“Speaking into the Void”? Intersectionality Critiques and Epistemic Backlash

Abstract

Taking up Kimberlé Crenshaw's conclusion that black feminist theorists seem to continue to find themselves in many ways “speaking into the void” (Crenshaw 2011, 228), even as their works are widely celebrated, I examine intersectionality critiques as one site where power asymmetries and dominant imaginaries converge in the act of interpretation (or cooptation) of intersectionality. That is, despite its current “status,” intersectionality also faces epistemic intransigence in the ways in which it is read and applied. My aim is not to suggest that intersectionality cannot (or should not) be critiqued, nor do I maintain that celebratory applications/interpretations are immune from epistemic distortion when it comes to interpreting intersectionality. Rather, my goal is to demonstrate that critiques of intersectionality are one important site to examine hermeneutic marginalization and interpretive violence; the politics of citation; and the impact of dominant expectations or established social imaginaries on meaning‐making. In so doing, I aim to consider more fully how entrenched ways of thinking are frequently relied upon to interpret and critique intersectionality, even as these are often the very frameworks that intersectionality theorists have identified as highly problematic tools of misrepresentation, erasure, and violation. This slippage away from intersectionality's outlooks, whether in critical or laudatory contexts, is a pivotal site of epistemic negotiation we must examine more closely.

Sociolinguistics and modes of social class signalling: African perspectives

“…By extension, it also contests the unequal power relationships between development agents and local participants, and thus functions to renegotiate class relationships and positions. The contestation can be said to be a form of what May (, p. 95) calls, in her elaboration of intersectionality, “resistant speech and action [that] are not only frequently misunderstood, but often take unconventional forms …” Stating that the agent should use Dholuo and “broken Kiswahili” is to turn to the unconventional forms of speech and action, which in reality reverses the asymmetrical power in favour of the local participants.…”

Privilege and Oppression in Counselor Education: An Intersectionality Framework

“…As a result, their identities may become much more salient in demonstrating how these marginalized individuals are affected by the context. Major components of intersectionality encourage researchers to move beyond simplistic silos of cultural identities to explore interconnecting identity processes that can create social change (Cole, , ; Corlett & Mavin, ; May, ).…”

“…Its history noticeably converges on two specific theoretical junctures, specifically Black feminism and critical race theory (Carbado et al, ). Although intersectionality has visibly expanded to multiple disciplines and applications to multiple identities, the lack of historical context overlooks the philosophical underpinnings at the heart of the theoretical framework and perpetuates a secondhand interpretation that misconstrues key tenets (Bilge, ; May, ). Namely, intersectionality emerged from the works of Crenshaw (, , ) and Collins (, , ), who revolutionized feminism in their own respective disciplines of legal and sociological scholarship.…”

Black Adolescent Males: Intersections Among Their Gender Role Identity and Racial Identity and Associations With Self‐Concept (Global and School)

“…Increasingly, researchers note the importance of recognizing that multiple identities influence the self and outcomes (Cole, ). Intersectionality theory rooted in Black feminist thought “entails thinking about social reality as multidimensional, lived identities as intertwined, and systems of oppression as meshed and mutually constitutive” (May, , p. 96). An intersectional framework seeks to mark and map the production and contingency of individuals and their identities rather than render them invisible when convenient or to meet a particular goal (Rosenthal, ).…”

“…Some researchers argue that intersectional theory has been flattened (e.g., May, ; Rosenthal, ) by primarily focusing on social identities with less consideration of structural oppression. However, Spencer's () Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) PVEST theory reminds us that human development is formed by interactions and experiences within a social context that has meaning for outcomes, coping, and the nature of identity formation.…”