- [Voiceover] There are
many different types of discrimination, including things like discrimination based on sex, gender, culture, race and other factors. We can often consider
these things in isolation. But what happens when someone
experiences multiple forms of discrimination at the same time? What happens when we have overlapping areas of discrimination? One of the things that can happen is that we can have
individuals in our society that have characteristics that can result in them facing discrimination
in multiple different areas. For example, we can have a female who is of African American origin, and who, for example,
practices Buddhist teachings, and in a particular
society within our country that may cause her to
be discriminated against in three different areas. So, if we were to draw her
circles of discrimination, what would her overlap look like? She may have one overlap
based on her sexual gender. She may have one overlap based on her racial or
cultural identification, and she may have another circle based on her religious ideas. Right in the center, we have
this level of extreme overlap. Right at the intersection. Now, why is it important to
consider this intersection of these three different areas? It's important because
at this intersection is multiple different categories of potential discrimination
or oppression may compound an interplay in this one individual, and really significantly put her at a disadvantage within society. In order to understand the level of disadvantage that she has, we really need to understand
all three of these factors. The theory of intersectionality
really states just that. It really focuses on the point in which these multiple different areas of potential discrimination
overlap with one another, and exist along side one another. We really need to understand when all of these things coexist, because if we don't consider
all of them at the same time, we really don't get to fully
understand the situation. So, in this individual, if we just consider the fact that she likes Buddhist teachings, in a culture or society that
really doesn't appreciate that, and we miss the fact that the society also doesn't
appreciate the fact that she's female, or discriminates against
African Americans. We may not fully understand the level of discrimination that she faces. And the same situation would result if we only considered the fact that she was female in the sexist society, or that she was African
American in a racist society. So, this theory of
intersectionality really asks us to consider all of the different
levels of discrimination. While the theory was originally
coined in 1989 by Crenshaw as a feminist theory to explain
the oppression of women, it has since really expanded out. People of then really use
it to explain oppression and discrimination found
in all parts of society.