This women’s history month, we are celebrating the women in our lives that are close to us as well as women all around the world. During this month and at this time in our society, it is important more than ever that we uplift and celebrate all those who identify as women. The only way that we can do this is is by practicing intersectional feminism.
Intersectional feminism aims to recognize how women of different backgrounds experience oppression.
It shines a light on identities we hold that directly intersect with our identities as women.
Yes, we all share the identity of a woman, but our backgrounds, identities are as diverse as the colors of the rainbow.
Women of color, transgender women, lesbian women, bisexual women, asexual women, women with disabilities, women with mental illness, old women, young girls, women with diverse body types, poor women, immigrant women, there are so many women. Intersectional feminism looks to not only celebrate but uplift them and their experiences which mainstream feminism has a bad habit of leaving out.
From theearly days of traditional feminism, the movement has focused and highlighted the experiences of middle class, white women, which is leaving out a lot of other types of women.
A movement for women cannot be effective if it doesn't recognize and address the needs of all women.
Due to the fact that many women hold intersecting identities, it is almost impossible to solely focus on their identity as women because it goes hand in hand with other identities that they hold.
For example, a woman of color cannot separate her racial identity from her gender identity because the two are so closely intertwined. For example, it has been widely noted that women only make 78 cents to a man's dollar, however that only recognizes what white women are paid to a man's dollar.
Looking at it through an intersectional lens sees that black women make 63 cents to the man's dollar and Latinx women make 50 cents to a man's dollar.
By looking at this example it's clear that some women face different challenges than other women and looking at from only a mainstream perspective ignores the vast majority of women and their experiences.
It is because of this that, if you identify as a feminist, you should try to make sure that your feminism reflects and embraces intersectionality in order to fully recognize all women and their identities.
One way to practice intersectional feminism is to examine the privileges that you hold and how you can use them to uplift other women that are not privileged in those areas.
Privileges are places where we hold more power in society than others. For example, a white woman that is able-bodied identifies as cisgender, and has food and shelter, holds privilege in those areas. These are privileges that not every woman has, and it shapes their experience of the world.
You should also listen to other women from different backgrounds and try practicing feminism through a more broad, more inclusive lens. It's very crucial to learn and understand the experiences of women with different and less privileged identities. By doing so, you'll be able to uplift the voices of women who have less power in society.
When we embrace intersectional feminism, it is a way to truly embrace and celebrate different kinds of women and validate their identities that go hand in hand with identifying as women.
So this women’s history month be sure to uplift and celebrate all women.
