Intersection Theory Research Articles

Formal Social Control and Mental Health: Ethnic Variation among Black Women

The present study uses elements of the social stress and intersectionality theories to examine associations between forms of criminal justice contact and mental health among African American and Afro-Caribbean women. While mass incarceration disproportionately targets, detains, and affects Black populations, the experiences and consequences of criminal justice contact for Black women remain understudied. Utilizing the National Survey of American Life ( n = 3,011), this study examined ethnic-stratified associations between criminal justice contact and three mental health indicators among Black women—psychological distress, self-rated mental health, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We assessed justice contact based on any contact (i.e., direct contact and/or family member incarceration), and then disaggregated contact into direct (i.e., personally experienced negative police interactions, arrests, and incarceration) and familial incarceration. Findings showed that any contact as well as direct forms of contact were associated with higher psychological distress for African American women and odds of PTSD for both groups. Furthermore, negative police interactions and family member incarceration were associated with psychological distress for African American women, while only familial incarceration worsened self-rated mental health for Afro-Caribbean women. This study yields important insights for research at the intersection of gender-ethnic status, spillover outcomes of formal social control, and mental health stratification.

(Out)Caste language ideologies: Intersectional raciolinguistic stigma and assimilation from denotified tribal students' perspectives in rural India

AbstractIn India, where elementary education is a fundamental right, significant barriers stall the attainment of educational equity through linguistic inclusivity. This article explores student identities by examining intersections of language, caste, race, and socioeconomic class to make visible complexities of privilege, discrimination, and connections between social structure, identity, and language in education. From qualitative ethnographic research with a settled nomadic Tribal community in rural India, this article highlights contradictions between recent mother tongue language education policies and experiences of social disparities and stigma for Banjara Tribal youth, who speak a different mother tongue language than the language of education. I draw together theories of intersectionality and raciolinguistics to show how co‐naturalized lines of language and identity are navigated through language ideologies to shift positions of Banjara student identities. Through learning Marathi, the regional lingua franca, students transform their marginalized sociolinguistic positions into mainstream aspirants of academic and social success.

Child and adolescent well‐being: Potentials of intersectionality for community psychology

AbstractThis theoretical article aims to recognize the potential of intersectionality theory for understanding well‐being during childhood and adolescence, particularly from a community psychology perspective. Following the tenets of intersectionality, the article analyses and proposes three relevant dimensions for community psychologists, researchers and professionals interested in studying and intervening in children's and adolescents' well‐being. Those dimensions consider (1) adultism as an intersecting power axis fundamental for understanding well‐being, (2) the acknowledgment of diversity in well‐being conceptions and experiences as a critical issue and (3) the need for advancing studies that involve praxis and engagement in transformative changes for child and adolescent well‐being.

Gender based Violence and Security Challenges of Women in Ethiopia: With Special Focus on Women under Ethnic Conflicts

Women and girls in general and those who are from minority group in particular are one of the most vulnerable groups to gender based violence in the courses of ethnic conflicts. This article delved the sources/causes and conditions that make gender based violence more complex among women under ethnic conflicts. Based on this aim qualitative method is employed and data was collected from relevant primary and secondary sources through interview and systematic literatures review. The social-ecological model, which enables us to figure out how a complex interplay among individual, relational/interpersonal/ community, societal factors create and perpetuate violence is used to pinpoint the sources/causes of various forms and types of gender based violence and data analyzed through content analyzes method. Inter-sectionality theory was used as analytical framework. The result depicted that regardless of progress towards minimizing violence against women and girls under ethnic conflicts, the mechanism used to minimize gender based violence are principally focused on direct violence. The result indicated that multiple vulnerabilities related to gender and marginality of women make gender based violence more complex. Finally, it is undeniable that without tackling structural frameworks and systems of governments and norms of the society that neglect and challenge the security of women, GBV cannot be eliminated and/or diminished. Thus, it is recommended that the government should assure gender responsive institutions and security sectors.

Oral health-related stigma: Describing and defining a ubiquitous phenomenon.

This paper is the fourth of a series of narrative reviews to critically rethink underexplored concepts in oral health research. The series commenced with an initial commissioned framework of Inclusion Oral Health, which spawned further exploration into the social forces that undergird social exclusion and othering. The second review challenged unidimensional interpretations of the causes of inequality by bringing intersectionality theory to oral health. The third exposed how language, specifically labels, can perpetuate and (re)produce vulnerability by eclipsing the agency and power of vulnerabilised populations. In this fourth review, we revisit othering, depicted in the concept of stigma. We specifically define and conceptualize oral health-related stigma, bringing together prior work on stigma to advance the robustness and utility of this theory for oral health research.

Use of Intersectionality Theory in Interventional Health Research in High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.

