Abstract:
Intersectionality, a theory formulated by the black female legal scholar Prof Kimberlé Crenshaw in the early 1990s, has become increasingly central in explaining and dealing with the multiple and intricate forms of social inequality. The article aims to achieve intersectional justice, which combines gender, race, and class. These modern systems of justice have become arenas for balancing the injustices committed by earlier generations as well as addressing those of present society. But this is not always the case; the so-called formalities may not be able to consider themselves in the shoes of oppressed people in terms of different socially constructed identities. It is these social status categories such as gender, race and class that are referred to in terms of intersectionality which means that they do not work independently from one another but rather interact with each other leading into a person’s lived identity and his or her bona fide experience of being discriminated against/privileged. Through radicalised gendering, we can understand how race, class, and gender function together to produce specific injustices that employed black women might endure. At the same time, women from poor backgrounds who belong to racial minority groups are exposed to dual discrimination based on their sex and racism apart from being disadvantaged due their socioeconomic status. Moreover, many racial minorities particularly those coming from low-income families have been denied fair justice practices due to both racism and classism working together.
Besides, intersectional thinking shows that in some cases the current practices do not perfectly match the diversity of problems people face daily. Intersectionality analysis recognises inseparability of exploitations. It recommends an all-encompassing interrelated form of justice that it looks at oppression and discrimination with other elements of the self. Certainly, it requires that justice should be more preventive in the above areas by dissolving existing biased and unequal structures which would overlap with these factors mentioned before. Therefore, there can be policies and codes of conduct that are based on respect for identity and life history within a criminal justice system. Furthermore, if society’s needs were to be fully addressed, improvements could be made to the judicial system. Intersectionality is one of the best ways of disentangling complicated social injustice web. Thus, appearing intersectional as we stress on race, gender and class together being coordinated towards an ideal justice whereby social power or control is uniform among all people irrespective of their likeness in attributes. Finally, this illustration reinforces again the argument that for any move towards a reform in justice to be inclusive there has to be an inclusion of intersectional perspective thus proving that meeting diverse needs necessary for various marginalised groups can only take place when such actions are done.
Key words: Intersectionality, Justice, Gender, Race, Class Complexity, Equality
Introduction to Stereotypes
“… it is not about making sure that every oppression is named; it is actually about making sure every person is accounted for.” [1]
Though the world of society is overly complicated, and it is challenging to make a correct judgment about an individual’s qualities such as intelligence or credibility without enough information, many individuals still tend to create opinions about others. However, for most people social psychologists believe that common sense statements made about what “one often” believes concerning persons from different social divisions like races and genders are stereotypes. Stereotypes[2] tend to form a ‘first draft’ or ‘Starting point’ for social evaluations, which often go on to heavily impact later judgments, e.g. of whether a person is a violent threat which then leads to emotional reactions and several types of behaviours in social interaction. In addition to their uses and consequences in social interaction, stereotypes are key cultural schemas that connect micro-level cognition and behaviour with macro-level social structures. social structure helps to generate stereotypes and determine their content. Economic inequality and the division of labor, in addition to being classic topics of study for sociologists, are particularly important for determining the content of stereotypes.[3]
Groups that have more economic resources tend to be stereotyped as more competent and those with fewer resources tend to be stereotyped as less competent. Groups that tend to perform roles, especially occupations, that are seen as involving more leadership become stereotyped as more competent, while groups that tend to perform roles (e.g. occupations) seen as involving more care and sociability become stereotyped as warmer and groups seen as being in zero-sum competition with other groups tend to become stereotyped as less warm. Stereotypes, for example, are one way that illustrate how some of the wider sociological factors may shape people’s belief of the world and their surroundings. If stereotypes were confined to thoughts only, then they would not have any relevance in terms of sociology theories and analysis. However, stereotypes result in many behaviours such as discrimination which help to reproduce macro-social structures. This is a doable fact in different research fields. Occupational sex segregation partly arises from gender stereotypes in oneself and others. For instance, shared views on women tend to promote men’s occupation domination. The understanding that mothers are family-oriented, and caring has also resulted in biased treatment against them within workplaces. These include racial profiling and bias by white police officers among other examples. Stereotypes about groups’ abilities; competence; and sociability influence organisations personnel decisions, including hiring practices. In-group competence stereotypes affect who appears as influential or takes leadership within the group. These other instances show how far-reaching these stereotypes can become for societies at large. Stereotypes are not an appendix of broader sociological forces – they form part of them too! Instead, larger social structures cause stereotypes initially but then drive most of the acts supporting and legitimising inequality-based systems like they do things themselves; Hence, it can be said that: Stereotypes arise out of wider social arrangements but subsequently force several actions that perpetuate injustices as well as reinforce class differences. However, even as stereotypes are a vital topic in sociology, the studies on them have often overlooked a key social reality: people belong to multiple social groups and it’s not evident how stereotypes function when, for example, individuals can be at the same time categorised based on their sex or gender identity or race. Recently, intersectional theories have prompted more research into the impact of multiple distinctions on such things as discrimination against ingroup members, person-job fit, healthiness and inequalities.
