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Teri A. McMurtry-Chubb
Abstract: this article focuses on the use of intersectionality as a rhetorical expression for which a coherent communication of oppression remains elusive. It considers how the shorthand of intersectionality functions as a proxy to describe the relationship between white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism in anti-discrimination litigation, activist circles, and across social media. As a proxy it dominates conversations between lawyers, scholars, and activists to dictate how we are able to talk about and conceptualize difference. These dominant conversations, hegemonic discourse, reduce how we see discrimination to overly simplistic categories like male/female and White/Black domination. Our facile perceptions are reflected in our conversations, which reinforce the discrimination that we actively seek to prevent and enshrine our notions of the “outsider.”