Oppressive Structures Research Articles

“Even when I feel alone, I always know I’m not really alone”: An intersectional analysis of LGBTQIA+–BIPOC's experiences of community and resistance

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) live at the intersection of marginalized identities, resulting in unique experiences of exclusion within their various communities. Despite experiences of community exclusion, LGBTQIA+–BIPOC find ways to resist such structures to thrive in the face of adversity and strive for transformative change. The present study uses an intersectional framework to explore LGBTQIA+–BIPOC's experiences with community exclusion and acts of resistance. Fourteen LGBTQIA+–BIPOC participated in semistructured interviews to explore their experiences of exclusion and acts of resistance. Findings supported two broad categories with subthemes: (a) “on the fringes” (i.e., invalidation of LGBTQIA+–BIPOC experiences; White supremacy, colonization, and Western imperialism; “out and proud” dynamics) and (b) resistance: “we’re here, and I’m gonna let you know” (i.e., resisting intersectional oppression; intersectional identity cohesion; coalition building). Utilizing an intersectional framework, we critique larger oppressive structures that disenfranchise LGBTQIA+–BIPOC while offering implications for social justice interventions and transformational change to best serve LGBTQIA+–BIPOC.

Exploring women’s challenges and victories in the New Testament through liberation theology

Women and young girls continue to face a plethora of challenges in contemporary contexts. This is caused and compounded by various factors such as male-orientated perceptions, constricted opportunities and lagging will to advance the transformation and liberation of women and young girls. This is enough to indicate that, unequivocally, there are continued setbacks that affect women. By the same token, it cannot be downplayed that women continue to overcome some of these setbacks. Therefore, this article aims to explore women’s challenges and victories in the Bible, with special reference to the New Testament. To do this, liberation theology is applied as a conceptual framework to advance the discussions in selected incidents. This article makes three notable findings. Firstly, women exercise agency in resisting and denouncing oppressive structures. Secondly, there is a necessity to (re)examine certain biblical narratives with an emphasis on justice and liberation in an attempt to elicit revolutionary perspectives on narratives that have traditionally been interpreted in ways that obstruct women’s roles. Thirdly, there are instances in the New Testament where women find liberation and empowerment through spiritual leadership roles. In closing, this article underscores the significance of scrutinising women’s issues that transcend the biblical narratives in a bid to elicit reasonable solutions to any identified challenges.Contribution: The scholarly contribution of this discourse lies in the exposition of women’s dialogues and biblical narratives. In so doing, this article chooses to focus on liberation theology on account that it is downplayed with presumptions that it is too discipline-focused.

Resisting invisibility in healthcare responses to gender-based violence: a content analysis

ABSTRACT Women and girls with disabilities are located at the intersections of patriarchal, ableist, and other structures of oppression that produce specific and heightened vulnerabilities to gender-based violence (GBV). Public health practitioners widely recognise the role of the healthcare sector in addressing GBV, however the role of the healthcare sector in addressing GBV must be questioned given ongoing barriers to healthcare access for people with disabilities. Grounded in an intersectional framework, I conducted a summative content analysis of GBV healthcare interventions to examine whether and how disability and intersectionality are mobilised in public health understanding of, and strategies to, address GBV. By bringing visibility to the ways in which silences construct and sustain the invisibility of women with disabilities and other social structures, I argue that GBV healthcare responses not only fail to provide care for women with disabilities across social locations, but they also risk reproducing understandings that devalue their lives.

Social Constructions of Sex Trafficking and Needs for a Critical Intersectional and Trauma-Informed Approach: A Critical Review

ABSTRACT What is known about human trafficking, particularly for the purpose of sexual exploitation, has long been shaped by social constructions, including of gender, such as in mainstream and social media, which have directly impacted how sex trafficking, victims, and survivors are presently understood, as well as past and current efforts to prevent and address it. Much of what is known about sex trafficking has been presented through a white, western, and positivist lens, with little consideration of race, culture, and other intersectional factors, or how structural oppression, and the trauma that results from these factors can impact risks for sexual violence and trafficking. As such, existing gaps in reliable sources of knowledge on sex trafficking are explored and discussed, prioritizing a critical intersectional and trauma-informed approach and intersectional considerations for knowledge building, prevention, intervention, and advocacy through research, practice, education, and policy development.

To fight, to confront, and to resist: exploring the representation of Chinese Zhangjie in sister

ABSTRACT Numerous studies have explored the multifaceted portrayal of Chinese women, yet limited attention has been given to older sisters, specifically “zhangjie (长姐),” both in social and academic contexts. This study employs intersectionality as a theoretical framework within which a three-dimensional model of critical discourse analysis (CDA) is used to decode the representation of zhangjie identity in the recent Chinese blockbuster Sister. By closely examining both verbal and nonverbal elements, the study aims to elucidate the triple set of jeopardy that zhangjie encounter, as well as their resistance to three layers of deprivileged identities (in relation to gender, class and social infrastructures) in contemporary China. Furthermore, we argue that centralising the intersectional predicaments of Chinese older sisters highlights critical questions about the effectiveness of neoliberalism in the face of structural oppressions.

