By: Sharron Reed-Davis, W*SS Program Coordinator
In the last few years intersectionality has been more prominent in the conversation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Especially at MSU. However, in my personal opinion, I feel as though Intersectionality has not been given its proper authority in the conversation.
So let's break this down.
For a long time people were fighting for equality for all people. It took a while for people to realize that even with equality, there were still some people that were left out or set back. It's the sad reality of the world we live in… We see examples of this all the time. At this point in life if you gave every person in the world a million dollars it still would not be an equal playing field. There will always be a reason that some people's million wouldn't stretch as far as everyone else's. This is because of systematic oppression, which is a whole other topic for a whole other day. Happy Black History Month BTW.
For those of you who are visual learners:
People realized that equality would never really be equal. This is where equity came in. I define equity simply as everyone getting exactly what they need.
Now, equity is amazing, but sadly it gets swapped in and out with equality, and that's where the issue lies. A lot of times people confuse the two or don't care enough about equity to make the proper distinction in conversations. This is how I look at intersectionality. Like equity, intersectionality often gets swapped in or out of the conversation.
Let me give you an example of what people think intersectionality is.
Do you know how around the holidays MSU has switched from saying Christmas Break to Holiday Break, or…. The reasoning behind this is to be inclusive to everyone. Now never in a million years would I say that this was a bad thing. Because being inclusive of everyone is great, but that is not intersectionality, its inclusion (which is still a great thing when done correctly).
Intersectionality: the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, sexuality, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.
Intersectionality is celebrating everyone, not using things like swapping christmas to holiday to make everyone fit. Intersectionality would be having a “holiday break” during every holiday and not just around christmas. Or giving students personal observance days to be used when they have holidays that the university does not acknowledge. Or making sure students that don't celebrate the university observed holidays have proper food, housing, and support when MSU is closed. It's saying Happy Black History Month and Chinese New Year because everyone should be acknowledged and celebrated. Inclusion is just making a way for everyone to fit into a bubble. Intersectionality is popping the bubble wide open and saying everyone can and should be celebrated, and people with multiple identities never having to choose between them.
This example shows what I feel is the difference between intersectionality and inclusion. Does anybody notice the difference in these photos? In the intersectionality example each group is side-by-side intersecting in various ways, all the same size, with intersectionality right in the middle. In the inclusion example, all the circles are merging together, some bigger than others, lots of them covered up with some most prominent marginalizations being at the very bottom of the pile.
This is what I feel like MSU does. MSU prides itself on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; with intersectionality being left out most of the time. But what is Diversity when students feel like they have to choose identities depending on the space? What is Equity when we all as individuals or marginalized groups are not getting the specific resources that WE need? What is Inclusion when MSU is upholding systems of oppression that tell marginalized students they need to fight each other for space in a building instead of fighting together for more space.
What things could look like if Intersectionality was prioritized in DEI at MSU:
MSU Committing to being an entirely accessible campus
The new Multicultural Center is inviting to all Marginalized students, not just some.
Being able to go to events and not have to leave a piece of yourself at the door.
Being welcomed into offices like Women*s Student Services without having to choose which aspect of your identity is most salient to you.
We live in a world that thrives off of systematic oppression so of course they'll do everything in their power to confuse the masses. They will make us feel like we need to fit in the bubble, and be satisfied that we’re included. We need to challenge this narrative. We have to push back on the idea that we should be grateful for just being included. We have the right to be included AND we as individuals deserve to be celebrated. You can not talk about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion while forgetting about Intersectionality.
This is why Intersectionality should be at the forefront of the conversation. Intersectionality tells us it's okay to be everything, everywhere, all at once. It allows us to show up in spaces as our entire selves. It is the tool that tells us to stick together because we are more alike than different, and that we are all connected. You can't talk about DEI without remembering the other I.