You may or may not have come across the buzzword ‘intersectionality’. Community organisations have called for its consideration and implementation into their work approach and for-profit companies have been moved to ensure intersectionality is included across all their departments and teams. Government sectors have been fastidiously changing their frameworks where possible to have an intersectional lens.
To understand its current relevance, one must delve into the origins of the concept of intersectionality. In the 1960s and ‘70s, during the rise of second-wave feminism, many women of colour formed their own collectives and organisations, including the Combahee River Collective, the Third World Women’s Alliance (TWWA), and the National Black Feminist Organisation. These groups were formed out of the view that feminist approaches at that time did not include other crucial forms of oppression – namely class oppression and race oppression. The second wave of feminism called for reforms that were not only of benefit to white, middle-class American women.
“The TWWA insisted that for women of color and poor women, there could be no liberation without confronting issues of race and class. It also questioned the feminist orthodoxy that a natural sisterhood united all women, pointing out that some forms of women’s liberation would merely give white women the opportunity to participate in racial privilege along with white men.” (Gosse, 2005)
These organisations are considered some of the first to highlight that different systems of oppression – race, gender, sexuality and class – interlock and should be simultaneously addressed.
In 1989, the term intersectionality was coined by the critical legal and race scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. She argues:
“…Black women are sometimes excluded from feminist theory and antiracist policy discourse because both are predicated on a discrete set of experiences that often does not accurately reflect the interaction of race and gender... Because the intersectional experience is greater than the sum of racism and sexism, any analysis that does not take intersectionality into account cannot sufficiently address the particular manner in which Black women are subordinated.”
Since then, intersectionality has entered the academic, social justice, community, government and corporate realms and include other forms of marginalised identities beyond race and gender.
Intersectionality is more than the exploration of systemic oppression and marginalisation as experienced by individuals with multiple, marginalised identities. It is also about the exploration of the social, political and ideological context in which these identities intersect. A marginalised identity in one social context can be positioned at the top of the power hierarchy in a different context. This means that intersectionality should be seen as a lens to investigate complexity, rather than a tool that provides the ‘fix’ to addressing this complexity.
An individual may be placed differently along the social hierarchy based on the interplay between privilege and oppression. For example, a newly arrived migrant with limited English language proficiency would face greater challenges in seeking employment compared to members of their own ethnic group who speak English as a first language, who nevertheless are still facing disadvantages in contrast to white, middle-class jobseekers (Syed, 2008).
Implementing an intersectional lens to explore the impact of race, ethnicity, migration history, English-language proficiency, education, gender and job prospects can be useful to understand the unique challenges faced by marginalised communities. Intersectionality, therefore, acknowledges that these inequalities can combine to create greater, or even a unique set of, barriers that need to be addressed for that person or group.
Within Australia, Pallotta-Chiarolli (2016) notes that racism and other forms of discrimination cross multiple and intersecting lines rather than being a simple binary of white versus black. For example, some members of established migrant communities (such as Italian or Greek) may discriminate against emerging and/or newly arrived communities (such as diverse North African and Middle Eastern groups). This is often based on intersectional factors such as class, gender, race, sexuality, religion, length of time in Australia, and levels of education.
The Australian story
Australia’s population is growing and changing. As shown below, our society has become more diverse and encompasses more complex lived-experiences based on intersectional identities.
- The Victorian Multicultural Commission reported 49.1 per cent of Victoria’s population are either born overseas or have at least one parent who was born overseas. Based on the current demographic trends, this is projected to increase further over the next decade (Victoria Government, n.d.).
- Twenty-six per cent of Victoria’s population spoke a language other than English at home, and the proportion of the overseas-born in Victoria who come from non-main English-speaking countries is 77.7 per cent. The highest for all Australian states and territories (Victoria Government, n.d.).
- The 2016 Census of Population and Housing found that three-fifths of the Australian population (61 per cent, or 14 million people) are affiliated with a religion or spiritual belief.
- The 2016 Census counted approximately 46,800 same-sex couples living together in Australia. This represents a 39 per cent increase since the 2011 Census, which counted 33,700 same-sex couples. Data on same-sex couples first became available in 1996. In the 20 years to 2016, the reported number of same-sex couples has more than quadrupled.
- The 2016 census counted 17.7 per cent of the population as having a disability (ABS, 2019), with a higher proportion reporting incidences of physical violence and sexual harassment than those without disability (ABS, 2018).