Integrating personality psychology and intersectionality to advance diversity in the study of persons

AbstractConsideration of how interrelated social structures relate with personality has been limited. In this paper, we discuss how researchers might apply an intersectional framework–which uses a social justice lens to examine how social structures are interconnected and impact individuals—at three distinct levels of personality including traits, characteristic adaptations, and integrative life narratives. We begin by providing conceptualizations of personality and intersectionality and describe considerations for their integration, including the need to widen the methodological and epistemological scope of personality science. Key areas of research that demonstrate the promise of an intersectional framework for unpacking structures of power and oppression in relation to the person are then described for each level of personality. Specifically, recommendations for how an intersectional framework may be used to examine structural identity domains in relation to trait levels, values and goals, as well as the content and process of narrated lives are offered. We conclude with discussion of how application of an intersectional framework is crucial for promoting inclusion and generalizability in personality science.

Racialized organizations, strategies, and structures: a case study

PurposeThis paper explores organization-level racialized work strategies for maintaining racialized organizations (Ray, 2019). It focuses on intentional actions to maintain dominant racial norms, demonstrating how work strategies are informed by dominant racial structures that maintain racial inequities.Design/methodology/approachWe compiled a chronological case study (Yin, 2012) based on 168 news media articles and various organizational documents to examine responses to athlete protests at the University of Texas at Austin following the death of George Floyd. Gioia et al.’s (2013) method uncovered how dominant racial norms inform organizational behaviors.FindingsThe paper challenges institutional theory neutrality and identifies several racialized work strategies that organizations employ to maintain racialized norms and practices. The findings provide a framework for organizations to interrogate their strategies and their role in reproducing dominant racial norms and inequities.Originality/valueIn 2020, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement was reinvigorated within sporting and corporate domains. However, many organizations engaged in performativity, sparking criticism about meaningful change in organizational contexts. Our case study examines how one organization responded to athlete activists’ BLM-fueled demands, revealing specific racialized work strategies that maintain structures of racism. As organizations worldwide disrupt and discuss oppressive structures such as racism, we demonstrate how organizational leadership, while aware of policies and practices of racism, may choose not to act and actively maintain such structures.

Shifting Shadows of Uncertainty: The Utilitarian Migration and Intersectional Risks Among Moroccan Women Agricultural Workers in Spain During COVID-19

This article examines the shift of uncertainty and risk to Moroccan female agricultural workers in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically under the GECCO program. It argues that Spain’s agricultural policies enforce a precarious labor environment for these women, trading their well-being for global market competitiveness. The study delves into recruitment, working, and living conditions, utilizing theories of intersectionality, risk, migratory utilitarianism, and coloniality of power to highlight how the pandemic amplifies risks along existing lines of inequality, altering patterns of gendered mobility and immobility. The paper concludes with a call for a profound reassessment of the European agricultural labor model towards fairness and justice. It pushes for a paradigm shift in migration studies to a critical decolonial view that honors the lived experiences of marginalized migrants. This perspective is essential for dismantling oppressive structures and broadening our understanding of migrant experiences.

“Knowing these stories”

In this article, I explore the ways participants in underground dance music (UDM) scenes learn about the political, historical, and social context of their leisure pursuit, such as its queer-of-colour roots, gender dynamics, and economic structures. Semi-structured interviews and information horizon mapping with three Toronto UDM scene members revealed that the online and physical spaces of UDM served as information grounds for the participants’ initial serendipitous discovery of social context information, which led to further intentional seeking in books, libraries, and beyond. Established UDM information sources and normative expectations shaped the participants’ information behaviour, leading them to infer the political stances of DJs and other scene participants based on musical taste and identity. Finally, social context information shapes the participants' experiences of UDM, affecting their sense of community, safety, and belonging. The serious leisure perspective has thus far focused on information behaviours related to the pursuit of the hobby itself, such as, in the present context, finding events or learning to DJ. This study opens up a new direction by considering how social context information flows through and shapes the social world of the hobby. As rising mainstream awareness of structural oppressions leads to more people and communities considering how these oppressions manifest in every aspect of their lives, this perspective will be germane to information behaviour studies in several contexts.

Structures of Oppression or Inclusion: What Systemic Factors Impact Inclusion in Disability and Rehabilitation Research?

