beauty is clearly exemplified and easy to digest while still getting her message across. A beautiful, boisterous rendition of intersectionality.
Another artist that contributes to the strong visual interpretation of intersectionality is Deborah Roberts. Specifically in her collaged piece, “Girl in Charge,” pictured above. Roberts takes a stand on a different aspect of intersectionality, the “traumas, challenges, and vulnerabilities faced by young black girls at adolescence—a critical time when they are building their individual identities and their minds are easily influenced by white racial standards of beauty and the clichés, myths, and stereotypes of black identity proliferated through the media, as well as the real-life abuse and violence that some of them experience in public and in private”(Luis De Jesus LA). Intersectionality weaves into Roberts’ message as it is not enough to say they experience racism as it is not enough to say they are experiencing sexism, these blanket terms though important, aren't the true reality and complexity of growing up as a young black girl in American culture when there's more than one type of systematic pressure being afflicted on the natural events of growing up that children will face. Roberts speaks on it when she says, "My work is about being empowered as a black woman by taking responsibility for your image and controlling how that image is being circulated in the world, it's about having the courage to fight against assumptions and perceptions that others may have, and the power those societal assumptions still hold. It's also about celebrating differences, while embracing your own."
Roberts takes advantage of the variation that art offers by using collaging to exemplify the different aspects of this young girl's identity. She does this to show that not one part of her is the same, either pressured by society's rules or upheld strongly by her own voice. One may not understand the depths of the message Roberts’ trying to get across but with enough true intention for change, one’s own knowledge could provide an entrance into these ideas, aided by the beautiful representation and voice of Deborah Roberts.
Applying Intersectionality and Beyond
An intersectional approach to life is an equatibale approach to living. Equality is a misleading concept to be the goal in reversing America's wrong doings. Though positive and fair in nature, equality means the condition of being equal, or the same in quality, measure, esteem or value and that's not realistic because not only are our American ideas and laws rooted in a system that is very much unequal, we as a society have made it so if someone doesnt fit into certain group that isn't conventionally valued, one is deemed lesser than so to search for equality is to say that the variation of injustices that go on for innocent, American people should be disregarded as a means of fairness. Equity on the other hand goes hand in hand with intersectionality and searches to disrupt the idea of fairness for the quality of fairness, giving different resources based on the needs of the individuals other than giving everyone the same thing. Intersectionality is moving forward as a positive way in making change, it should become part of the theories we learn in school and the words that come up when talking about change. With the aid of the universality of art, the concept of intersectionality will be able to bring fairness, love, and empathy to the world and its people, fairly. It is not strictly the job of the people who experience hate to speak out on it. Though intersectionality might not directly affect all, it's everyone's job to integrate it into their vocabulary and arguments for it is a keyword in directing change for all.
Works Cited
Hooks, bell. Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Cambridge, MA: South End Press
2000. Print
“Intersectionality.” Artsy, www.artsy.net/gene/intersectionality?sort=-decayed_merch.
McCall, Leslie. “The Complexity of Intersectionality.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, vol. 30, no. 3, 2005, pp. 1771–1800., doi:10.1086/426800.
Naar, Hichem. “Art and Emotion .” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, iep.utm.edu/art-emot/.
Release, Press. “DEBORAH ROBERTS At Luis De Jesus Los Angeles.” ARTIST, 9 Sept. 2018, artist-at-large.com/2018/04/18/deborah-roberts-at-luis-de-jesus-los-angeles/.
Vo, Anna. “Laura Callaghan: An Intersectional Feminist.” DNAMAG, DNAMAG, 19 Apr. 2021, www.dnamag.co/home/laura-callaghan-intersectional-feminist.