Paper Title
What's Next?: Intersectionality, Love Politics, and the Goals of Feminism
Location
Room 221, DiGiorgio Campus Center (DiGs)
Keywords
Intersectionality, Love politics, shared affect, shared injury
Start Date
2-4-2016 9:00 AM
End Date
2-4-2016 10:15 AM
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to explore the current usage of intersectionality in many feminist circles, and to examine whether its usage has remained true to the spirit of the original theory, which was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw. Not only do I seek to examine the current understanding of intersectionality, I also seek to explore its compatibility with a theory originally offered as a counterpoint, dubbed “love politics” by Black feminist Jennifer C. Nash. Love politics was seen as a being mutually exclusive of intersectionality, as it emphasized organizing along “shared affect,” as opposed to shared injury, which gave rise to identity politics. Although it would appear that they cannot simultaneously serve as the foundation for activist organizing, I seek to examine that assertion and demonstrate the ways in which they can be used in tandem to create a movement that not only retains clarity on who they are and what their relation to oppression has historically been, but also clear on their aims and goals for the future. By creating a dialogue of sorts between the two seminal works of intersectionality and love politics, I will examine the ways in which their goals coalesce and can be used to strengthen each other.
What's Next?: Intersectionality, Love Politics, and the Goals of Feminism
Room 221, DiGiorgio Campus Center (DiGs)
The aim of this paper is to explore the current usage of intersectionality in many feminist circles, and to examine whether its usage has remained true to the spirit of the original theory, which was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw. Not only do I seek to examine the current understanding of intersectionality, I also seek to explore its compatibility with a theory originally offered as a counterpoint, dubbed “love politics” by Black feminist Jennifer C. Nash. Love politics was seen as a being mutually exclusive of intersectionality, as it emphasized organizing along “shared affect,” as opposed to shared injury, which gave rise to identity politics. Although it would appear that they cannot simultaneously serve as the foundation for activist organizing, I seek to examine that assertion and demonstrate the ways in which they can be used in tandem to create a movement that not only retains clarity on who they are and what their relation to oppression has historically been, but also clear on their aims and goals for the future. By creating a dialogue of sorts between the two seminal works of intersectionality and love politics, I will examine the ways in which their goals coalesce and can be used to strengthen each other.
