Intersectionality has been lauded by some as the “new orthodoxy” (Grewal & Kaplan, 507) but what does a statement like that mean and how should we critically analyze such a claim? Intersectionality emerged as a way to engage with the intersections between an individual’s multiple identities and the complimentary and interlocking oppressions that result from the product of these identities working in conjunction. Race, class, gender, and sexuality merge together to create a unique experience for individuals affected by multiple oppressed identities at once. In Harriet Jacobs’ retelling of her experiences, she succinctly explains in a short anecdote the reason that intersectionality emerged: “the fair child scarcely [had] one day of her life …show more content…
They explained that previous schools of thought in feminism are unable to fully acknowledge the issues faced by women of color in particular because they are unable to view them as being experienced simultaneously rather than occurring separately (Combahee, 249) because, as white women, they do not experience these intersections of identity. In Crenshaw’s article “Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex” she outlines a particular occurrence with General Motors wherein which several black female workers were laid off and they argued against the discrimination that led to the termination of their jobs. General Motors cited that their layoff policy was based on seniority, with those who have worked for the company the longest having a greater chance of keeping their job. This explanation was unsatisfactory due to the fact that all Black women hired after 1970 had lost their jobs but no Black women had been hired before 1964, leaving them with a lack of seniority within the company. Before 1964, both Black men and white women had been hired by General Motors and because of this the case was subsequently dismissed on both claims of race discrimination and gender discrimination. But in this case “the intersectionality of multiple oppressions is greater than the sum of racism and sexism” and because of a lack of understanding of the intersection between race and gender, the suit was unable to base their action on both sex and race discrimination together (Crenshaw, 265). Audre Lorde further supports the importance of intersectionality as a school of thought by explaining that “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” (Lorde, 259). Middle-class white women cannot free women of color or poor,