- One in five people have experienced race-hate speech, including verbal abuse and name-calling, and more than one in 20 people have experienced race-based physical attacks (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2019).
Using an intersectional lens, psychologists will be able to explore multiple factors that contribute to psychological health and wellbeing. Instead of reducing their experiences to a singular, marginalised identity (e.g., race, sexuality or disability) practitioners can explore the multiple layers of discrimination as experienced by their clients based on intersectional identities. Intersectionality is indeed complex and multilayered. The book Living and Loving in Diversity: Australian Multicultural Queer Adventures (Pallotta-Chiarolli, 2018) provides a window into the lives of people who embody intersectionality in their daily lives.
Role of psychology
The minority stress model hypothesises that non-dominant groups suffer from health disparities due to the chronic stress of interaction with dominant cultural groups (Balsam et al., 2011; Meyer, 2006). The intersectionality of two or more minority identity factors, such as being LGBTIQ+ and being religious, leads to a resulting identity which is often more complex due to the interaction of the individual components, with “conflict over incongruent values and beliefs, and unique lived experiences that are not fully understood by either group” (Dominguez, 2017).
This highlights that people with intersectional identities are not only confronted with marginalisation and oppressions based on two or more identities, but also the social stereotypes and prejudices associated with their identities. A study by Kulesza et al. (2016) found that predominantly white participants were more likely to implicitly associate Latino persons who inject drugs with deserving punishment rather than help, compared to how they perceived white persons who inject drugs, suggesting that race/ethnicity bias may influence the expression of implicit addiction stigma. Similarly, Smolen (2018) found that the experience of being both Black and a woman in Brazil is associated with elevated prevalence of common mental disorders.
These examples underline the impact of negative stereotypes and prejudices based on multiple, marginalised identities. As such, practitioners may subconsciously apply their own biases and prejudices when working with clients instead of exploring their intersectional identities.
A case of intersectionality: Disability and masculinity
The intersection of disability and masculinity presents a conflict or ‘status inconsistency’ for men with disabilities, whereby their perceived status as having a disability is dissonant with their perceived status as men. Men with disability must therefore negotiate this intersection of two competing and often discordant social categories, and interpret and enact masculinities to construct their own identity. The intersection of disability and self-reliance norms exerts a particularly damaging effect on mental health. (King et al., 2019).
Impact on clients
In the study, Supporting same-sex attracted and gender-diverse young people of multicultural and multifaith backgrounds, (2016) Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli heard these recollections:
“Lots and lots of horror stories about different counsellors. There are queer young people of colour I know who have been to counsellors who have just assumed that all their problems are to do with culture or to do with religion instead of actually listening to what the actual issues are. … Queer people of colour have really struggled to find any counsellors who are relevant to them.”
(Aged 21, male, queer-bisexual, non-religious, Malaysian-Chinese Anglo)
“There can be a tendency to view intersectionality as a two-box option, like we’ve covered two items so we’re good now… Things like accessibility in terms of economic access, in terms of ability, in terms of neurodiversity. Are all of those things being considered?”
(Aged 19, non-binary, demisexual-bisexual, Jewish)
The former quotes highlight the challenge for practitioners to explore complexities while working with clients with intersectional identities. Failure to investigate multiple forms of identities and marginalisation can damage relationships with clients. Similarly, imposing one’s own understanding and knowledge can also skew the practitioner–client interactions, with clients feeling that psychologists are more interested in imposing their own values instead of honouring the client’s rich, unique lived experiences.
Qasqas and Jerry (2014) reiterate the importance of challenging one’s own biases and stereotypes in counselling. As an example, they note that biases and prejudices against Muslims can hinder a practitioner’s ability to work with Muslim clients. Anti-Muslim prejudices can influence a practitioners’ view of their clients, assuming culture and faith are the problems behind an individual’s issues.
The psychologist may consciously and/or unconsciously focus on being Muslim as an issue instead of delving into a holistic exploration of the unique lived experiences of Muslims (Qasqas & Jerry, 2014). Similarly, Chesire (2013) argues for the use of an intersectional lens in counselling as a framework for psychologists in relation to examining their own power and privilege in counselling LGB (lesbian, gay, bisexual) clients. For Chesire, an intersectional lens allows the psychologist to truly explore the unique experiences of LGB clients in a society that normalises heterosexuality and opposite-sex relationships. Further to that, a psychologist’s own privileges can be examined so as not to impose their own perception of the world to the clients, to be empathetic, and to understand the complex connections between oppression and privilege.
