Intersectionality

Intersectionality

Intersectionality argues that peoples experiences are shaped by multiple social identities at the same time - such as race, gender and class - and these cannot be understood separately.

Heidi Mirza (1992) (1)

• Mirza studied black girls in London comprehensive schools and examined how racism shaped their educational experiences.

• She found that teachers often held racialised and stereotypical expectations, seeing black girls as loud, aggressive or culturally deprived.

• As a result they were sometimes labelled negatively or unfairly disciplined. 

• Rather than forming loud anti-school subcultures like some boys, many black girls adopted ‘strategic resistance’

This meant they were outwardly conformist but internally rejected teachers authority and racist attitudes.

Heidi Mirza (1992) (2)

Mirza also argued that the curriculum was ethnocentric, giving little recognition to black history of culture.

 

This reinforced feelings that school was not designed for them.

 

However, unlike some black boys studied by Sewell, many of Mirza’s girls did not respond by forming anti-school subcultures and instead they were often highly ambitious and determined to succeed despite racism.

 

This suggested that while schools may be experiences as alienating or racist, response differ by gender as well as ethnicity.

The social organisation of juvenile justice - Cicourel 1968

Cicourel argues that deviance is not simply committed - it is socially constructed through interactions between you people and agents of social control (like police and schools)

 

Police and other authorities do not treat all youths equally. They use typifications - stereotypes about what a ‘typical delinquent’ looks like.

The social organisation of juvenile justice - Cicourel 1968

• These typifications shape who gets stopped, questioned or charged.

• So deviance is not just about behaviour - its about how behaviour is interpreted.

• Typifications held by police such as: working class, male, ethnic minorities, dress of behave in certain ways.

• If a young person fits this image they are more likely to be seen as suspicious.

 

This means youth crime statistic's reflect police bias as much as actual offending.