Intersectionality is the understanding that race, ethnicity, social class, religion, gender, and sexual orientation are not individual variables as historically they have been treated. Instead these various marker's of identity are now understood to be interconnected variable that shape an individual's overall life experiences. Power, privilege, and oppression are often much more complex than has been traditionally thought, as an individual may be relatively privileged in one or more aspects of their life, while simultaneously experiencing prejudice, discrimination, or oppression stemming from other aspects of their social background or identity. Intersectionality seeks to explain how these different variables come together to shape experience, identity, and society.
Definition taken from Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2021
TED Talk by Kimberlé Crenshaw on the Urgency of Intersectionality
