Erica Townsend Bell, Oklahoma State University
Scholarship in politics and gender has to some extent expanded its focus from gender (in)equality to broader inquiries around multiple and intersecting inequalities and social justice. Some of this scholarship can be understood as extending feminist institutionalist approaches in ‘gender plus’, ‘gender-first’ and identity-based frameworks, while other scholarship critically engages with the Black feminist theory of intersectionality, offering more critical perspectives on a gender-driven approach and one employing binary understandings of inequalities.
This roundtable aims to advance the field of critical intersectionality research within scholarship on politics and gender. It will bring together scholars who apply the Black feminist theory of intersectionality in their work to discuss its use in the broader field of politics and gender studies. How can intersectionality be studied “critically”? How can intersectional approaches be advanced in the face of backlash, one effect of which is to dilute the concept? Participants will offer their critical perspectives on gender-driven, additive and binary approaches to studying intersectionality and inequality.
