Intersectionality

Definition: "Intersectionality is a framework that must be applied to all social justice work, a frame that recognizes the multiple aspects of identity that enrich our lives and experiences and that compound and complicate oppressions and marginalizations." Source: Uwujaren, J., & Utt, J. (2015). "Why Our Feminism Must Be Intersectional (And Three Ways to Practice It." Everyday Feminism. Retrieved from http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/01/why-our-feminism-must-be-intersectional/. 

Application: Intersectional theory is critical to community development work - as community developers, we have to work to understand experiences and identities that are often not our own. Without understanding our own identities and the identities of the communities we work with, we run the risk of replicating structural oppressions within our social justice communities. Beyond seeking to understand different experiences, community developers need to be aware of how multiple identities intersect to create different experiences - racism and sexism manifest in completely different ways for black women than for black men or white women.

Adaptation: Intersectional theory is equally important in the context of public policy. To use the example of black women, public policies that attempt to address racism or sexism often do not account for the experiences of black women who do not experience these oppressions separately, compared to black men (who have male privilege) and white women (who have white privilege) - black women are oppressed on both fronts. Without taking intersectionality into account, black women are often further marginalized and silenced by these policies.