Implementing an intersectional lens enables practitioners to explore all aspects of client’s identity, the influence of various forms of marginalisation on their wellbeing, and work collaboratively with clients to maintain wellbeing and navigate the multiple, marginalised identities relevant to them.
Psychological work
So how should psychologists apply an intersectional lens in their work? Intersectionality plays a crucial role in all that we do. It should be used not only as a lens to investigate the interplay of multiple layers of oppression and privilege as experienced by an individual or group, but used also to inform a psychologist’s own intersectionality and multiple positionalities which will impact their work with an individual or group.
While we understand that exploration of our own assumptions and biases is an important practice when working with clients of diverse backgrounds, exploration into critical reflectivity in psychology remains sparse. Nadan and Stark (2017) stress the importance of shifting the conversation from the ‘other’ to the ‘self’ and how power and privileges have shaped the perception of the ‘others’. This requires the ability to confront the discomfort of exploring one’s own biases and stereotypes as part of their reflective practice, and use the learning to improve one’s own practices, perceptions, and interactions with diverse groups.
“I see a psychologist that specialises in transpeople. She’s really good in terms that she’s willing to educate herself on Muslim issues, like she doesn’t shy away from talking about my religion or being a person of colour. And she will do the research herself. She won’t be like, “Come, explain this to me because I don’t understand,” and not willing to do something as basic as Google. I think that takes the burden, pressure off us. Google’s a really good thing, but oftentimes a lot of doctors don’t really think about that.”
(Mal in Pallotta-Chiarolli, 2018)
Psychologists can incorporate an intersectional lens in the following ways:
1. Be aware of the intersectional framework
Have awareness of intersectionality as a framework to understand complex identities. Incorporating an intersectional approach can assist you to think beyond a particular identity (e.g., gender, or race, or sexuality), but rather consider the impact of multiple identities (e.g., gender and race and sexuality and many more) and the system of oppression based on two or more of these identities on the client’s health and wellbeing.
2. Critical reflection of one’s own power and privilege
In order for psychologists to implement an intersectional lens and framework, critical reflection of their own power and privilege is needed. The psychologist’s own sexuality and/or gender and/or ethnicity (and many more) can influence their perceptions of multicultural/multifaith LGBTIQ+/and other intersectional clients. Biases, stereotypes, assumptions, and judgements based on one’s own knowledge and experience can be subconsciously applied to clients. As such, their voices and needs are not being honoured. Reflective practice is also to be exercised by psychologists who identify as belonging to multicultural/multifaith, disability, LGBTIQ+ or other communities. Even though there are some shared experiences of discriminations based on race and sexuality, privileges in relation to education, employment, ability, migration history, English language proficiency to name a few influence a practitioner’s own world view (view of the self, of others, and interaction with others). The ability to critically reflect on one’s own positionality can assist psychologists to work collaboratively with clients to understand their unique lived experiences, and to work towards wellbeing strategies based on the client’s needs. The willingness to self-educate can benefit clients as they can express their needs instead of educating the practitioners.
3. Exploring instead of problem-solving
The intersectional lens provides opportunity for psychologists to explore various factors that contribute to an individual’s wellbeing. As such, the focus should be on exploring intersecting identities and how these identities are being played out in different contexts in contrast to finding the source of the problem. For example, multicultural/multifaith LGBTIQ+ individuals constantly navigate their multiple identities in different contexts: family, cultural communities, faith communities, LGBTIQ+ spaces, workplaces, social spaces and many more. The intersectional framework can assist psychologists to work with clients on strategies to maintain their wellbeing in these different contexts without narrowing it down to a specific identity. For example, it can be counterproductive for a psychologist to suggest multicultural/multifaith LGBTIQ+ clients ‘come out’ to their family and cultural communities based on the Western model of coming out as an indication of self-acceptance. Instead, psychologists can work collaboratively with the client on strategies to maintain their wellbeing in a family context while still embracing their sexuality.
Intersectionality as a lens or framework to any psychological work is essential and a benefit for psychologists to advance their understanding and approach of the unique lived experiences of individuals and communities with intersectional identities. Intersectionality not only provides a lens to understand the intersecting oppressions and privileges, but also aids in critical reflective practice in psychology.
An intersectional lens enables psychologists to investigate marginalised identities that influence a person or group’s wellbeing (such as race and faith and sexuality and disability and gender and more), and to work collaboratively with individuals, groups and communities to develop strategies for maintaining wellbeing across multiple identities in different contexts.
The first author can be contacted at [email protected]