This manuscript considers the drivers towards inclusive research in the field of disability and rehabilitation; including some of the tools and frameworks that may support its realisation. We, a group of researchers engaged in rehabilitation research from lived experience and ‘conventional’ (non-lived experience) positions, reflect on our collective endeavours to bring about inclusion in research and specify the systemic factors constraining inclusion in research. We conclude by asking the following: how might we reimagine systems where the mechanisms of research production are in the hands of those impacted by the research, and where are intersectionalities both sought and valued?

Koloniale Laster

Abstract In this article, Carlos Pereda introduces the concept of “colonial reason” and explores how philosophical practices and modes of thought are entwined with colonial political structures of exploitation, exclusion, and oppression. Pereda argues that philosophy in Latin America risks perpetuating and reinforcing the colonial gesture, either by turning to the European centers of thought (thus pursuing debates that always take place elsewhere) or by isolating itself and idealising the “own.” According to Pereda, both approaches fail to dismantle colonial violence within philosophy. In his alternative approach, Pereda outlines principles and methodological criteria for the decolonisation of reason and philosophy. He emphasises the importance of methodological prudence that discerns between innocent, paralysing, and strategic uses of identity expressions and advocates for modes of reading and argumentation that conceive philosophy as an inclusive and ongoing dialogue. In Pereda’s terminology, this entails fostering “permeable reason” that manifests itself through “nomadic thinking,” a form of thinking that is capable of questioning itself and being questioned.

Clandestine Freedom: Toward the Development of a Queer Incarnational Theology

This article seeks to explore critical notions for developing a queer incarnational theology perspective. It begins by examining the concepts of “freedom” and “clandestinity” and then moves into the post-human question, drawing on ecological feminism and queer/cuir theologies. In the final section, ideas are outlined that contribute to a queer incarnational theology, recovering the prophetic sense of the Gospel. This approach integrates freedom from a queer/cuir perspective into a theological framework that resonates with human diversity and embraces the interconnectedness of all forms of life, challenging oppressive structures, and recognizing the prophetic vitality of the Gospel.

A review of science teaching approaches for equity focusing on race, class, and religion from the perspectives of Freire's and Arendt's theories of education

AbstractThis paper presents a literature review of science teaching approaches that seek to support equity in science classrooms, focusing on marginalization based on (i) race/ethnicity, (ii) social class/socioeconomic background, and (iii) religion. Considered were approaches that science teachers can use in science classes in secondary schools. They were analyzed and discussed against the backdrop of critical pedagogy by Paulo Freire and the educational theory by Hannah Arendt, which constitutes a novelty in science education research. The review used meta interpretation combined with systematic searches in the ERIC database. It is, thus, limited to works published in English. A total of 930 articles (2013–2021) were identified out of which 64 were fully analyzed. The analysis shows that most approaches strive to provide more equal access to the existing science knowledge and structures of the community. This corresponds to the introduction to the “old world” in a conservative interpretation of Arendt's term. I argue that in addition, it is necessary to employ a more radical interpretation of the “old world” as fundamentally plural which is done in translanguaging and grappling with racism. Further, the transformative nature of science education needs to be strengthened in terms of Freire's critical pedagogy and Arendt's concept of natality. This means allowing students to become aware of oppressive structures to induce change. Only youth participatory science, youth participatory action research, and grappling with racism explicitly aim for this. This shows that nuanced perspectives on equity in science education are needed.

Interdisciplinary co-teaching as a sustainable model for health humanities pedagogy

Academics and students from marginalised identities encounter challenges and barriers at all levels of participation in the settler colonial university, in both practices of teaching and learning. While this observation...

Trauma as Cultural Capital: A Critical Feminist Theory of Trauma Discourse

Abstract This essay theorizes a problem for feminism posed by a particular form of trauma discourse. Feminists have played an important role in developing cultural and clinical conceptions of trauma, but one result of the destigmatization of trauma has been that trauma discourse is sometimes used as a form of cultural capital to reinforce existing hierarchies. In a novel application of Pierre Bourdieu's theory of distinction, we show how, when instrumentalized as cultural capital, trauma discourse can be used to reinforce patriarchy and other systems of oppression. We trace a critical feminist history of the struggle to understand and treat trauma. Using examples from contemporary US popular culture, we illustrate the appropriation of trauma discourse to entrench existing structures of gender, class, and racial oppression. First, the misuse of trauma discourse as cultural capital can encourage the instrumental use of trauma claims for cultural power, ultimately reinforcing patriarchy. Second, it might erode the legitimacy of trauma, a conceptual tool pioneered by feminists and still essential to their political claims. This discussion has important implications for not only mental health practitioners and trauma survivors but also feminist theorists, trauma studies scholars, and those interested in deconstructing structural injustice and relations of inequality.

