Intersectionality is a framework created by Kimberlé Crenshaw, a Black feminist legal scholar from the United States. She introduced the term in 1989 to explain how racism and sexism (along with other forms of oppression) work together in the lives of Black women.
Crenshaw showed that Black women are not just affected by race and gender separately, they face a specific, combined kind of oppression. This oppression comes from both white supremacy and patriarchy, and it creates one unique experience. A Black woman is not “sometimes treated badly as a woman” and “sometimes treated badly as a Black person”, those things happen at the same time, in connected ways.
Intersectionality comes from Black feminist theory. In that theory, race, especially Blackness, is the baseline. It is the starting point that shapes how all other systems of power are experienced. That’s why the original purpose of intersectionality was not just to name identities, it was to show how power and oppression overlap and reinforce each other, especially in the lives of Black women.
What does intersectionality help us understand?
Every person has many parts to their identity, for example, race, gender, class, disability, or sexuality. These are called multi-layered identities.
But intersectionality is not just about identity. It’s about how systems of oppression, like racism, sexism, ableism, classism, audism, etc work together at the same time creating a unique kind of oppression. These systems don’t stack up like blocks, they weave into 1, overlapping and often making each other worse.
For example:
- A white Deaf woman may experience sexism and audism. These are real and serious forms of oppression. But they do not overlap in the same way, because she still has white privilege. Her race protects her from racism. Across most countries and institutions, whiteness is seen as the norm and continues to hold power.
- A Black Deaf woman may face racism, sexism, and audism, all at once. These are not separate problems. They connect and create one unique form of oppression that cannot be fully understood by looking at each issue one by one.
Intersectionality helps us see the full picture, especially for those who are most excluded.
What’s the problem with how intersectionality is used today?
Intersectionality was created to explain the lives of Black women and how multiple systems of oppression shape their everyday experiences.
But today, the concept has been co-opted, especially by white-led Deaf and hearing organisations, both national and international, as well as by educational institutions that use diversity language without committing to real structural change. These groups often use the word “intersectional” in their branding, training, projects or reports, but do not centre Black people, do not engage with Black feminist thinking, and do not shift power.
Many of these institutions have also changed the meaning completely. They now say intersectionality simply means “having multiple identities.” This is not only incorrect, it completely erases what intersectionality was created for.
Intersectionality was never about how many identities a person has. It was created to show how systems of oppression, including racism, sexism, classism, colonialism, xenophobia, ableism, and audism, overlap and reinforce one another, especially in the lives of Black women. It is a tool for exposing harm and building justice, not a checkbox or a trendy label.
When white-led organisations and institutions strip intersectionality of its origins and meaning, they are not being inclusive. They are continuing the same systems of exclusion that intersectionality was created to challenge.
In Deaf spaces
- White Deaf feminists talk about gender and audism, but ignore race.
- Deaf LGBTQ+ spaces include queerness and Deafness, but avoid talking about racism.
- Some organisations use the word “intersectional” in their mission, but still centre white leadership, white language norms, and white culture.
This is how intersectionality gets watered down. It becomes performance, not practice.
Intersectionality is not just a trend or a diversity buzzword. It is a Black feminist tool for understanding power and for building justice.
To use intersectionality properly, we must name its roots, respect its purpose, and listen to the people it was built for. That means not only looking at what identities someone has, but asking: Who has the most power?
Who is most harmed?
And how do we change the system, not just the conversation?
Saved By The Sign (SBTS) is an Irish based intercultural consultancy and social enterprise committed to fostering social inclusion and racial equity within the global Deaf community. Through media, advocacy, and education, SBTS actively builds bridges across cultural divides, empowering Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) Deaf communities and promoting Deaf awareness and cultural understanding. SBTS engages with both Deaf and hearing BIPOC communities, enhancing accessibility and inclusive practices to ensure supportive environments for Deaf people within their cultural contexts. This work is deeply rooted in addressing social exclusion experienced by BIPOC Deaf individuals navigating predominantly white Deaf spaces and their own cultural communities, thereby bridging critical gaps for a more inclusive future.
