What is Intersectionality?
What is Intersectionality?
There are lots of different ways to describe who we are:
- our
gender
Your gender is how you think of yourself. Most people think of themselves as a man or woman. Some people think of themselves as non-binary.
Gender is how we think of ourselves. This might be male or female, or both, or neither.
- our race
- our sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is who we are attracted to.
- our disability (if we have one)
- and other things like our
religion
Religion is to do with the things you believe about the world. For example you may believe there is a god or something else. Examples of religions are Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism.
and age.
Intersectionality is about how our lives are affected by these different things.
And how these things cross over (like an intersection).
For example, we might
experience
Experience is when you have learned or tried something before.
discrimination
Discrimination is when someone is treated differently (usually in a bad way) because of things like their disability or their religion.
because we have a disability.
Discrimination is when we are treated unfairly because of who we are.
We might also experience discrimination because we are Black, Asian, or from a minority ethnic
community
A community is the people and places in an area.
.
Or because we are
gay
Gay means a man who fancies other men, or a woman who fancies other women.
,
lesbian
A lesbian is a woman who fancies other women.
, or
bisexual
A bisexual is someone who fancies men and women.
.
Or because we are
transgender
Transgender means someone who feels like they have the wrong body. This could be someone who has the body of a man but feels they are a woman, or the other way around. Some people who feel like this have an operation to change their body.
.
Transgender means that you do not think of yourself as the same sex you were born.
Intersectionality means that someone can be discriminated against because of more than one thing about them.
For example, if you are Black and gay.
Or if you are a woman with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
.
When we talk about intersectionality, we mean that we have to think about the different parts of people.
And how some groups of people could be discriminated against because of more than one thing.
Intersectionality means that some people might experience even more discrimination.
For example, people who have a learning disability and are transgender might be treated differently to other people when they try to get a job.
It might be harder for them to get a job than people who have a learning disability who are not transgender.
It might be harder for them to get a job than transgender people who do not have a learning disability.
