The Iconic Duo (On Intersectionality)

I am a proud fan of memes and meme pages and meme accounts, For comic relief, Shakespeare created the character of the Porter in Macbeth, and so his equals created memes for our social media feeds amidst the pathetic news headlines we are forced to come across every day.

One of my all-time favourites has got to do with my feared major, medicine, surprise surprise, under the "Name a more iconic trio... I'll wait" meme, cue picture of Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Khloe Kardashian below the text. The original posters honestly did not see the doctors coming. The impeccable meme response was Renin, Angiotensin, and Aldosterone. They'd been our day ones. (Edit on 10/07/17: In what way is stealing from black culture iconic?)

If you know me well enough though, you will already have suffered the wrath of being tagged, by yours truly, in not one, not two, but three memes a day. So here's another phenomenal and brain-racking one for the Wake Up Stay Woke family. "Name a more iconic duo than straight men and unnecessary commentary." (Source: @theequalityinstitute on Instagram.)

The response they gave was 10/10 would read again - Feminism and Intersectionality.

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For those who are lost, "feminism" is the advocacy of women's rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes (Source: Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English), whilst I could only best describe "intersectionality" as the concept of connecting all the cross-sections that compartmentalize the world's female demographic, amounting to a grand array of identities for each woman (Source: Culmination of own knowledge, please excuse the inarticulateness.)

Here's a little more help from my friend Wikipedia in case you need it.

What is Intersectionality?

Intersectionality is a term coined by American civil rights advocate Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw to describe overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination. Intersectionality is the idea that multiple identities intersect to create a whole that is different from the component identities. These identities that can intersect include gender, race, social class, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, age, mental disability, physical disability, mental illness, and physical illness as well as other forms of identity. These aspects of identity are not "unitary, mutually exclusive entities, but rather...reciprocally constructing phenomena."

The theory proposes that individuals think of each element or trait of a person as inextricably linked with all of the other elements in order to fully understand one's identity. This framework, it is argued, can be used to understand how systemic injustice and social inequality occur on a multidimensional basis. Intersectionality holds that the classical conceptualizations of oppression within society—such as racism, sexism, classism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia and belief-based bigotry—do not act independently of each other. Instead, these forms of oppression interrelate, creating a system of oppression that reflects the "intersection" of multiple forms of discrimination

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality)

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Feminism and Intersectionality are two sisters who always come and go hand-in-hand, for if one is a feminist, but knows nothing of intersectionality, one can only be, most effectively, a white feminist.

If you are new to the term, do not be fooled by its pompous appearance. "Intersectionality" is a concept you will have encountered by now, but in a different context, such as on a playground where you know deep inside that no one should be left out of the game because of their shape or size or creed or colour. The harsh reality is that playground bullies will come around. The harsh reality is that there is systemic oppression happening in our societies, and there will always be groups of ladies that are more advantaged than others, and those that are more disadvantaged than others. It is important to be aware of that, always, for those whose heads turn to the mentioning of feminism.

What is beautiful about intersectionality to me is that it does not aim to abate all forms of systemic oppression. Sometimes it is better to accept that systemic oppression will always be present in our communities and between them, for there will always be minority groups in skin colour and in sexual orientation, or differences in monthly income and culture. However, by acknowledging the existence of these systemic barriers, and by being aware of one's own privileges from where one stands, those who find themselves in better places can effectively lift up those who are in needier positions by being attentive to their voices and responding to them.

I've learnt that there is so much more to the meaning of feminism than striving for equality for oneself. Rather, a good feminist should always be listening to sisters and allies. If discourse is ever dismissed immediately without thought, it could be dangerous to the progress of the movement, as well as to the health and wellbeing of the women who may have been neglected.

To explain what intersectionality means to me, I thought it would be appropriate to orientate myself in this big picture.

Gender: Female

Race: Yellow skin

Social Class: Middle Class

Ethnicity: Chinese

Nationality: Chinese

Sexual Orientation: Hetero (I think...)

Religion: Catholic

Age: 20

Mental illness/ disability: /

Physical illness/ disability: /

I'm also aware that my country is not at war, I have a passport, I am a local student who is able to pay for my tuition. A lot of people may not be able to say these without hesitation. A boring profile, also suggesting that it is one charged with privilege from where I am based in (Hong Kong). What if I were based in the US or the UK? Would I be able to say the same? When unicorns that pee rainbow cupcakes exist, then the answer will be an exhilarating yes.

That's why intersectionality matters to me.