Intersectionality and the False Dichotomy of Proposition 8

[Ian David]

Intersectionality and the False Dichotomy of Proposition 8

Editors' note: Carmen Morgan is a longtime veteran of social-justice work here in LA. She is a member of a new and visionary group called the Women of Color Giving Circle, which pools resources to support underfunded women- and girl-of-color-led grassroots projects. Her day job is at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.

Filed by: Guest Blogger
April 5, 2009 4:00 PM

Long gone are the days of segregated movements. There may have been a time when movement building benefited from the separate and particular locations of race, gender, class, and sexual identity, as each forged their own paths towards gaining credibility within a mainstream context. But today's generation, a generation of multi-identified, class-conscious, queer, people of color, expect more intersections, more interplay between issues of justice. As younger activist support community building and movement building activities, they expect a more complicated analysis that explores the contradictions and intersections of their lives. They identify as queer feminist of color, or transgender immigrants living with HIV. They do not identify solely as gendered or raced activists.

As we continue to develop strategies that address structural inequities, a fragmented approach, one that does not acknowledge the intersectionality of class, race, gender, and sexual identity, will miss the needs and expectations of "post baby boom" generations. These younger generations expect that the identities that shape their experiences will be included in all aspects of their movement building. If existing movements do not address their reality, younger activists will create their own movements.
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Barack Obama's great appeal to Generation X is due in part to is own complicated set of identities. White and black. Holding both Midwest and immigrant roots. Raised working class but also Harvard educated. These identities coexist to form a more textured canvas. For Generation X'ers, Obama and his election were emblematic of the shift away from the rigid identity politics of the sixties.

Intersectional movement building could have addressed the false dichotomy that was created during and after California's "No on Prop 8" Campaign. The fallout from the California initiative to ban same sex marriages is still being felt within LA's activist community. The gay rights and African American communities, in particular, were reeling after the results of the 2008 November election. Some organizers in the gay rights community attributed the passage of the initiative to the African American vote. In turn, some leaders in the African American community responded by claiming racial insensitivity and lack of outreach as the reason why many African Americans supported the initiative. Coalitions were fractured amidst finger pointing and heated accusations.

More:
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/04/intersectionality_and_the_false_dichotom.php

Hat-tip to Gay Rights Mega Feed http://twitter.com/GCRMMegaFeed