An idiot’s guide to intersectional feminism

Personally, I’ve been a feminist since I found out what the term meant. But what’s truly opened my eyes to what modern feminism is really about was my sixth form college’s feminist society – it was there that we all found out that we were actually something more nuanced – intersectional feminists.

Intersectional feminism is feminism that advocates for the rights of people of different genders, races, class, sexuality and ability levels. The idea is to give a voice to and recognise the issues of women thus far neglected by the mass media – like WOC (shorthand for women of colour, the term used for non-white women), disabled women, or non-binary people (those not identifying with the gender they were assigned at birth). So every Friday lunchtime, a group of people from all of these different demographics came together and talked about their issues, and we all learned what feminism was really about. There are oppressions that go beyond being a woman in a patriarchal society which are, more often than not, interlinked – and are best solved when considered together. A key principle is to ‘check your privilege’ – to recognise the social advantages you may have over other people and not assume that all people have these.

This new focus has developed from the emergence of social media platforms on which people can autonomously express their unfiltered views – so the mass media is no longer the only source of information and more varied perspectives are accessible – and as a reaction to both the successes and failures of feminist waves gone by. It’s considered a new wave of feminism because earlier surges of feminism did not have such focus – the first wave (early 20th century) was directed towards women’s suffrage – but WOC didn’t get the vote in the UK until 10 years after white women. Second wave feminism (60s onwards) was more inclusive of WOC, but still very white middle class orientated as it addressed the woman’s role in the family. Third wave feminism (90s) was embracing femininity and sexuality, but also rejecting the associated social expectations of these. But the ambiguity of ‘women’s rights’ and the faces that we have come to associate with feminism’s past (e.g. Germaine Greer) have been the faces of middle and upper class white women who had the means to get their voices heard. Feminism has widened the scope of attention and focused in on specific issues rather than just ‘equality’. The new faces we see are not the ones you would necessarily expect – e.g. in Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade’ the many faces of black women were explored and embraced.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEkO7yNm1V8/?taken-by=amandlastenberg

The inclusivity of intersectional feminism reaches not only who it is trying to help, but also those who may or may not identify with it. A number of women publicly cite not needing feminism for themselves, or the radicalisation of the movement by a small minority as reasons not to identify as a feminist – but as an intersectional feminist, you are recognising that there are women’s rights issues outside of your own life that need addressing. It no longer is just about you – if you support civil rights for POC, then in some way you are already stepping into intersectional feminism, whether you like it or not. It benefits men as well – the problem is with the patriarchy, not with the men who benefit from it, and as femininity is increasingly seen as a sign of strength rather than a sign of weakness, men will no longer be expected to encapsulate the traits of the ‘perfect man’, and instead be allowed to embrace their more stereotypically feminine traits. Gender equality will dissemble the strictures of stereotype, so our traits become associated with our personality, not with our gender.

The important thing is, if you support social equality in any real sense – for different races, for the working classes, for disabled people – then you are basically an intersectional feminist. The movement tackles all of these issues – just starting with women. This article by no stretch covered all of the aspects of modern feminism, but is trying to show that no one is alienated, no one is unwelcome; and this is what makes modern feminism so strong and exciting.