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Vol. 107, Issue 21 www.thedailyaztec.com
San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
An intersectional guide to Women’s History Month by
Brenna Martinez
CONTRIBUTOR
Photos courtesy of the Daily Aztec Editorial Board
Women’s History Month, established just in the past few decades, initially began as a week of celebration in 1981 to recognize important and influential American women. In the following decade, moves in Congress eventually established the entire month of March as a time to honor the historic women in American history. As Women’s History Month steadily gains more awareness with each coming year, it is important that we continually use this month to celebrate women of many different demographics rather than focusing solely on uplifting women who are white, American, cisgender or all three. Of course, it is important to recognize the women who happen to fit these demographics, but it is also critical that Women’s History Month is inclusive of all women. If we are commemorating Women’s History Month with an intersectional approach, We must honor women such as Kimberlé Crenshaw and Angela Davis. Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” in 1989 to describe the idea that people who belong to multiple disadvantaged demographics experience inequality in a unique and more complex way, where the inequality they experience cannot be attributed to just a single factor such as race or gender. Women experience disadvantages in our society, however a woman who is poor, a part of the LGBT community, or not white experiences these disadvantages in a way that is unique compared to a cisgender white woman from a high socioeconom-
ic status. The struggles of poverty, racism, or discrimination due to being a part of the LGBT community work in conjunction with the patriarchy to create disadvantages that an economically stable white woman would otherwise not face. It is important that our feminism recognizes that women of different demographics are affected differently by our society, and that our feminism fights for and celebrates women of all backgrounds. While Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality, Angela Davis explored similar ideas in her novel Women, Race, and Class in the early 80s. If you are new to the world of intersectional feminism, Davis’ novel provides a perspective that will challenge the correlation between your feminism and white supremacy, leaving you with a more inclusive way of approaching feminism. Women’s History Month enables us to not only celebrate women like Crenshaw and Davis who were pivotal figures for advancing women’s rights, but also an opportunity to pay attention and shed light on issues that are making a massive impact around the world. Especially in the United States, it is imperative our celebration of women during this month includes uplifting Black transgender women. Unfortunately, our society disproportionately affects and targets this specific demographic. A Black trans woman’s experience in America is one with many hardships including targeted unemployment, violent attacks and hate crimes. So how can we help to create a safer environment for Black trans women and other marginalized groups
of women? The two most important things we can do are to listen to marginalized groups and also use our own privileges to uplift these women. Listening to marginalized groups is crucial as we cannot create effective solutions with our own limited view. As a cisgender or white person, it is crucial that your voice does not overshadow the voices of the people who are actually experiencing these struggles because we do not see the entire picture from our outside perspective.Trying to pave the way to a solution without consulting the actual group that is being affected can actually lead to more harm. By listening to marginalized groups’ experiences, we are able to better identify the behavior — subtle and calculated — that causes harm. This ability to identify harmful behavior allows us to recognize when other people are being harmful but also enhances our ability to recognize our own faults. Being aware of issues does not mean that we are immune from also negatively contributing to these issues, so it is important that we consistently are evaluating our own behavior as well as the behavior of other people. Just being aware of the challenges that marginalized women face is not enough. We must also use our white or cisgender privilege to keep the perpetrators of this behavior in check as well. Whenever we encounter people acting in a way that harms a certain group of women, we need to use our power and actively fight against this behavior. Harmful behavior cannot go unnoticed. Change see
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