Intersectionality is the Word of the Day today. I’ve neglected this in fact, my whole blog b/c I’ve been on vacation and want to get back to it b/c I’m doing a ton of vocabulary work across languages and finding some interesting things e.g. Spanish has a separate word for an earthquake terremoto at sea: maremoto. When you want to say “black coffee”, languages get that idea across in different ways.
So what is intersectionality? It is explained here: http://miriamdobson.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/intersectionality-a-fun-guide/
I found it reading and watching a post on Upworthiest. It was an interview by Fox News (who else?) of the dynamo Little League pitcher Mo’ne, who has a 70 m.p.h. ball. The interviewer treated her in a most condescending manner (to be fair, the female host offered to hit him). The comment on Upworthiest had this link and introduced the word to show how mixed things can be: was he treating her that way b/c she is female and playing a male sport? Because he is White and she is Black? Because he is an adult and she a child? Perhaps it’s all three. Untangling these is what intersectionality is all about.
I may be about to enter into a discussion with a conservative and I am not sure how far it will go b/c of this intersectionality issue. Maybe I’m assuming he is White. Maybe I am assuming he is young. Maybe I am assuming he is religious. I don’t know those things about him, just that he is a Republican conservative teacher-colleague who wishes to engage. I hope it goes well. My patience frayed long ago, I’m sad to say.