Complexities of Gender, Colour, Caste, and Class.
The notion of a special issue on gender[4], colour, caste[5], and class relates to our own theoretical, applied, and experienced lives. All three of us work on race[6], class, and gender. We are an interdisciplinary group with two economists and one sociologist. We have not always agreed however we have drawn from our common passion for critical thought as well as social change. According to us economists don’t give much attention to gender, colour, caste, or class; however, if it does so racism happens to be perceived as men dominating women economically while sexism is seen as racial divisions among women. Even though feminist economics has made strides in linking these forces together there is still much that remains unresolved. Much of the research appearing in Feminist Economics focuses on gender but overlooks how gender is shaped by casteism, classism, or colour biases against other human beings. This kind of gender essentialism does not account for the everyday experiences of such individuals who also undergo various forms of inequalities which could be based on their race or class. Nevertheless, such an understanding of gender seems to be far too simple, as it ignores other social inequalities like racism and classism that often affect such people. We felt that this would be a major oversight to address as well as being the main focus of our special edition.[7]
Similar to how we react to feminist economic discourse which at times essentialises gender, we also examine the race/class dispute within social science by investigating how these factors are intertwined with gender. Oliver Cox[8] in Caste, Class, and Race (1981) describes the connection between race and class. Rebutting capitalism’s roots in racism and racism’s evolution from classism serves to corroborate his argument that the appearance of institutionalised discrimination was a product of the capitalist system. These structures reinforced each other mutually due to oppression against one benefitting another. How does gender fit into all this? Intersectionality theorists for instance argue that while male/female relationships are shaped fundamentally by capitalist patriarchy, racial dynamics complicate them. As put by others it is not just patriarchy but racial thought itself which governs everything in practice about patriarchy hence it results in the racialisation of sexed bodies. Intersectional thinking therefore is not easy; similarly, its application is not universal throughout. For instance, both the Marxist and socialist feminists make essential contributions toward understanding class as well as gender, but these approaches are not racialised in history.[9] Thus, for feminist theorists wishing to grasp the interestedness of race, gender, caste, and class that reinforce one another, this is the challenge. Again though we have a problem: how can we approach these two categories “race” and “gender”? There is no single definition of race and there should never be because it is a social construct situated in historical and socio-cultural contexts. However, the word “color” appears in our special-issue title. In America, whiteness became important in defining racial boundaries through enacting a one-drop rule during slavery where having just one African ancestor made mixed light-skinned black people as white with increased social mobility or better jobs. This principle still operates partially and shapes contemporary United States’ racism dynamics. The caste system is founded upon birthright whereas India’s most significant caste system corresponds roughly to skin colour.’ The Dalits, or untouchables, confront severe social obstacles that are similar to racial apartheid. We also know that as colonialism and imperialism happened, African men were made feminine or “othered”. Similarly, the hierarchical notion of the “family of man” excluded all women from it. (it seems as if white western males came to this world to rule through asexual reproduction) Therefore, the project remains difficult even though we know colour, caste, race, and gender mutually constitute one another analytically as categories of analysis and identity.
Western analytical categories such as class, race, and gender should be examined critically on two fronts: do they have international travel value for expressing women’s status across cultures? Scholars should realise that treating these categories separately rather than deeply connected is flawed both in theory and practice. Finally, there is a need to have serious thoughts about how women who are deeply involved in radicalised inequalities of sex-gender relations/experiences can act within both individualised and structural dimensions when discussing the individual and structural realities of these inequalities[10]. One example here is black feminist intellectuals who retain this idea of agency/ activism largely by integrating resistance into their analyses thereby engaging in university-based social change struggles.[11]
Resistance and organization by black women against the structures of race, class, and gender demonstrate that these are not all-encompassing. Therefore, the struggle for Black liberation takes place at different levels and this resistance must be taken into consideration by social scientists to gain a complete understanding of social inequalities as constructed. For instance, in America, black women’s struggles represent a multiplicity of ways through which change can be achieved that cannot simply be captured within Marxism, white feminism, or national racial struggles. On one hand, black women resist on a personal basis and represent their communities with multiple cross-cutting tensions in African American women’s lives.
Moreover, another strategy necessary for intersectionality theory and practice is to center the experiences of women of color during analyses. Hence the interplay between agency and social structure can only be elucidated if we theorise from below using the everyday lives of African-American women and from up using political economy and structural analysis. In feminist economics, there is a clear teaching here: social change depends on individual action and structural realities as well.
