CultureAugust 17, 2026

intersectional

in-ter-SEK-shun-ul

Definition

Relating to the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, gender, and class, which create overlapping systems of discrimination or disadvantage.

Etymology

Coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, the term derives from the Latin 'intersecare' (to cut between) to describe how different forms of inequality intersect and impact individuals simultaneously.

In the news

Gender Fucked Productions uses 'intersectional collaboration' as a core pillar, emphasizing the need to support artists who hold multiple, overlapping marginalized identities.

BUSINESS ‘Punk, intense and all-encompassing’: Chicagoan Dawn Heilung brings trans artists into focus

Read the full article ↗

Windy City Times

Related words

Learn a word like this every day

Meet one new word every morning.

Newspoken pulls one carefully chosen word from the day’s news — with a clear definition, context, and light review that makes it stick. Get it on your phone.