Intersectionality theory posits that considering a single axis of inequality is limited and that considering (dis)advantage on multiple axes simultaneously is needed. The extent to which intersectionality has been used within interventional health research has not been systematically examined. This scoping review aimed to map out the use of intersectionality. It explores the use of intersectionality when designing and implementing public health interventions, or when analysing the impact of these interventions. We undertook systematic searches of Medline and Scopus from inception through June 2021, with key search terms including "intersectionality", "interventions" and "public health". References were screened and those using intersectionality and primary data from high-income countries were included and relevant data synthesised. After screening 2108 studies, we included 12 studies. Six studies were qualitative and focused on alcohol and substance abuse (two studies), mental health (two studies), general health promotion (one study) and housing interventions (one study). The three quantitative studies examined mental health (two studies) and smoking cessation (one study), while the three mixed-method studies examined mental health (two studies) and sexual exploitation (one study). Intersectionality was used primarily to analyse intervention effects (eight studies), but also for intervention design (three studies), and one study used it for both design and analysis. Ethnicity and gender were the most commonly included axes of inequality (11 studies), followed by socio-economic position (10 studies). Four studies included consideration of LGBTQ+ and only one considered physical disability. Intersectional frameworks were used by studies to formulate specific questions and assess differences in outcomes by intersectional markers of identity. Analytical studies also recommended intersectionality approaches to improve future treatments and to structure interventions to focus on power and structural dynamics. Intersectionality theory is not yet commonly used in interventional health research, in either design or analysis. Conditions such as mental health have more studies using intersectionality, while studies considering LGBTQ+ and physical disability as axes of inequality are particularly sparse. The lack of studies in our review suggests that theoretical and methodological advancements need to be made in order to increase engagement with intersectionality in interventional health.

Error-Correcting Codes on Projective Bundles over Deligne–Lusztig Varieties

The aim of this article is to give lower bounds on the parameters of algebraic geometric error-correcting codes constructed from projective bundles over Deligne–Lusztig surfaces. The methods based on an intensive use of the intersection theory allow us to extend the codes previously constructed from higher-dimensional varieties, as well as those coming from curves. General bounds are obtained for the case of projective bundles of rank 2 over standard Deligne–Lusztig surfaces, and some explicit examples coming from surfaces of type A2 and 2A4 are given.

Intersection of culture, professionalism, and gender: Why Chinese female novice teachers fail to manage conflicts in professional learning communities

Using intersectionality theory as a heuristic lens to expose and understand conflicts in professional learning communities (PLCs), this qualitative longitudinal study explored how and why some Chinese female novice teachers fail to manage conflicts in PLCs. Through two rounds of in-depth interviews with four Chinese novice female teachers five years apart, this study constructed an intersectionality framework of how culture, professionalism, and gender contribute to their failed conflict-handling experience in PLCs. Findings from this research not only shed light on enhancing novice teachers' professional development in PLCs, but also demonstrated the potential for applying intersectionality theory in this area.

FemiLISm now!: Identifying and exploring feminist theories and methods in CAIS/ACSI and ASIS&T conference proceedings, 1993-2021

This paper reports on a systematic literature review of CAIS/ACSI and ASIS&T conference proceedings to identify, analyze, and map the application of feminist theories, methods, and epistemologies across a sample of LIS research. We seek a better understanding of feminist theories in LIS to a) identify how/where it has been taken up (and not taken up); b) identify feminist research themes and influence over time and across subdomains; and c) to consider how to build on intersectional feminist theories and praxis in LIS to move toward a critical intersectional femiLISt movement that is embraced and embedded within our field.

Discussion: “Unconsciousness-Raising”

ABSTRACT In discussing Nick Malherbe’s important exploration of liberation psychology and psychoanalysis, I attempt to sharpen analysis of the oppressive impact of traditional psychology/psychoanalysis (especially so in the U.S.). I consider oppressive hierarchies of privilege within the capitalist order in which all institutions, movements and individuals are implicated. I draw particularly from the intersectional theories of the Black feminists of the Combahee River Collective and their successors, and I consider struggles around privilege within other activist movements like ACT UP. This exploration leads me to raise questions about Malherbe’s sharp distinction between “consciousness- raising” and “unconsciousness-raising.” I explore, and raise some questions about, Malherbe’s vivid case illustration.

Is the disability wage gap a gendered inequality? Evidence from a 13-year full population study from Norway

Recent research has confirmed the employment disadvantages of disabled people, but disability wage gaps in interaction with gender have not been sufficiently explored. This article asks how the disability wage gap can be accounted for, how the unexplained disability wage gap has evolved over time and how the intersections of disability and gender relate to wage penalties. Norwegian nation-wide annual registry data from the period 2005–2017 (N = 8.5 million) are used to estimate longitudinal pay gaps of disabled men and women in relation to nondisabled workers. The analyses arrive at a persistent residual wage gap for disabled employees. Results confirm that gender is a defining predictor for income, and that disabled women are especially disadvantaged. Implications for intersectional theory are discussed. The current study is a reminder that antidiscrimination legislation and implementation of regulations has not been successful in levelling out injustices experienced by disabled people in the labour market.

