Event Information

Jules Hamilton (Our speaker): "Intersectionality theory highlights the importance of analysing how an individual’s different social positions intersect in ways that uniquely affect their social experiences of oppression and privilege. Despite its’ value, we often adopt an over-simplified understanding of the theory, by thinking of these different social positions and their oppression or privilege in absolute terms: one social position only contributes oppression, and another only privilege. For example, using intersectionality theory, we understand that black women experience unique oppressions in virtue of occupying the social positions ‘black’ and ‘women’. They are not oppressed for being black, or for being women, they are distinctly oppressed for being black women. Following this, it is often taken that black men are oppressed by the social position of being ‘black’ but privileged by the social position of ‘male’ in a patriarchal society. However, black male theorists argue that the unique experiences of oppression faced by black men, for being both ‘black’ and ‘male’, are missed under this understanding of intersectionality. I will develop these arguments using philosophical concepts, to show how being ‘male’ can be oppressive for black men. However, unlike black male theorists, I will not advocate for a complete dismissal of intersectionality theory. Instead, I wish to open a discussion on how we can widen our understanding of intersectionality to capture these experiences."