‘Roots of Intersectionality’ Part 2
with Sophie Lewis and Jess Leigh
‘Intersectionality’ is a word you hear around a lot in some feminist spaces — at Grabbing Back we call ourselves ‘intersectional feminists.’ So it’s about time we looked at what exactly that means. The term ‘intersectionality’ was coined by Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989, but the concept had deep roots. So this month our podcast (and article) focuses on those deep roots - the context that Crenshaw was writing into.
This is a 3-part podcast in which we asked people in our community to reflect on some key pieces of theory that shaped the landscape of feminism before the term ‘intersectionality’ was coined. In Part 2, our contributors reflect on extracts from the Combahee River Collective Statement and Angela Davis’ book ‘Women, Race and Class’.
Podcast Overview
Over the three parts of this podcast, we look at extracts from the following pieces of theory:
Part 1
Extract 1: Combahee River Collective Statement — reflection: Anna
Extract 2: ‘Women, Race and Class,’ by Angela Davis — reflection: Honesty
Part 2
Extract 3: ‘Ain’t I A Woman?’ by bell hooks — reflection: Sophie Lewis
Extract 4: ‘Your Silence Will Not Protect You,’ by Audre Lorde — reflection: Jess Leigh
Part 3
Extract 5: ‘Rosalie’ by Angelina Weld Grimke — reflection: Amu Gibb
Extract 6: ‘Lessons from the 1960s,’ by Audre Lorde — reflection: Chi Chi
Extract 3:
’Ain’t I A Woman?’ | Book by bell hooks
bell hooks is the pen name for Gloria Watkins, who was an American academic and social activist. She was prolific writer, and most of her works looked at the intersecting oppression caused by systems of race, gender and capitalism. ‘Ain’t I A Woman?’ is a history of racism and sexism against black women, focusing on the specific misogyny faced by enslaved black women, and the historical legacy this left on black womanhood. The book is named after a speech by Sojourner Truth in 1851. The extract in the podcast reflects on why black woman did not get involved in the white feminist movement.
Reflection 3: Sophie Lewis
Sophie Lewis reflects on this extract from bell hooks.
Sophie is currently finishing an MA in African Studies at SOAS. She also works for a London based social enterprise coffee company, working with young adults with disabilities and special educational needs. She’s Welsh, normally very caffeinated and currently learning British sign Language and Swahili.
Sophie: she/her
Extract 4:
’Your Silence Will Not Protect You’ | Essay by Audre Lorde
Audre Lorde was an academic and activist, but is perhaps most well known as a poet who tackled issues of racism, sexism, ableism and homophobia in her work. She described herself as "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet”. The podcast looks at one of her prose works, ‘Sister Outsider’ which is a collection of essays and speeches from her activism, published in 1984. The extract is taken from ‘Your silence will not protect you’ which argues for the importance of marginalised and oppressed communities to speak out.
Reflection 4: Jess Leigh
Jess: she/her
Jess reflects on this first extract from Audre Lorde.
Jess is a campaigner and keynote speaker. She is a trainer and facilitator with Our Streets Now, where she leads in campaigns working to end public sexual harassment through cultural and legislative change. As part of this, she works with teachers, young people, and the mental health services. She’s also a trainer consultant with Young Minds.
Jess uses her own experiences as a LGBTQ+ women to shape policy and lead workshops. She has spoken on the likes of BBC News, Sky News, Houses of Parliament and TEDx.