Intersectionality

I wrote a few weeks back about Patricia Arquette's Oscar speech on the wage gap. Her remarks when accepting the award took a bold stance on the gender-based inequalities in pay that need to be addressed, but when interviewed afterward, her message was not so clear or positive. Though she later clarified via Twitter her backstage comments, they completely undermined her intended message:

“So the truth is, even though we sort of feel like we have equal rights in America, right under the surface there are huge issues that are applied that really do affect women. It’s time for all the women in America, and all the men that love women and all the gay people and all the people of color that we’ve all fought for to fight for us now.”

Her comments sparked outrage, of course, as they imply that people of color and the queer community, are fighting for entirely separate causes and that feminism inherently is an issue for straight, white women. Though Arquette did later clarify her intentions, this quote demonstrates what is perhaps the biggest flaw with the feminist movement, it excludes people by omission.

Intersectional feminism is the goal, but we have a long way to go before we get there, especially when celebrities like Arquette receive the most media attention and therefore define what feminism is in pop culture. To change these white-centric, cis-centric biases, we first need to change the discourses about feminism; inclusion, sensitivity, and awareness are essential.

On April 8, UCB comedian and Fusion writer Akilah Hughes, took changing the discourses surrounding feminism into her own hands, by posting a YouTube video explaining intersectionality in terms which we can all understand- fast food:

"While it's great and delightful to have such broad discussions about sexism and feminism on the Internet, it's pretty clear that the majority of the issues deemed worthy of discussion seem to only highlight the plight of White women."

The video comes with a handy key in the description, detailing the metaphors Hughes uses.

**KEY**:
Burgers = Men
Pizza = Women
Cheese Pizza = White Women
Deluxe Pizza = any combination of gay, bi, trans, POC etc., women

She explains, in her own clever way, how it is hard to be a pizza in a burger world, but it is even harder to be a deluxe pizza when cheese pizzas are the only pizza ever addressed in the discussion surrounding pizza rights.

Intersectional feminism is not difficult to understand, but it will take some serious conscious-shifting to be successful.

Hughes sums it up best in her video, 

As great as it is to uplift cheese pizzas, the world could use a lot more flavor.