Intersectionality: A situated approach to dominance

Abstract

The definitions, uses and theoretical, methodological and political scope of intersectionality in feminist
theory constitute the focus of this article. This text establishes a genealogy of intersectional approaches,
including the contributions of feminist thought produced in various historical and geopolitical contexts. It
identifies some of the main lines of the debate on intersectionality in order to show their scope and limits,
linked largely to their broad dissemination. It also shows how the intersections of race and gender, and
class and gender, are experienced, demonstrating the consubstantiality of these relationships for the social
groups involved, and examining both my own research and that of other authors. The text concludes with
the political importance of the concept, emphasizing the contributions of black feminism, color feminism
and Latin American feminism as decolonizing epistemic approaches. This analytical assessment is used to
highlight the theoretical and critical scope of a localized, contextualized intersectional approach.