Defining intersectionality

Critical race theorists use the term “intersectionality” to name how race, class, gender, and other social categories are always linked in the experiences of individuals and groups (Crenshaw 1994).

Despite the difficulties of sorting out and pinning down the factors that may result in racial and socioeconomic disparities in the distribution of environmental hazards, pointing to their intersections helps identify the range of possible factors that may account for disparate outcomes.

For further reading on “intersectional” environmental justice, see: Crenshaw K. 1994. Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. In The Public Nature of Private Violence, ed. MA Fineman, R Mykitiuk, pp. 93–118. New York: Routledge.