On July 13, 2020, we shared a simple but powerful exercise to get you thinking about who you are and how you define yourself. In The Complexity That Is You we asked you to make a list of 20 words or short phrases that describe you as a multidimensional human being.
In our post Understanding Intersectionality this week, we talked about those places where two or more aspects of you come together to create an even more complex identity.
The term, intersectionality, was first used in 1989, by Kimberle’ Crenshaw, a civil rights activist and legal scholar, to describe the overlaps of different identities and how they combine to increase or decrease racism. In a February 20, 2020, Time interview by Katy Steinmetz, Kimberle’ Crenshaw simplified her definition saying:
how certain aspects of who you are
will increase your access to the good things
or your exposure to the bad things in life.
To help you in understanding this concept of intersectionality and reflecting on it in our own life, we’re sharing three resources that we’ve found helpful:
- Ten Tips for Putting Intersectionality into Practice
- A Forbes Interview with Kimberlé Crenshaw
- Can Understanding Intersectionality Accelerate Our Journey to an Inclusive World?
We’d love to know if you’ve found any resources about intersectionality that have been helpful for you, that you are willing to share.