Annual Review of Sociology· 2015Q1· Review
Intersectionality's Definitional Dilemmas
- 2,286citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2015year
Short summary
Intersectionality, the concept that social categories like race, class, and gender are interconnected and mutually shape each other, lacks clear definitions despite widespread agreement on its core idea.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Intersectionality posits that social categories (race, class, gender, etc.) are not isolated but reciprocally construct each other.
- Despite consensus on its core idea, definitions of intersectionality remain unclear.
- The article frames intersectionality as a knowledge project attentive to power and inequality.
- It explores intersectionality as a field of study, an analytical strategy, and a critical praxis for social justice.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The term intersectionality references the critical insight that race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, nation, ability, and age operate not as unitary, mutually exclusive entities, but rather as reciprocally constructing phenomena. Despite this general consensus, definitions of what counts as intersectionality are far from clear. In this article, I analyze intersectionality as a knowledge project whose raison d'être lies in its attentiveness to power relations and social inequalities. I examine three interdependent sets of concerns: (a) intersectionality as a field of study that is situated within the power relations that it studies; (b) intersectionality as an analytical strategy that provides new angles of vision on social phenomena; and (c) intersectionality as critical praxis that informs social justice projects.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Annual Review of Sociology, 2015 · DOI ↗
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Field: Social Psychology
Social PsychologyPsychology