Concept
A standard textbook example of intersectionality theory might be "the view that women experience oppression in varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity" (Ritzer, 2007, pg. 204). Cultural patterns of oppression are not only interrelated, but are bound together and influenced by the intersectional systems of society. Examples of this include race, gender, class, and ethnicity (Collins, 2000, pg. 42).
Intersectionality is an important paradigm not only for sociological and cultural studies, but there have been many challenges in utilizing it to its fullest capacity. Difficulties arise due to the many complexities involved in making "multidimensional conceptualizations" that explain the way in which socially constructed categories of differentiation interact to create a social hierarchy. For example, intersectionality holds that knowing a woman lives in a sexist society is insufficient information to describe her experience; instead, it is also necessary to know her race, sexual orientation, class, etc., as well as her society's attitude toward each of these.
The theory of intersectionality also suggests that discrete forms and expressions of oppression actually shape, and are shaped by, one another. Thus, in order to fully understand the racialization of oppressed groups, one must investigate the ways in which racializing structures, social processes, and social representations (or ideas purporting to represent groups and group members in society) are shaped by gender, class, sexuality, etc. While the theory began as an exploration of the oppression of women within society, today sociologists strive to apply it to all people and to many different intersections of group membership.
Read more about this topic: Intersectionality
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