The Importance of Intersectionality in the Women’s Movement
- Olivia Acquadro
- Dec 6, 2021
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 14, 2021
By: Olivia Acquadro
In my posc. 341 class we have discussed various social movements throughout the semester. It has finally clicked for me that the movements we discussed such as the Civil Rights Movement, The Feminist Movement, The LGBTQ+ Movement and Immigrant Rights movement all have commonality in cause (banding together to gain equal rights but also fighting oppression) but most paramount is the intersectionality of these issues. The movement I found to be so fascinating is the Feminist Movement, in which has undergone such radical change throughout history in regard to representation of intersectional identities. I wanted to dive deep into how multifaceted, influential, unique and even controversial the movement is.
The Feminist Movement has made strides today in addressing women’s issues, but we know that this hasn’t always been the case as for the longest time the central focus was prioritizing white women’s issues over representing all women. It is both pertinent and essential to look at the historical context so that the issues in which divided early suffragettes won’t continue to plague the women’s movement today.
In this blog post I want to go over the different waves of feminism while calling attention to the improvement and evolution of the Women's movement as well as where it still needs work. Using constructive criticism by stressing the importance of intersectionality in which recognizes different levels of oppression, I hope to overall create a post that encourages an environment conducive for the inclusivity of the collective not just the select few hence the name of our blog: "Feminism is for Everyone."
First, I would like to define what intersectionality is: intersectionality is the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, gender, and sexuality it is regarded as overlapping systems of oppression, discrimination or disadvantage.
The relevance and significance of addressing intersectionality is to gain a deeper understanding of diverse and marginalized groups experiences, perspectives and world views additionally, how their identities influence their educational and social experiences.
First Wave Feminism (1800’s- 1920’s):
The first wave encompasses the 19th century and early 20th century suffragettes, with the ultimate goal of achieving women’s right to vote, but this largely excluded and discriminated against women of color. It was during this time that women were trying to infiltrate the political sphere that was dominated by men in order to gain rights to be truly self-governing. During the early movement they suffragettes coexisted alongside abolition and former slave Sojourner Truth who gave the famous “Ain’t I a Women?” speech that argued in favor of women of color’s right to vote. Unfortunately, during this time white women dominated the early feminist movement and excluded women of color in fear that it would hinder their advances for political equality. White women were officially guaranteed the right to vote in 1920 under the 19th Amendment, and as we know women of color wouldn’t receive the same rights until 45 years later when universal voting rights were guaranteed.
Second Wave of Feminism: Women’ Liberation (1960s-1980s):
After WWI and WWII women had proven their worth outside the home as they worked in factories etc. as contribution to war efforts. The women’s liberation movement ran concurrent with the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement. The issues that were encompassed by this movement included: equal pay, reproductive rights, feminine sexuality and domestic violence- Carol Hanisch’s motto “the personal is political” became feminist’s women’s rallying cry. During this time, we see the revolutionary publications the Feminist Mystique and Ms. Magazine that gave women a community, a sense of collective agency and which would spark collective action. Similar to the first wave of feminism most of their goals were achieved through legislative and court decisions. All the gap of inequality between white women and white men was narrowing, women of color were still experiencing the same amount of inequality to not only white men but white women as well. At this time lesbian women were discouraged from joining the movement as early feminist believed it would take away from the movement. As a result, this movement received a lot of criticism for being a white, middle-class, and cisgender dominated movement, but it was during this time that Kimberlee Crenshaw coined the phrase intersectional feminism in the 1980’s. Audre Lorde and Bell Hooks argued for a more inclusive and intersectional movement that represented and fought for the race, class, and LGBTQ+ rights.