Intersectionality and the Structural Causes of Stereotypes
The other reason to anticipate intersectional complexity in stereotype content is because of the very causes of stereotypes themselves. Sociological and social psychological theories point out three main structural causes of stereotype content: economic resources, intergroup competition, and social roles.
Economic Resources
Competence stereotypes tend to reflect groups’ economic resources. People take economic resources as a direct indication of ability, but those resources can also provide skills, tools, and social capital that make individuals more capable and useful in group tasks which then they misattributed to group membership itself Economic inequalities are at least partially intersectional. To illustrate, the gender pay gap is more significant for Whites and less significant for minority racial groups. On top of that, elite women are missing from most organisations where men dominate Gay/lesbian status tends to lower men’s income but raises that of women due to sexuality and parenthood perceptions as well as preference for masculinity (a trait lesbian women have higher than gay men do) over femininity (a characteristic gay men are considered having more than lesbian women). Similarly, discovered that bisexuals earn less than gays or lesbians. Life course inequalities also differ by social stratum. The gender wage gap widens more with time for Whites and highly educated people than Blacks and those with low levels of education. Furthermore, Black workers tend to experience downward occupational mobility relative to their White counterparts when they age. Hence, since intersectional complications exist in these inequalities, then competence stereotypes may also have intersectional characterisations as competence stereotypes are derived largely from economic disparities between groups.
Social Roles
Stereotypes also come from the distribution of social roles, like occupations, across social categories. For example, women are stereotyped as warm and caring and men as cool and agents in part because they tend to occupy, respectively, more stereotypically caring occupations (e.g. nursing) or more achievement-oriented occupations (e.g. upper management). However, it’s how different aspects of categorical and intersectional discrimination play out that are significant in this regard. Several colourities like Afro-American women have more pronounced earner class bias compared to even any other kind of racial or ethnic group. Besides, sexuality matters in occupations. For example, psychologists, and technical writers are highly representative of gay men and lesbian women who exhibited clustering signals around them, while performing their tasks socially perceptively and with task independence.
The Evolution of Intersectionality as a Theoretical Framework
However, over time intersectionality has changed from its initial concept to include a wide range of identities. Moreover, people have realised how broad the intersections of identity can be; hence such scholars as Johnson have included religion and immigration status among other areas where intersectionality can be applied. This evolution reflects an ongoing commitment to capturing the complexity of human experiences and acknowledging the fluidity of identity categories.[12]
Crenshaw’s[13] early work focused on the legal implications of intersectionality, highlighting how existing anti-discrimination laws often failed to address the specific challenges faced by individuals with intersecting marginalised identities. Today, the intersectional approach has influenced legal analyses, pushing for a more comprehensive understanding of discrimination and the development of policies that consider the layered nature of oppression. Social justice movements use intersectionality as a guiding principle to address the root causes of inequality. For example, intersectional feminist scholars have criticised mainstream feminism for focusing only on issues that affect middle class and white women. It does this by prioritising the needs of different socio-economic groups, women of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, among others. However, intersectionality has played a critical role in racial justice by revealing disparities between races and ethnicities. By accepting that radicalised communities encompass distinct kinds of discriminations against individuals, it shows itself as a pertinent approach to such discourses. Moreover, Black Feminism acknowledges that African American women may face different struggles from African American men or lesbians gays bisexuals transgender belonging to the same racial or ethnic group. Meanwhile, concerning LGBTQ+ rights campaign; intersectionality helps in addressing various problems and aspirations experienced by these people who embody numerous marginalised identities at onceThis is because it knows that being a white gay isn’t anything like being queer of color hence acknowledging unheard voices even within the broader LGBTQ+ communities.
