Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex

Summary, part 4

Expanding Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics by Embracing the Intersection

In her rather brief conclusion, Crenshaw provides guidance on how both the feminist and antiracist movements can better include Black women. She first states that both movements must move away from their single-axis framework. Instead, she states that “the praxis of both should be centered on the life chances and life situations of people who should be cared about without regard to the source of their difficulties” (pg. 166).

She reiterates that failing to truly understand and embrace the "complexities of compoundedness" comes not only from a lack of political will, but also how we think about discrimination, and then ends with a roadmap for the future best read in her own words:

"It is not necessary to believe that a political consensus to focus on the lives of the most disadvantaged will happen tomorrow to recenter discrimination discourse at the intersection. It is enough, for now, that such an effort would encourage us to look beneath the prevailing conceptions of discrimination and challenge the complacency that accompanies belief in this framework's effectiveness. By so doing, we may develop language that is critical of the dominant view and provides some basis for unifying activity. The goal of this activity should be to facilitate the inclusion of marginalized groups for whom it can be said: "When they enter, we all enter."" (pg. 167)