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LIT212ESSAY1

The document discusses intersectionality and how Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term. It analyzes how characters in the novel Kindred experience intersectional discrimination and oppression based on their identities such as race, gender, and being a descendant of slavery. Identities like being black, a woman, in an interracial relationship, or a white slave owner shape how the characters are treated and their actions in the story.

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Tyler Roses
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30 views3 pages

LIT212ESSAY1

The document discusses intersectionality and how Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term. It analyzes how characters in the novel Kindred experience intersectional discrimination and oppression based on their identities such as race, gender, and being a descendant of slavery. Identities like being black, a woman, in an interracial relationship, or a white slave owner shape how the characters are treated and their actions in the story.

Uploaded by

Tyler Roses
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Tyler Roses

Fall 2021

Essay 1 DRAFT

Intersectionality

There are many ways to describe the different facets of your own individual identity.

These aspects of our lives make up our identities, and shape how we perceive the world. Our

identity is also how the world perceives each of us. Kimberlé Crenshaw, created a term to

describe our multiple identities known as intersectionality. Crenshaw explains that our identities

are like traffic flowing at an intersection, one identity may flow in one direction while another

identity is flowing in a different direction (Crenshaw, 1989).

Crenshaw’s work focused initially on the experiences of African American women. The

peak of her work involved two separate civil court cases defending two different groups of black

women. The defendants argued that they were experiencing the additive effects of both racial

and gender discrimination in workplace hiring practices. Both groups lost their cases because

the judges believed that because black men had jobs and white women had jobs with their

respective employers, then the employers could not discriminate against black women. The

black women argued that their discrimination was different from black men and white women.

They did not face discrimination because of their race or gender; they faced discrimination

because of the cumulative effects of their race and gender.

Crenshaw’s idea of intersecting identities greatly shaped the course of the plot in the

novel Kindred. Dana’s life is clearly shaped by her many identities. She is a descendant of

slavery, black, a woman, and is with a white man. Her intersectionality had not affected her as
much in the 1970’s, but when Dana started time traveling, it is very clear that her experiences

were determined by her identities.

Also in the novel, Dana travels back in time and gets beaten by a slave patroller because

she is black, she also looks like Alice’s mother. The patroller would not have done this if she

was white. He also tried sexually assaulting her, because she is a woman and he can get away

with it. Black men didn’t have to experience sexual assaults as the women did. Dana was

automatically a target because of her identity.

Then Dana traveled back to the slave era, she experienced being called racial slurs and

was beaten up. Her husband Kevin is a white man. He is an example of the progress that some

white people have made in rejecting racism and treating people of color with respect, although he

does not fully understand Dana’s background as a black woman. This lack of understanding

affects his ability to keep her safe and understand her situation. In the Antebellum south, Kevin

does not face nearly the same dangers that Dana does. He must come to terms with his privilege

as a white man while he struggles to avoid becoming a monster who oppresses others to survive

in this harsh time. Their relationship is hard as it is, being in an interracial marriage. Their own

family members have problems with it.​​

Rufus is another character who was shaped by his identities. He is a white slave owner.

Growing up, he showed compassion and there was hope that he’d be a good guy. This doesn’t

happen, as his privilege gets to his head and he takes advantage of it. Rufus hurts girls and rapes

them, then feels guilty later. Nothing stops him from becoming a monster because he is a white

man that holds all the power. Nobody can tell him what to do. At the end of the book, Rufus
attempts to rape Dana, again this is because he has the white privilege to take advantage of a

black woman. His male superiority gives him the strength and advantage over Dana. She stabs

him in order to survive this brutality. The identities of the characters fed into their thoughts and

actions, as the intersectionality shaped the story line.

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