Gender Race and Class in Justice Systems
Justice systems are complex entities with gender intersecting as an identity that also intersects with other concepts such as class and race thus calling for comprehensive approach to deal with problems of disadvantaged groups. Civil legal needs, it is worth noting, are numerous and varied just like social problems do and therefore having a justice system that reflects these diversities is particularly important. For instance, there has been long-term gender discrimination in juvenile justice resulting in the need for affirmative actions against this violation and subsequent positive outcomes on girls who form part of this population. Gender bias can be minimised if courts are data-driven with practices focused on child development allowing for the possibility that lesser differential treatment based on sexual orientation will be experienced particularly at the intersection between race and sex. Hence, any comprehensive method must be grounded on intersectionality values so as to build up a more equitable judicial structure which deals with different social dimensions affecting people from various backgrounds. The use of race in pretrial, trial, and appellate advocacy poses complex challenges for civil rights lawyers, prosecutors, and criminal defense attorneys, with issues of racial identity and narrative construction shaping legal strategies.[14] This intersection of race in the lawyer-client dynamic not only influences courtroom dynamics but also resonates within professional regulations and ethical standards. As debates persist on the role of race in shaping legal outcomes and professional conduct, legal practitioners must navigate the ethical complexities inherent in advocating for marginalised communities within the justice system, particularly in cases of racial violence, to ensure fair treatment and access to justice.[15]
In the intricate landscape of justice systems, the intersectionality of class dynamics emerges as a crucial yet often overlooked dimension. Understanding how social hierarchies based on class intertwine with race and gender within legal frameworks is imperative. The American Review of Critical Jurisprudence provides some scholarly insights on this complex intersection. Social justice matters can be better understood by scrutinising how crime, law, and justice affect social inequalities based on race, class, gender, and age. This investigation also examines the evaluation of options concerning the identification, control, and prevention of criminal activities thus linking closely with the underlying theme of analysing gender, race, and class within the systems of justice. Additionally, talks about access to justice call for prioritisation of responses that counteract manifestly class-based biases inherent in legal institutions. A way out is depicted as a movement towards a more just legal landscape achieved by advocating for the counter-hegemonic approach to access to justice thus contesting dominant ideologies and transforming subordinating systems. For this reason, it becomes imperative that theoretical frameworks work with practical strategies for addressing issues around class differentiations within the justice system if genuine intersectionality is to be achieved in promoting equality and fairness for all individuals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the intersectionality framework offers a crucial lens through which to analyse and address issues of gender, race, and class within the criminal justice system. By recognising and considering the intersecting identities and experiences of individuals, policymakers, and practitioners can develop more effective and equitable policies and interventions. This research has demonstrated the importance of acknowledging the unique challenges faced by marginalised groups, such as women of colour and low-income individuals, and the need for targeted interventions to address these disparities. Moving forward, justice systems need to adopt a more intersectional approach to promote fairness, equality, and justice for all individuals, regardless of their gender, race, or socioeconomic status. Only through an intersectional lens can the criminal justice system truly fulfil its mandate to serve and protect all members of society.[16] The theory of intersectionality has made a significant impact in the fields of law and feminist studies. It shows how different systems of oppression and resilience shape people’s lives in multiple ways. This theory has the potential to improve research on gender and health disparities. Public health shares many of the same values, like promoting social justice and community-based research, making it a good place for intersectional research on gender. But public health researchers need to do more than just talk about intersectionality. They need to come up with specific ways to include intersectionality in their research and to share their findings with social movements. Some methods could work well with an intersectional approach.
BY: BHAVYA ARORA
IILM UNIVERSITY
[1] Youmna Chlala, WILD for Human Rights
[2] A fixed idea about a particular type of person or thing which is often not true in reality.
[3] McCall, L. (2005) ‘The complexity of Intersectionality’, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 30(3), pp. 1771–1800. doi:10.1086/426800.
[4]Gender is the set of traits, behaviours and roles that are assigned to women and men in a society.
[5] The caste system is a social structure based on religious and cultural traditions through which the people of a country are divided into classes.
[6]Race categories people into various groups within a given society based on shared physical or social attributes.
[7] Anthias, F. (2012) ‘Hierarchies of social location, class and intersectionality: Towards a translocational frame’, International Sociology, 28(1), pp. 121–138. doi:10.1177/0268580912463155.
[8] Oliver Cromwell Cox was a Trinidadian-American sociologist
[9] Shields, S.A. (2008) ‘Gender: An intersectionality perspective’, Sex Roles, 59(5–6), pp. 301–311. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9501-8.
[10] Brewer, R.M., Conrad, C.A. and King, M.C. (2015) The complexities and potential of theorising gender, caste, race, and class, Experts@Minnesota. Available at: https://experts.umn.edu/en/publications/the-complexities-and-potential-of-theorizing-gender-caste-race-an (Accessed: 27 June 2024).
[11] rose, brewer m (2005) ‘Theorizing race, class and gender’, Theorizing Black Feminisms, pp. 25–42. doi:10.4324/9780203991350-11.
[12] Rosenthal, L. (2016) ‘Incorporating intersectionality into psychology: An opportunity to promote social justice and equity.’, American Psychologist, 71(6), pp. 474–485. doi:10.1037/a0040323.
[13] Crenshaw is known for setting up the concept of intersectionality which examines how race, class, gender, and other characteristics overlap and compound to explain systemic discrimination and inequality in society.
[14] brito, tonya Race, class and gender inequality and access to civil justice, Research. Available at: https://research.wisc.edu/race-class-and-gender-inequality-and-access-to-civil-justice/ (Accessed: 11 June 2024).
[15] Shah, R. (2021) ‘New Resources in trails: The Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology’, Teaching Sociology, 49(3), pp. 315–317. doi:10.1177/0092055×211025825.
[16] Cho, S., Crenshaw, K.W. and McCall, L. (2013) ‘Toward a field of intersectionality studies: Theory, applications, and praxis’, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 38(4), pp. 785–810. doi:10.1086/669608.