"Intersectionality is really important to me": Young feminists' engagement with theory and praxis


Kaylan Schwarz, University of Lethbridge; Claudia Mitchell, McGill University; Rebekah Hutten, McGill University

Our research explores the complex and multifaceted nature of feminist identification among young people. Our study included 24 self-identified feminists enrolled in women’s studies or gender-themed courses at two postsecondary institutions in Montreal. The study involved two data collection phases. In phase one, we invited participants to an individual object elicitation interview, a data collection technique similar to show-and-tell. Here, we asked participants to select and bring along objects that represented their identity as a feminist. In phase two, we invited the same participants to group-based participatory data analysis sessions. Here, we asked participants to identify themes among their own and others’ objects, and to respond to the research team’s initial interpretations of the dataset. Given the continued necessity for physical distancing due to COVID-19, both study phases were conducted through a video call. When articulating their relationships to feminism, participants consciously avoided monolithic portrayals. Participants explained and expressed their feminism in reference to multiple academic discourses and theories, including queer theory, ecofeminism, disability justice, standpoint theory, postcolonial theory, Afrofuturism, and gender constructivism. However, participants spoke most frequently about the importance they invested into intersectionality and made explicit and implicit remarks about intersectionality when describing the objects they chose to share. They characterized intersectionality as a lens, guiding principle, and politic that meaningfully shaped how they perceived themselves and others around them (citing lived experiences of sexism, racism, homophobia, and ableism). They also utilized intersectionality as a strategic resource to critique and distance themselves from other forms of feminism, including “white feminism,” “girl boss” feminism, and “terf-y” feminism. This presentation directly relates to the session theme, in that it empirically illustrates the intellectual and everyday “co-optations, and continuing relevance” of intersectionality as a concept and a practice. We also reflect on the broader significance of intersectionality and consider the ways it circulates through academic discourse and popular culture.

This paper will be presented at the following session: