<p>Intersectionality as a concept first entered feminist and gender narratives following a paper by legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989. The term, ‘intersectionality’ is used to describe a scenario where gender, age, religion, class, race, and neurodiversity among others overlap and interact with gender. Think of a Venn diagram, where all the different identities are circles, and they converge at some points. </p>.<p>Gender intersectionality refers to the ways in which gender interacts or intersects with other identities, such as race or religion rather than a one-dimensional way of looking at inequalities within the gender space. </p>.<p>For the LGBTQIA+ community, intersectionality helps in identifying points of convergence and divergence; it helps individuals see each other as layered and complex people, wherein they experience different aspects of their personalities at the same time. An example of intersectionality in the LGBTQIA+ umbrella is when you could identify as trans and lesbian, at the same time. LGBTQIA+ people could also have other identities of race or class, and they can intersect.</p>.<p>Understanding intersectionality helps because it can usher in policy changes and a greater sense of empathy for people with complex and multiple identities. </p>.<p><em>Curated by Savitha Karthik</em></p>.<p><em>( Decoded is a column that demystifies gender concepts and breaks them down into easy-to-understand language.)</em></p>
<p>Intersectionality as a concept first entered feminist and gender narratives following a paper by legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989. The term, ‘intersectionality’ is used to describe a scenario where gender, age, religion, class, race, and neurodiversity among others overlap and interact with gender. Think of a Venn diagram, where all the different identities are circles, and they converge at some points. </p>.<p>Gender intersectionality refers to the ways in which gender interacts or intersects with other identities, such as race or religion rather than a one-dimensional way of looking at inequalities within the gender space. </p>.<p>For the LGBTQIA+ community, intersectionality helps in identifying points of convergence and divergence; it helps individuals see each other as layered and complex people, wherein they experience different aspects of their personalities at the same time. An example of intersectionality in the LGBTQIA+ umbrella is when you could identify as trans and lesbian, at the same time. LGBTQIA+ people could also have other identities of race or class, and they can intersect.</p>.<p>Understanding intersectionality helps because it can usher in policy changes and a greater sense of empathy for people with complex and multiple identities. </p>.<p><em>Curated by Savitha Karthik</em></p>.<p><em>( Decoded is a column that demystifies gender concepts and breaks them down into easy-to-understand language.)</em></p>