Emergence of Lavender Menace (1969):
The phrase Lavender Menace was coined by NOW (national organization of women) leader Betty Friedan who argued that outspoken lesbians were hinderance to the feminist movement. The Lavender Menace's would become the first group since Stonewall to create an organization/ group that focused primarily on lesbian issues. Although there was a Gay and Women's movement, Lesbian women did not feel prioritized in either. The feminist movement refused to address the intersectionality of issues lesbian women face that include both sexism and homophobia and the Gay movement wasn't taking into account the sexism lesbians were experiencing. By feeling the need to hide their lesbian identity to be apart of the women's movement that focuses on liberation, how ironic lol, it was forcing lesbian women to pick which part of their identity they wanted to advocate for. A pivotal moment for the Lavender Menaces was during their infiltration of the Second Congress to Unite Women; after this event it became clear that they would not be silenced and lesbian issues could no longer be swept under the rug. Many forums ensued after this that focused primarily on lesbian issues which benefited the group greatly. Unfortunately in 1971, the group fully disbanded as it was very separatist, and close-minded about sexuality they excluded groups like gay men, heterosexual men and refused to support bisexuality.
"Women’s liberation is a lesbian plot" - Karla Jay
Emergence of Womanism (1983):
According to Howard Law Library, compared to white women, black women have a higher likelihood of experiencing violence, receiving lower pay, and seeing fewer media and political representations of women who look like them. At the time, the mainstream feminist movement was concerned with issues that only pertained to sexism consequently there was no acknowledgment of the intersectionality of black women's identities that include issues of both racism and sexism. During this time Alice Walker coined the term "Womanism" a movement that would parallel the feminist movement but offers more inclusivity, an appreciation towards black culture, and addresses the complexity of a black women's experience in America. Today, these black feminists focus on issues that pertain to not only black women, but black men and children. Their contributions are still notable today as four black women formed the Black Lives Matter Movement to fight systematic racism and several Black women were credited for organizing the Women's March on Washington.
Third Wave: Girl power (1990’s):
The third wave of feminism learned from the last two waves mistakes and rejected the mentalities of being exclusive in order to gain leverage, they became a group that fought for everyone’s rights. At this time the famous “Lipstick Feminists” had set out to overcome the idea of beauty as patriarchal oppression and embraced push-up bras and high heels to prove that femininity and intelligence were not mutually exclusive. We see another group the Riot Grrrls who sought to take back the word’s “bitch” and “slut” as a way of undermining sexism. Really influential writers emerged like Judith Butler who introduced new ideas about gender constructs in Gender Trouble as well as Eva Ensler who wrote the Vagina Monologues in which encouraged women to love their bodies.
Fourth Wave Feminism: Hashtag Activism (2011-present):
The modern wave of feminism is driven by the tool of social media which helped expand the movement to a global level. Issues that are advocated for are currently still for equal pay, sexual harassment, maternity leave, domestic violence, and period poverty. With the use of blogs, social media platforms, collectives, Ted Talks and protesting, social media has helped mobilize, and organize this movement.
Conclusion:
Feminists today are more representative of the whole and are working to maintain accountability and encourage progressive change. A shift in the mentality of what feminism should encompass seems to be a sign of the times; while historically feminism prioritized white, middle class, cisgender women, the movement has shown so much improvement today. Although the concept and term of intersectionality has grown increasingly popular in academic settings, there is still much work to do as exposure to this type of discourse is still limited. Consciousness-raising is a huge prerogative of social movements, so taking into consideration the methods used by the modern wave of feminism, I hope to use this blog post as an educational outlet for anyone who may be interested and open-minded to the topic at hand. The main takeaway is acknowledging the different identities and struggles that come with each identity helps us gain a better understanding of one another as well as how we can effectively work together to ensure everyone's voice is heard. Sexism, Heterosexism, and Racism are all rooted in the same struggle for power; Audre Lorde's approach to feminism illustrates the message the best: "there is no hierarchy of oppression." By this she means all forms of oppression are inextricably linked and connected rather than the opposing viewpoint that these issues are separate and different. Though different identities who face oppression have differences in experiences and perspectives, our fight for equality is the same. The only way to tackle the patriarchy is to do it together, there is power in numbers, even greater power in unity.
Click this link to read more about intersectionality: Intersectionality conversation guide
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