Crenshaw — Black Feminist Critique / Intersectionality

Intersectionality

The idea that race, gender, and other identities intersect to create unique forms of discrimination

Single-axis framework

Antidiscrimination law treats race and gender separately, failing to recognize overlapping harms

DeGraffenreid v. General Motors

Court rejected Black women’s combined race-sex discrimination claim

Compound discrimination

Discrimination experienced specifically because someone belongs to multiple marginalized groups

Reverse discrimination comparison

Court inconsistently accepted compound claims by white males while rejecting Black women’s claims

Moore v. Hughes Helicopter

Court refused to let Moore represent all women because her claims were racially specific

White female normativity

Courts implicitly define women’s experiences using white women as the standard

Payne v. Travenol

Black women plaintiffs were denied ability to represent Black men in discrimination claims

Intersectional dilemma

Black women must choose between framing claims as race discrimination or gender discrimination

Failure of courts to recognize Black women’s experiences

Courts refuse to fully account for overlapping discrimination

Traffic intersection analogy

Crenshaw compares intersectionality to traffic collisions caused by multiple directions simultaneously

Double discrimination

Black women face both racism and sexism simultaneously

Marginalization by feminism and antiracism

Black women’s experiences are overlooked in both movements

Rape as racial terror

Sexual violence historically functioned as both gender oppression and racial domination

Judicial reinforcement of white male power

Legal institutions historically failed to protect Black women

Critique of feminism

Feminist movements often ignored race and centered white women’s experiences

Susan Brownmiller critique

Brownmiller’s discussion of the Emmett Till case centered white women while minimizing racial terror

Black women between ideologies

Black women are caught between feminist and antiracist political priorities

Anna Julia Cooper

Criticized Black male leaders for neglecting Black women’s concerns

Prioritization of antiracism

Black communities sometimes minimize sexism to focus on racial oppression

The Color Purple controversy

`Debates over depictions of Black men revealed tensions between feminism and antiracism

Critique of William Julius Wilson

Wilson focused on structural economics but insufficiently addressed Black women’s needs