Theorizing and Researching Intersectionality: A Challenge for Feminist Geography*

Abstract

This article focuses on the concept of intersectionality, which is being used within the wider social sciences by feminists to theorize the relationship between different social categories: gender, race, sexuality, and so forth. Although research within the field of feminist geography has explored particular interconnections such as those between gender and race, the theoretical concept of intersectionality as debated in the wider social sciences has not been addressed. This article attempts to respond to that omission. It begins by tracing the emergence of debates about the interconnections between gender and other identities. It goes on to reflect on attempts to map geometries of oppressions. The emphasis then moves from theorizing intersectionality to questioning how it can be researched in practice by presenting a case study to illustrate intersectionality as lived experience. The conclusion demonstrates the contribution that feminist geography can make to advance the theorization of intersectionality through its appreciation of the significance of space in processes of subject formation. It calls for feminist geography to pay more attention to questions of power and social inequalities.

Engaging local communities in social learning for inclusive management of native fruit trees in the Central Western Ghats, India

“…While contact theory (and research, more generally) has tended to adopt a binary view of 'groups' , emphasizing a single aspect of social difference (Valentine 2007), our study shows the importance of considering the complex and multifaceted ways in which individuals are positioned within those groups. For instance, elder Siddi women could find some common grounds on the basis of age and gender with elder Havyak women despite ethnic differences (c.f.…”

Women and economy: complex inequality in a post-industrial landscape

“…The second set of voices driving this article involves academics encouraging a (re)engagement with questions of structural inequalities and power (Valentine 2007;McDowell 2008a) to expose and explain (women's) experiences of oppression. To engage with the dynamic, trans-and intergenerational element of inequality, I draw upon the concept of 'complex inequality' (Walby 2009) to frame the article.…”

“…This article is driven by growing concern amongst academics for the need to (re)engage with questions of structural inequalities and power (Valentine 2007;McDowell 2008a) to examine why the working lives of women like Carol are so hard and have not improved over time. Carol is 1 of 31 women aged between 16 and 90 whose experiences of paid work are drawn upon to capture cross-and intergenerational experiences of paid work that expose the long-standing, yet dynamic, inequality that women's accounts of paid work collectively recount (Hopkins and Pain 2007).…”

Racialized places, racialized bodies: the impact of racialization on individual and place identities

“…race, gender, class, sexuality, etc.) has both problematized the concept of race and fueled a richer, more sustained engagement with identity construction (Valentine 2007). Given this history, race is manifest in all aspects of cultural life, including, as we contend in this special issue, in the construction of place and the reinforcement of racialized identities.…”