Four months ago, when I was starting this blog, I had never even heard of the word “intersectionality” (wikipedia article, blog post [amazing pictures, but probably NSFW], another blog post, link post). I was aware, in a general way, of race issues, certainly of queer issues, to a lesser extent of trans issues, among others, and I was aware of the language of privilege, of the many ways in which I live with privilege (and the many ways I do not). But “intersectionality” was not a word on my radar, and I didn’t really “get” it when I started looking it up — the arguments “watered down!” “loss of focus!” “not in this movement!” floated through my thinking, though each was, in turn, shot down.
And yet, I think I understood it even then, before I heard it, intuitively; as I named and taglined my blog, while it was primarily about the experience of being a feminist raising a boy, I was clear that he was not just any male, but a white male, a probably-straight male, an American middle class probably-straight white able-bodied male: very nearly the tippy top of the hierarchy, by way of the intersection (!) of all these different aspects of privilege.
The more I’ve thought about it, and especially after coming upon the word/concept “kyriarchy“, the more intersectionality makes sense (kyriarchy is what I was talking about here, though I didn’t realize it at the time — and I was also, unrealizingly, arguing against something of a straw feminism there). Feminism is in opposition to patriarchy, and this is good, but it takes only a moment of thought to realize that this does not and cannot (even at its most inclusive) cover all the ways in which some people are artificially privileged over others. Ultimately, I think it is the very concept of placing persons in a hierarchy (which is to say, it is kyriarchy) which needs to be done away with; and ultimately, it is intersectionalism alone which stands in opposition not just to one strand but, by definition, to all strands of oppression. It is only by working to recognize all forms of oppression/privilege in our work can we oppose all aspects of the kyriarchy; anything less is merely scrabbling for position on that fucked up ladder.
Which is not to say we need to get everything perfectly right all the time; we are human, and therefore both limited and flawed. Furthermore, we are humans raised under kyriarchy, and not one person reading this post can be without at least some privilege (since you’ve all managed to access the internet in some way or another); we are not going to be able to avoid all slip ups, all language of privilege, all incidents of accidental or oblivious oppression. But we can, and we must, try. Any step is worthy; any mistake is an opportunity to learn; any privilege recognized is a privilege weakened.
This ain’t an easy path to walk, and there is no end to it. It would be all too easy to turn aside, to close my eyes, to rest easy on the privilege I do have while screaming for justice for the privilege I don’t; but that way lies pain, if not for myself then for others, and if for others, then for all. Intersectionalism isn’t diluting our purpose; it isn’t putting others ahead of ourselves; it isn’t “PC metastized”. It is nothing less nor more than refusing to oppress others as we seek to end our own oppression. It is nothing less nor more than basic human compassion. It is nothing less than necessary, and nothing more than possible.
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