Applying Black Feminist Theory to Research, Practice, and Advocacy on Gendered Racism among Black Women

Although there has been an increase in intersectionality scholarship in the field of psychology, there is still a dearth of research and praxis grounded in a Black feminist theoretical perspective. The purpose of this paper is to apply a Black feminist and intersectionality lens to research, practice, and advocacy on Black women’s experiences of gendered racism. First, this paper will provide a brief herstory of Black feminist, womanist, and intersectionality theory and its relevance to the field of psychology. Next, we will highlight an example of how to apply a Black feminist and intersectionality lens to research on gendered racism among Black women. Then, we will apply Black feminism to therapy with Black women by highlighting a clinical case example. We will end by highlighting the importance of Black feminism to social justice advocacy and systems-level interventions to promote the health and well-being of Black women.

“Flashback to a War Zone”: A Qualitative Analysis of Black Women’s Experiences during the Racial Pandemic

The pandemic in 2020 commenced a particularly turbulent era of racial unrest, social injustice, and violence toward Black women. Drawing from Black feminist and intersectionality theories, this qualitative inquiry explored Black women’s experiences of racism and sexism during the racial pandemic. Two hundred forty-one Black women shared their narratives and reflections. The analysis revealed two major themes: (a) racialized violence and harassment (e.g., stereotypes, dominance) and (b) their psychological consequences (e.g., anxiety, depression, racial trauma). Clinical implications are offered to support and empower Black women.

Intersectionality incarnate: A case study of civil society, social capital, and its metamorphosis

ABSTRACT This paper investigates civil society’s metamorphosis through the lens of intersectional risk theory. While numerous studies interrogate civil society’s spatiotemporal evolution, there has yet to be an analysis of how and why the Intersectional Activist has gained such prominence. The interdisciplinary nexus between intersectionality, social capital, and civil society to that of the risk discipline requires a multi-tiered methodology to map the contours of this metamorphosis. Therefore, the choice of a hermeneutically-framed, exploratory case study, supplemented by semi-structured interviews, structures the research. The results support that the Intersectional Activist is a byproduct of capitalistic, multiply-burdening institutions of oppression. However, these overlapping institutions form a pressurized moulding onto the individuals’ tabula rasa, whereby a transversal, paradigm-defiant coalition insurrects against hegemonic systems. Reactivating the five capacities of the self, knowledge, processes, agency, and power to bridge cross-sectorial mobilization, the Intersectional Activist is a direct riposte to the Precarious Risk Society. The collective has now become the connective–manifesting in the intersectional plight against systemic injustice, the Matrix of Power reactivates the capacities through an association of difference, reconstituting the nature of social capital. Within this reconstitution, the transversal activist realizes themselves in a new connective frontier, for they are intersectionality incarnate.

Exploring themes of racialization in “The Vanishing Half”: Is the term “white passing” a useful way for psychotherapists, counsellors and psychological therapists to conceptualise racial identity?

ABSTRACT This paper draws on themes from The Vanishing Half and intersectionality theory to evaluate the usefulness of the term ‘white passing’ for psychological therapists, counsellors and psychotherapists exploring racial identity phenomena in their practice. The context for ‘white passing’ as a historic method for surviving racial injustice is discussed. This will involve consideration of how the systematic invisibility of whiteness has been a cause for harmful racialization of individuals past and present. The conclusion is that ‘white passing’ as a flattened identity label contains dangerous rhetoric about how far racialized individuals are allowed to ‘fit’ into society by those that oppress them.

Do you see me? An inductive examination of differences between women of color's experiences of and responses to invisibility at work.

Intersectional invisibility is a salient experience for women of color in the workplace and stems from their nonprototypicality in gender and race. We expand research and theory on intersectional invisibility to propose that women of color vary in their degrees of nonprototypicality, and thus in their social power and their experiences of and responses to invisibility at work. We present an inductive interview study of a diverse sample of 65 women of color in the United States and Canada, who work in traditionally white and male professions. We examined how differences in race, immigration status, age, and organizational rank informed the types of invisibility they experienced and their responses to invisibility. Four forms of invisibility (erasure, homogenization, exoticization, and whitening) and three response pathways (withdrawal, approach, and pragmatism) emerged from our findings that differed according to women of color's social power. Women with less social power experienced the most invisibility and were more likely to engage in withdrawal tactics that intensified their invisibility and marginalization at work. Women with more social power experienced less invisibility and were more likely to engage in approach tactics that risked backlash. Women who understood their invisibility to be rooted in structural causes responded more pragmatically to invisibility, occasionally engaging in radical honesty to connect with others who treated them as invisible and to change their behavior. We discuss the implications of our research for intersectionality theory, directions for future research, and organizational practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

