Intersectional Individuality: Georg Simmel's Concept of “The Intersection of Social Circles” and the Emancipation of Women

Abstract

Georg Simmel's "The intersection of social circles," a chapter in his 1908 Sociology, contains discussions of class, religion, ethnic, and gender relations that are highly relevant to contemporary sociological concerns. Simmel's argument is based on a notion of historical dynamic that interprets increasingly complex intersectionality as a sign of progressing civilization. The article establishes how Simmel describes "the intersection of social circles" and then looks at Simmel's account through the concept of "intersectionality" as developed in contemporary feminist theory. The article suggests that although some aspects of Simmel's account of women in modernity are incompatible with contemporary feminism, the shared use of the same image, "intersection," in Simmel and in contemporary feminist theory is the symptom of a shared concern with a particular aspect of the complexity of modern society. In Simmel, the increasing density of the intersections of social circles points to the increasingly complex individuality of modern subjects, whereas the use of the same image in contemporary feminist theory is part of a critique of inequality and oppression in the same modern society whose advent Simmel celebrated. Intersectionality is a characteristic of modern society that first became visible more than a century ago and has meanwhile become ever the more a signature of modernity.

Doing Justice to Intersectionality in Research

“…Since intersectionality’s formulation in Black feminist thought, some have claimed the concept as primarily about Black women’s experiences; others have aimed to extend intersectionality to new social issues, subject formations, and theoretical domains; still others have questioned its utility due to its ostensible divisiveness; while still others have ignored the theory’s origins by rewriting its genealogy based on their affiliations. For example, Nina Lykke (2011) argues that European feminists have thought intersectionally as far back as Alexandra Kollontai, the early 20th-century Russian feminist revolutionary; Marcel Stoetzler (2016) argues that intersectionality originates with German social psychologist Moritz Lazarus and sociologist Georg Simmel; and Ange-Marie Hancock (2007) claims American feminist anarchist Emma Goldman’s work included intersectionality. To meaningfully engage with the scope of intersectionally directed methodologies, it is necessary to interrogate the ideas/impulses that underpin these contested claims.…”

“…For example, Nina Lykke (2011) argues that European feminists have thought intersectionally as far back as Alexandra Kollontai, the early 20th-century Russian feminist revolutionary; Marcel Stoetzler (2016) argues that intersectionality originates with German social psychologist Moritz Lazarus and sociologist Georg Simmel; and Ange-Marie Hancock (2007) claims American feminist anarchist Emma Goldman's work included intersectionality. To meaningfully engage with the scope of intersectionally directed methodologies, it is necessary to interrogate the ideas/impulses that underpin these contested claims.…”

Prison violence and the intersectionality of race/ethnicity and gender

“…Согласно интерсекциональному подходу факторы расы/национальности и пола являются динамическими социально сконструированными отношениями власти, действующими как на микро-, так и на макроуровне [16][17][18][19][20][21]. Исследования в рамках интерсекционального подхода позволяют получить данные о социальных контекстах, усиливающих отношения власти [20,22].…”

Mother, Mothers: Forms and Contents of Maternity. A Simmelian Interpretation of Surrogate Motherhood

“…The terminological similarity is not enough to link the intersectionality approach to Simmel's intersection -the ties are much deeper! While on one hand, as have also emerged in the previous pages, some of Simmel's observations on women are quite incompatible with contemporary feminist thought, on the other hand the use of the same image, intersection, represents a common concern over the increasing complexity of social life in the modern age (Stoetzler, 2016(Stoetzler, , 2017. While due to some imprecisions and errors in the translations of Simmel's works into English, particularly in Soziologie, where he develops his theory on the "intersection of social circles", as well argued by Stoetzler (2016: 230), the intersectionality approach has never acknowledged its tribute to Simmel, there are however two points of Simmel's ties to intersectional feminism that I would like to draw the reader's attention to here.…”