The functions of negativity and benign aggression in the development of humanistic values: A Frommian clinical journey

In this paper I present an analysis of a personal journey, based on Erich Fromm's concept of benign aggression, part of The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (1973). I analyze its role in the dynamics of change based on the interaction between the psyche and the social. In Fromm's conceptual framework, benign aggression results from an unlived life, shaped by limitations on individuals' freedoms, supported by institutional and oppressive structures in a neo-capitalistic society. I explore how benign aggression, replayed between patient and therapist, can bring about changes in the self and modes of relatedness, leading to the recognition of humanistic values. In my practice, projective identification and attachment -detachment dynamics were experienced as forms of benign aggression, while anger and conflict became a way to acknowledge them. Fragments of two clinical cases illustrate how needs for relatedness-through-conflict are experienced. Relatedness expressed through a negative form of attachment can lead to the co-creation of a psychic space, a “Social Third” where ethical values are experienced and shared. This Frommian conceptual framework and methodology require total connectedness with a subject, together with the recognition and acceptance of an “Other” unto oneself. In my experience, such recognition encourages the emergence of humanistic values.

“Politics in Matter”: Concrete Expressions in Contemporary Palestinian Art of Resistance

This article examines the utilization of concrete as a medium for artistic expression in the art produced by contemporary Palestinian artists residing in the State of Israel. The author proposes that when considered through Eyal Weizman’s lens of "politics in matter," concrete emerges in contemporary Palestinian art as a significant material intersecting with the broader political fabric, an artistic medium intricately linked to the ongoing struggle for Palestinian identity, nationalism, and human rights. Within the geopolitical context of Israel/Palestine, concrete thus gives rise to multifaceted associations of struggle, violence, defense, and fear. Contemporary Palestinian artists actively engage with concrete, repurposing it as a tool for artistic, civic, and political resistance. They challenge dominant narratives, contest prevailing historical accounts, and confront oppressive structures. Their works reimagine shared spaces, contest the erasure of Palestinian history, and amplify marginalized voices. Concrete becomes a material embodiment of the complexities experienced by Palestinian artists residing and working within the State of Israel, its finally symbolizing resistance and catalyzing the reimagining of alternative futures. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of how concrete is employed and represented within contemporary Palestinian artistic practices, shedding light on its role in shaping Palestinian experiences and contributing to a nuanced understanding of the Palestinian/Israeli context. By exploring the politics of concrete, the article enhances our understanding of its significance in contemporary Palestinian art and its place in the broader discourse of art history.

Anxious solidarities against the mental health crisis: connecting personal struggles to wider social and economic injustices

Rates of anxiety have been steadily increasing over the past 20 years, prompting commentators to warn that we are in the throes of a global mental health crisis that is ruining well-being, threatening lives and damaging the economy. By highlighting how a person’s mental health, while nuanced and distinct, is always situated in a larger socio-emotional context or ‘structure of feeling’, this article argues that the issue of rising anxiety is a direct consequence of a biomedical model of treatment and care beholden to a neoliberal economic system that objectifies and isolates people. Through a framework termed ‘liberation health modelling’, it explores the progressive potential of ‘anxious solidarities’ as a way to reframe the problem of anxiety by connecting personal struggles to wider social and economic injustices. At a time when it is becoming impossible to deny the collective and widespread nature of people’s anxieties, the point of anxious solidarity is not simply to recount pain and suffering but to ‘make sense’ of it in relation to overarching structures of social oppression – calling into question the status quo in solidarity with other subjugated groups. Since struggles with anxiety have the advantage of being familiar to most, anyone can be a potential provocateur so long as they disavow an entirely personalised framing of their mental health.

How might we begin to explore a version of drama therapy that celebrates disability?

Within this editorial, the three co-editors explore their connection to this issue through global, personal and identity-based perspectives. The editors introduce their connection to and passion for disability justice, while acknowledging the challenges surrounding creating this issue during multiple mass disabling events. Editors also introduce the pieces found within the journal with a brief synopsis of each, exploring their connection to disability justice within the field of drama therapy and the larger structures of oppression that define and determine how we approach disability and debility justice within mental health systems.

The Palestinian Feminist Movement and the Settler Colonial Ordeal

Abstract In light of recent developments in both the (anti)colonial and feminist discourses surrounding the settler colonial condition of Palestine, this article revisits and expands intersectionality as an analytical tool that captures manifold paradigms of subjugation. By considering the various ways in which colonial hegemony and patriarchal authority empower, substantiate, and contribute to one another, the article proposes interdependence as a more comprehensive analytical concept that, in addition to accentuating the multiplicity of oppressive structures, illuminates how they interact within a broader, complex matrix of power. The article positions the Palestinian feminist anticolonial struggle in relation to wider debates on Black, transnational, and Third World feminisms to contextualize the movement. The article eventually turns to contemporary examples of intersectional feminist mobilization that exemplifies the nuanced and ever developing nature of the movement.