Aren't We All Just a Little Intersectional?

Intersectionality is elaborated in chapter 5 of the course text, Gender and Women's studies in Canada. The Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW) developed Intersectional Feminist Frameworks to view, "...economical and social change that value and bring together the visions, directions, and goals of women from very diverse experiences and different perspectives. Intersectionality looks at how the dynamic interplay of barriers create multiple levels of oppression which women and minorities must deal with in order to participate in modern society. Often the burden of two or more of these (social or economic status, race, class, gender, ability, geographic location, citizenship and nationalities, and/ or refugee and immigrant status) can create a statistical mountain women must climb in order to care for themselves. (Pg. 39)

invisible people

Disclosure is a tricky thing. On one hand an understanding of the challenges you face can gain you support in order to get through your day successfully. On the other it can cause judgement, isolation, fear, and an environment in which a person must constantly prove themselves. In chapter 6 Neita Kay Israelite and Karen Swartz discuss women with disability and the challenges they face in Canadian society. They state that women with disabilities  have higher rates of unemployment and lower earning than their male counter parts (Pg. 48) or much more peculiar that even among the feminist movement women with disabilities were "left out without anyone noticing they were absent". In my professional experience disability causes whispering around corners, covert missions to ostracize or displace, and a general atmosphere of skepticism and distrust. In a male dominated profession a women with disabilities is a crime beyond redemption. No longer competition these poor workers are seemingly left out of the running before they had a change to leave the gate. The intersection of femininity and disability is two definite strikes against us. 

invisible barriers

Disability comes in many varieties and, I think, many fun quirks and ways of doing. Some challenge the body, some the mind, and each one a test of character and resolve. Visible disabilities are easy to recognize and provide accommodation for in the workplace. Invisible disabilities cause a further humiliation as a person is required to disclose again and again how they are not quite equal to their coworkers and humble themselves by, again, asking for help. Epilepsy, psychiatric challenges, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, HIV/AIDS etc. require drug therapies, emotional and social support systems as well as patience on behalf of the community. The unique parameters and challenges of an invisible disability are, as the word suggests, often invisible or hard to define the nature of an accommodation. From my experience the intersection of disability and invisibility is an unfair circumstance to over come. I do not know what it is like to face the challenges of a visible disability. The text suggests that visible persons suffer labels and constant challenges which cause any number of typecasting where these women actually are their aid devices. One women relays she has been reduce to be seen as her machine, where another calls herself a hearing aid because that is what people see (pg. 50). Invisible people also need aid, however the ignorance of the communities both professional and private which surround them creates many tiny battles which must be waged. To constantly ask for help is to constantly remind yourself and others that you are not fully a member. You feel invisible.


invisible support

I have received a few benefits from my disability. I am a twice over recipient of affirmative action being both disabled and a women. Only adding a visible racial minority would make the rewards that much greater (haha). A further benefit afforded to me is a certain level of anonymity because my challenges are not apparent to others without self disclosure. It also infuriates me each time I am forced to beg for accommodation some may feel I do not deserve until I lay it out for them. To further the humiliation of having to admit again that I am different than others I am forced to do so to my superiors: the key holders. Their confidence in me, or lack there of, decides my duties and how my coworkers will see me. If they believe I am able I will be allowed to perform work which is both rewarding and challenging just like my able coworkers. If they do not I am banished to perform remedial tasks. Can we also add the intersection of mental health and self perception here because each time I am force to disclose I wilt a little inside and face a world beyond my control: a world at the mercy of the person's perceptions. 

It almost appears to me that we differently abled women are placed once again in competition with each other as we often are. Who is the more disabled? Who is in most need of support? Is it a chair, a device, or an accommodation which will save us? This is why I included the picture above. Instead of seeing a disability, or requiring a declaration, why don't we all offer our support without question? It would be easier to just be kind and find ways to include all our coworkers in production. Women of race, of difference, of many challenges, or more apt all persons of this world struggle in one way or another. A better course of action appears to me to be gentle with everyone because we never know which intersection is a play unless we live with it. And after all, aren't we all just a little intersectional?