[Intersectionality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality) is the idea that one's race, class, religion, sexuality, gender, disability or appearance “intersect” with one another and overlap and create a hierarchy of oppression or privilege. The term was coined in 1989 by [Prof. Kimberlé Crenshaw](https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination) to break Feminist thought out of its predominantly white, middle class concerns. To its proponents, Intersectionality offers a far more nuanced approach to discrimination and prejudice in society. To its detractors, Intersectionality works for a society that celebrates victimhood.

There's a difference between what intersectionality IS and how it is USED. I've been in numerous social justice groups, and the stability and effectiveness of those groups was strongly affected by how intersectionality was treated. In the best cases, it created understanding for how different people have can have many advantages or disadvantages at the same time depending on which groups they belonged to. It also understood nuances, especially how belonging to a particular group might be an advantage in one case, or a disadvantage in another. For instance, you might speak of male privilege, until you look at the statistics that show police violence against black Americans overwhelmingly targets black men more than black women. Or similarly, how homophobia is often more pronounced against gay men than it is towards lesbians. The important part is to leave dismissal and prejudice at the door, and practice understanding how people can surprisingly unique struggles based on how traits of their lives line up. However, in the worst cases, intersectionality immediately created divisiveness. A black woman saying a white lesbian "could know nothing of discrimination" was one I had seen myself. It would turn into a competition to see who was more oppressed, and afford social legitimacy and leadership "rank" based on a hierarchy of oppression. It was divisive and several of the groups either dissolved or broke up into multiple groups, and created lasting rivalries. This sort of dynamic should not be anywhere NEAR social justice issues, as many disadvantaged groups need to come together to form their own majority to enact the change they want to see.

**TL;DR To call intersectionality ‘gobbledygook’ is to completely misunderstand its definition and purpose – it is a tool for understanding social differences** American lawyer and philosopher Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term ‘intersectionality’ in 1989, creating an analytical framework to more acutely understand how different aspects of one’s social and political identities intersect, thus creating different modes of discrimination and privilege. This was never intended as a way to victimise women of colour and other minority groups, but to instead encourage nuance within discussions of discrimination. If one is both Black _and_ a woman, then those factors must be considered concurrently. A number of reasons show not only why intersectionality is necessary, but why arguments against it are flawed: • Different issues affect different cultural and social groups, and an intersectional approach accounts for the many different identities that can exist within one person (e.g. race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class etc.) • Intersectionality prevents a ‘one size fits all’ approach to reform, e.g. an intersectional outlook means that a poor Black woman who grew up on a council estate in London would not be considered the same as a white privately educated woman from the Cotswolds. These are just examples for which nuance is also necessary, but they demonstrate how treating all women’s issues as identical is problematic. • The purported ‘culture of victimhood’ that intersectionality is said to encourage is a gross misreading of what is simply an academic theory, much like the misconceptions surrounding critical race theory. Intersectionality originated as a legal principle, not a tactic designed to radicalise. Crenshaw herself discussed this: [‘This is what happens when an idea travels beyond the context and the content’] (https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/5/20/18542843/intersectionality-conservatism-law-race-gender-discrimination) The very existence of sexism and racism is not up for debate – they exist, and will continue to exist. Intersectionality is simply a means to understand the impact that these two things have when combined.