intersectional

English

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.təɹˈsɛk.ʃə.nl̩/
• Hyphenation: in‧ter‧sec‧tion‧al

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Etymology 1

From intersection +‎ -al.

Adjective

intersectional (comparative more intersectional, superlative most intersectional)

1. Of or pertaining to an intersection, especially of multiple forms of discrimination (for example, the intersection of misogyny and racism which affects black women specifically).
   • 2009, Yvonne Wesley, Black Women's Health: Challenges and Opportunities:

     Intersectional discrimination is particularly difficult to identify in contexts where economic, cultural, or social forces quietly shape the background such that women are placed in positions where they are affected by some other system of [discrimination].

   • 2013, Malcolm Sargeant, Discrimination and the Law, Routledge, →ISBN:

     The second type consists of intersectional discrimination where the multiple discrimination cannot usefully or effectively be broken down into its component parts. Thus a young black woman may suffer discrimination in a way that an older black woman does not.

   • 2016, Charles Lemert, Social Theory: The Multicultural, Global, and Classic Readings:

     The tragic incidents of racially motivated rape are sometimes preceded by another manifestation of intersectional oppression, the propagation of explicitly raced and gendered propaganda directed against ethnic women[.]

   • 2017, Anne Cunningham, Reproductive Rights, Greenhaven Publishing LLC, →ISBN, page 62:

     In the following viewpoint, Taylor Hawk explains intersectional feminism and underscores its importance. Professor and activist Kimberlé Crenshaw invented the term, but it has since become a buzzword with a reach expanding far beyond the […]

2. Of or relating to intersectionalism or intersectionality.
   • 2019 February 27, Jeremy Pelzer, “Green Party presidential hopeful says he was fired as rabbi because of Israel criticism”, in cleveland.com‎^[1]:

     Hunter has also been serving as coordinator for Jewish life and intersectional programming at the College of Wooster.

3. Encompassing or concerned with multiple different groups or the forms of discrimination they face (for example, inclusive of women of all races and people of color of all genders).
   • 2017, Aaron Hess, Amber Davisson, Theorizing Digital Rhetoric, Routledge, →ISBN:

     “The revolution will be intersectional or it won't be my revolution” (or the more blunt and succinct “The revolution will be intersectional or it will be bullshit”) warn us of the dangers of single-issue/single-marginalization identity.

   • 2018, Trevor Greenfield, Seven Ages of the Goddess, John Hunt Publishing, →ISBN:

     The next Age of the Goddess will not allow for spaces that are exclusionary of trans and nonbinary people, both because it will be intersectional and political, and because it will demand liberation for all.

Etymology 2

From inter- +‎ sectional.

Adjective

intersectional (comparative more intersectional, superlative most intersectional)

2. Existing or occurring between sections or groups.
   • 1894 April 27, William H. Stewart, “Best name for the war”, in The Confederate Veteran‎^[2], page 140:

     I have often thought of the many objections to "Civil War", "War between the States." As it was a war between the Northern and Southern sections of the United States, I have ventured to suggest "Intersectional War" as an appropriate name