What is Intersectionality? Intersectional Analysis Explained in Five Minutes

What is intersectional analysis and how does it work? In this this brief video we cover intersectionality as a theoretical method and analytical perspective in the social sciences and discuss its history in sociology, anthropology, and critical legal studies.

The host, Dr. Alexander K. Smith, holds an MA from Oxford University and a PhD in the anthropology of Tibet and the Himalayas from the University of Paris (EPHE - PSL).

[ArmchairAcademics]

We'd love to hear from you as well! Was our silly pizza analogy useful? Is intersectional analysis something you'd like to see researchers use more broadly in other fields? Let us know! 🍻

[stephane]

Great video, another suggestion would be to do a video highlighting the pros and cons of using intersectionality to address social justice (I'm a Ph.D. student with a focus on population health).

[laylanoor-wuyn]

Hi
Excuse me can you explain the play a raisin in the sun to Lorraine's hansbarrys i mean the discrimination in this play ? please

[SSJKamui]

wait: there is still goedels incompleteness theorem: you cannot build a method which is correct, brings useful results and looks at all possible cases. if you want to include all possibilities, you get results which are so unspecific that you gain nothing. so, intersectionality cannot include all possible cases.

[pippetandpossum]

I can sum it up even better and quicker:

In our society, victimhood is power. Thus we need to tally all our victim points and compete for who is the most victimized. That group is the winner and gets to make everything about them all while screaming they're oppressed.

[madisonbadger]

I prefer to think about what we have in common. I am disappointed when people focus on what makes us different. Being unique in cool, but claiming social points off that is lame.

[AlbertoTonda]

Pizza analogies are always great for Italians, unless you use pineapple :-D

[SSJKamui]

I see some problems.

1. This theory basically proofs every person has privilege and will do stuff to further this privilege. This is pefectly true ofcourse. BUt this means any researcher doing this method will be biased.

2. Some topics will be more useful for the ruling class than others. Thus, you will be more able to fight privilege if this will somehow help the privileged in other ways. (best example, the problem in the autism community where by far the most research money is poured into is the topic of getting Jobs for autistics. Other topics are much less supported or almost none. So, why is the cause which benefits the capitalists the most, the cause which is seen as the most urgent? )

3. Sometimes, certain categories can yield extremely different results for one minority person. This cannot be solfed by checking oferlap with other minority categories. (For example, within autism, you will find some persons who do not experience sexual and romantic attraction and are other unable to understand why other people feel this. On the other hand, you find some people who kill themself because they get no girlfriend. another frequent trait is, some autistic people are ofersensitife to physical pain while some other people cannot experience physical pain at all. Such cases make it difficult to draw a generalized logical connection of minority x => result y.)

[Dayglodaydreams]

I listen to a lot of Heavy Metal. isn't domination a good thing?!

[waratahdavid]

As long as we keep near front and centre that we've come along way. A really long way from 1910 ( women's rights) and 1950s (race and homophobia). A really long way, like 95% of the way. More harm than good will be done by over correction.