We are all members of different social groups based on things like race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, and so on. Intersectionality, which is a term originated by legal scholar and professor Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw (she’s in the video on the left!), refers to the fact that people experience their social identities simultaneously – for example, people aren’t women OR Black OR middle-class, but all three at the same time. It’s not really possible to talk about “women’s experiences,” for example, because even though there may be things they have in common, different groups of women experience the world in different ways. Furthermore, just as social identities reflect the multiple groups of which individuals are a part, so do advantages and disadvantages based on these social groups. Most of us are more advantaged in some ways and less advantaged in others.

That’s why it’s not enough to talk about gender and sexual orientation when talking about sexual health.  Other facets of a person’s identity – their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc. – can shape how people experience their sexuality, act on their desires, or become part of (or are excluded from) particular communities.  For example, some BIPOC groups have been stereotyped as sexually submissive, while others have been stereotyped as promiscuous; both of these stereotypes can lead to fetishization and/or discrimination.  Additionally, the ballroom scene (as seen on the television show Pose) significantly expanded notions of family for queer people of color who had been otherwise excluded from their families of origin. (For more information about Pose, see here:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7562112/)

Another example of the importance of intersectionality can be seen when we look at the fact that marginalized populations (including those that are LGBTQIA+ and/or BIPOC) experience negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes are far greater rates than those that are white, cisgender, and heterosexual. For example,  Black women are 3-4 times more likely to die in childbirth than White women, a phenomenon that is not completely determined by socioeconomic status – as the experience of Serena Williams has demonstrated; click this link to learn more:

https://www.vogue.com/article/serena-williams-vogue-cover-interview-february-2018

This has given rise to the reproductive justice movement, which was started by women of color and is defined as the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, and the right to parent a child or children in safe and healthy environments. 

When we don’t recognize the importance of intersectional perspectives, it’s easier to ignore the needs and voices of those who don’t belong to dominant groups, which are just as important as the voices of those who do.  It’s also a lot harder to band together to stand up for things like sexual and reproductive health equity!  For more information about reproductive justice, check out our related page under the “Sexual Health Topics” tab.