Kimberle Crenshaw on Intersectionality | The Big Idea

Intersectionality: What the Video Explains

The video featuring Kimberlé Crenshaw explains intersectionality in two related ways:

• As a way to “picture” overlapping inequalities
• As a framework for analyzing how social problems arise—and why conventional interventions can fail when they treat injustice as single-axis (for example, race-only or gender-only approaches)

Emma DeGraffenreid: A Central Example

A key example is the case of Emma DeGraffenreid. She sued an auto manufacturing employer after being denied a better manufacturing job.

Crenshaw explains that the denial allegedly reflected both race and gender discrimination. The job Emma sought was comparatively better for a working-class, Black woman than roles she was often channeled into—such as domestic work or janitorial work without benefits.

Why the Court Rejected the Claim

The court dismissed her claim because it concluded there was no discrimination based on each category separately:

• The employer had hired African Americans → so the court concluded there was no “race discrimination.”
• The employer had hired women → so the court concluded there was no “gender discrimination.”

Crenshaw’s Critique: “Intersection” Discrimination

Crenshaw argues that this reasoning ignores a practical reality: discrimination can operate specifically at the intersection. Even if an employer hires some people from each group, it may still discriminate against people who belong to both groups simultaneously—for example, Black women.

The Legal Problem: “Separate and Symmetrical” Proof

Crenshaw criticizes the requirement that a plaintiff prove discrimination in a “separate and symmetrical” way—essentially requiring someone like Emma to argue as only one identity at a time. Meanwhile, others may be allowed to represent broader categories.

She links this to pre-existing schemas—assumptions about:

• who a person is, and
• how they can represent a category

Analogy: The “Extra Time” Intersection

Using an analogy about a surgeon who is operating on what turns out to be his own son, Crenshaw describes how a moment is needed to “click,” especially as additional complexities (like race and class) come into view.

In her view, intersectionality occupies the “extra time” space where dominant assumptions no longer make sense.

Key Takeaway

Intersectionality is necessary to understand and address injustices that occur at overlapping identities, and to redesign interventions and legal approaches that rely on narrow, non-intersectional frames.

Presenters or Contributors

• Kimberlé Crenshaw