Let her count the ways

The opening of this video seems to me to reflect a rather crude understanding of “intersectionality.” Kat Blaque of Everyday Feminism talks to Riley Jay Dennis, also of Everyday Feminism, on the subject.

I stopped at 52 seconds and didn’t watch any more, so I don’t know what else they said, but the first 52 seconds are…underbaked.

Kat Blaque: In what ways do you [inaudible] yourself intersectional?

Riley Jay Dennis: I’m trans and non-binary, and a woman, an atheist, and polyamorous.

Kat Blaque: Wow, nice!

It’s as if it’s a contest – how many boxes can you tick? But that was never the point, was it? It was never supposed to be a competition, surely. Imagine:

Person 1: In what ways do you see yourself as intersectional?

Person 2: I’m poor and disabled, an undocumented immigrant, a high school dropout, and a woman.

Would person 1 say “Wow, nice!”? No, so why did Kat Blaque say it to Riley Jay Dennis? Why does she seem to see it as a win to have a lot of points?

I don’t know.

https://youtu.be/a8I9lzjzcCY

19 Responses to “Let her count the ways”