The theory of intersectionality emphasizes how the multiple components of a person’s identity may interact in different ways that afford them varying privilege or expose them to marginalization, based on a range of factors. Intersectionality provides a framework for understanding how racial, ethnic, religious, national, and other identities impact an individual’s lived experience, her opportunities, and her esteem and treatment by other humans.
Intersectionality offers a compelling framework for examining situations of displacement. It illuminates the diverse experiences of those so often referred to in terms of numbers and it helps humanitarian organizations deliver aid to those who most need it.
Origins of “Intersectionality”
The concept of intersectionality emerged in the 1960s and 70s in resistance to the mainstream feminist movement in the United States, which focused almost exclusively on the concerns of upper- and middle-class straight white women. The term “intersectionality” was proposed by scholar-activist Kimberlé Crenshaw, who argued that women of color face “double-discrimination — the combined effects of practices which discriminate on the basis of race, and on the basis of sex. And sometimes, they experience discrimination as Black women — not the sum of race and sex discrimination, but as Black women.”
Crenshaw was joined by other scholar-activists, such as bell hooks, Patricia Hill Collins, Audre Lorde, and Gloria Anzaldúa, who also argued against the idea that there was a universal “women’s experience” and advocated for a more inclusive women’s rights movement which challenged racial injustice and other systems of oppression. Despite the crucial work of these and other scholars and activists over the last sixty years, however, it is a widely held view that mainstream US feminism continues to push women of color to the margins.
An intersectional framework is applicable in a broad range of contexts and can prove a vital tool in understanding many social phenomena and injustices today. For example, an intersectional analysis of the overrepresentation of transgender women of color engaging in sex work highlights the discrimination they face on the basis of their race, gender, and queer/transgender identity in the job and housing markets. An intersectional framework can be employed in the health sector, for example, pointing out factors in the increase in poor birth outcomes among Arab American women immediately following 9/11 or in Black Americans constituting a disproportionate percentage of Covid-19 deaths.
Intersectionality and Displacement
An intersectional framework is not only useful, but vital, for contextualizing the experience of displaced individuals. Mainstream media, politicians, and other actors constantly refer to “the refugees,” to burgeoning numbers, to unstoppable floods pouring over borders, a faceless mass moving closer with each passing day. Photos of “the refugees” show them struggling through a grueling day-to-day existence, crowded into camps and cities. Amidst the white tents, “the refugees” live a universal experience of war, tragedy, and loss.
The cumulative effect of these elements is a universalized refugee experience replacing the vibrant and diverse plethora of communities and individuals with a single narrative of loss and tragedy. “The refugees” turn into numbers rather than humans, a singular monolithic mass.
Applying an intersectional framework to the experience of Syrian refugees reveals that not only is there no universal Syrian refugee experience, but there is no universal Syrian refugee women’s experience, and so forth.
One recent study employed such a framework to examine the experiences of Syrian women refugees living in Gaziantep, Turkey. The study revealed that, despite sharing some significant commonalities—gender, nationality, and places of residence in Syria (Aleppo) and Turkey (Gaziantep)—other elements of their identities became salient in ways that informed and shaped their unique experiences of displacement.
Afran, a transgender Kurdish woman, expressed that both in Syria and Turkey she faced discrimination due to her ethnicity as a Kurd and her LGBT identity; she felt alienation and feared violence both before and after her departure from Syria. On the other hand, Farah, a single, financially-independent atheist, expressed achieving a sort of “personal revolution” in Gaziantep. The other two interviewees both had resisted leaving Syria due to their love of country but eventually fled for the sake of their children. Even so, these women (Nabila, a devout Sunni Muslim widow, and Zeinab, a secular leftist) expressed fundamentally different political agendas and experienced differing levels of loss and/or guilt at having left.
As the study illustrates, an intersectional lens reveals the complexity of each individual’s lived experience of displacement and complicates the universalized narrative commonly portrayed in the media.
The Importance of an Intersectional Lens
Why is this kind of intersectional lens important? First, an intersectional analysis has the power to change the existing rhetoric around “the refugees.” Speaking of refugees as a faceless, uniform mass dehumanizes them, in turn leading to fear and lack of empathy. Intersectional analyses humanize refugees by highlighting their unique experiences in a holistic and respectful way. Large news media outlets, however, seem to have little incentive to invest the great deal of time, effort, and attention required for these in-depth analyses. Even the BBC recently came under criticism for footage of a reporter interviewing Syrian refugees in a precarious lifeboat. The video was shared to Twitter, where thousands of angry comments sought to hold BBC to account. Perhaps the extensive reach of social media might provide an alternative way to highlight refugees’ unique life stories, the same as it provides a platform for holding mainstream media accountable when they treat refugees as less than human.
Second, when intersectional analyses are employed by humanitarian organizations, these actors can better identify the specific needs of individuals with different vectors of identity and provide them with tailored aid interventions. Though not generally referred to in terms of intersectionality, many humanitarian interventions target people of certain identity markers in effort to allocate limited resources to the individuals who most need them. Aid programs may identify “people with special needs” or particularly “vulnerable” people based on their age, ability, gender, familial status, and so forth. Other programs frame these identity markers as “cross-cutting issues.” These targeted interventions allow aid organizations to prioritize or increase aid, offer special protection or accessibility measures, and raise intra-organization awareness to the specific needs of certain higher-risk subpopulations.
Some scholars have argued that these kinds of intersectional approaches force individuals to perform “vulnerability” and reinforce a cycle of victimization. It is true that humanitarian organizations must often make quick decisions based on minimal information, often a single aspect of an aid recipient’s identity. However, there are measures that could potentially limit the victimization that may occur in this context.
Aid agencies can aim to provide specialized services to high-risk refugees, ensure effective communication of relevant information, and empower refugees to choose what services they wish to utilize. Raising awareness among aid-providers about the sociological and historical nuances of the context in which they are working is essential; partnering with local organizations or employing local implementing partners might be one of the best ways to achieve this. Agencies might also shift the language they use to discuss refugee issues and offer internal training on intersectionality and sensitivity to gender, LGBT, and other issues.
Conclusion
The theory of intersectionality put forth by progressive US feminists of color provides a useful, and indeed essential framework for understanding systems of oppression and the lived experiences of refugees. Intersectionality as a framework for humanitarian aid allows organizations to target the most vulnerable individuals. Rendering visible the intersections of a refugee’s identity illuminates a more complete view of her life story, instead of seeing her only as a refugee or a victim of war. Rather than being reduced to helpless individuals fleeing a hostile situation, she is a person from a place, with a history and traditions, with skills and aspirations.
About the Author:
Anna Krainc is a Junior Officer in the Business Development Department at Trust. Anna is currently studying a masters degree in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action at the Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs. Her studies focus on the Middle East, migration, gender equality, and social movements.
Read more about Anna on LinkedIn
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