“When I came to Canada, I almost forgot myself: Where I am, who I am”: A qualitative exploration of how im/migration shapes young women's experiences of pregnancy, motherhood, and marriage

For young women, im/migration can impact education, employment, and family dynamics in ways that shape the courses of their lives and health. The purpose of this study is to deepen understandings of how im/migration shapes young women's experiences of pregnancy, motherhood, and marriage. Guided by intersectionality theory and the structural and social determinants of health, we analyzed qualitative interviews conducted with young im/migrants ages 15-30, who identify as women, and who had experiences of pregnancy, motherhood, and/or marriage (N ​= ​34). Participants were interviewed as part of the IRIS study in British Columbia, Canada between May 2019 to February 2021. Young im/migrant women described how im/migration shaped experiences of pregnancy, motherhood, and marriage by way of health, social, legal, and economic drivers. These included being ineligible for health insurance and unable to prevent pregnancy and experiencing workplace discrimination in form of reduced hours and no maternity benefits. Demanding caregiving roles and unsafe home environments were also described as being exacerbated by unaffordable childcare in destination settings and unequal gender roles and power dynamics after im/migration. Our findings suggest structural changes necessary to improve young im/migrant women's health. We recommend that health systems decouple im/migration status from health insurance; that governments provide all people with accessible childcare and maternity benefits; and that governments fund community-based efforts towards dismantling structures of patriarchy.

The experiences of Palestinian Arabs with disabilities in Israel

PurposeIsrael ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and has subsequently worked towards putting disability-empowering policies and facilities in place. This study explores the experiences of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel with disabilities in everyday life including education, employment and accessing disability facilities and services.Design/methodology/approachThis study explores the challenges and experiences of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a disparate group of Arab men and women with various forms of disabilities.FindingsThis research indicates that Arabs with disabilities are either unable to access them or do so with great difficulty relative to their Jewish counterparts. The findings suggest that this is due to one of two reasons: first is institutional discrimination by Jewish and Arab staff, and second is structural discrimination as facilities and services are specifically designed for the Jewish majority and their areas of residence as opposed to Arab residential areas.Originality/valueGuided by intersectional theory, this article explores how the multiple identities of Arabs with disabilities living in Israel are co-constituted and ordered by different social and political structures which inform their daily lived experiences. This research illustrates that in Jewish politics and institutions, Arabs with disabilities in Israel are “otherised” by being flatly identified as Palestinians; yet, within their Arab communities, they are “otherised” by being reduced solely to their disability. This article examines how this variation in ordering and reduction can lead to specific experiences and forms of discrimination that requires multi-dimensional approaches and ways forward.

Experiences of dehumanizing: Examining secondary victimization within the nurse-patient relationship among African American women survivors of sexual assault in the Upper Midwest

Despite calls recognizing the need for culturally sensitive responses to minimize the occurrence of secondary victimization for African American women following an experience of sexual assault, few studies have focused on hearing from African American women survivors about their experiences receiving healthcare services in a hospital setting following sexual assault. Employing critical ethnography as our methodology and using intersectionality theory as a lens, we centered the voices of African American women survivors about their experiences receiving nursing care in urban acute care or hospital settings in the Upper Midwest of the United States following sexual assault. In this qualitative study, 30 African American women survivors were interviewed using in-depth, semi-structured interviews about their post-sexual assault care. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. An important theme identified focused on survivors’ experiences of dehumanization when receiving healthcare services following sexual assault. These experiences included: discrediting, dismissing, shaming, and blaming. To mitigate and prevent secondary victimization in the future, we present practice and education change recommendations for nurses, and healthcare providers more broadly, based on the voices of African American female survivors of sexual assault.

Exploring the Impacts of Artistic Expression on Minority Communities in East Africa

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the impact of artistic expression on minority communities in East Africa.
 Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low-cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through online journals and library.
 Findings: The findings revealed that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the impact of artistic expression on minority communities in East Africa. Preliminary empirical studies have shed light on the positive outcomes of artistic expression, including increased self-confidence, enhanced cultural awareness, improved mental well-being, and social cohesion within minority communities.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Critical Race Theory, Cultural Hegemony Theory, and Intersectionality Theory may be used to anchor future studies on the Impacts of Artistic Expression on Minority Communities in East Africa. Efforts should be made to provide accessible and affordable opportunities for minority individuals to engage in artistic expression. Moreover, governments, foundations and organizations should provide financial and institutional support for arts-based initiatives targeting minority communities. This includes funding for community arts programs, scholarships for aspiring minority artists, and grants for community-based arts organizations.