Many of us have come to experience some form of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression and prejudice. Yet, there are certain groups of people who experience stronger forms of these oppressions, and sometimes more than one.
Oftentimes these forms of oppression can be present in many students’ lives, and making classrooms a safe space for students comes down to how one approaches who is in these classes. Students and many others have identities that intersect, making them who they are. These different identities provide different forms of power and privilege that become accessible.
“We really do learn and raise awareness about other things, like we come together and talk about the things that are going on in other people’s lives and things around the world,” President of MSA, Urooj Moin said. “That really does include a lot of peoples’ cultures and we do bring that up because I feel like it’s very important to bring awareness to it and so we come together in that way, where we all share our experiences from our background and what not,”
The concept of intersectionality (the interconnectedness of social categories, such as race, gender, class, sexuality, and ability) put in parentheses what this definition is) holds value in a culture like the United States, where society consists of various groups of people, and ultimately can be seen as a melting pot of diversity. Intersectionality allows for people to have a more nuanced understanding of how power impacts people based on identities. This allows for people to combat the issue of discrimination across many forums. The various clubs here at South allow for this concept of intersectionality to be present amongst students.
“I think that the nice part about GSA is just the types of students that it brings together,” GSA Sponsor Terra Metz said. “Cause you got people from all walks of life. Just completely different people who can just show up and have some sort of connection through whether it’s their sexuality or gender identity or shared problems because of that. And those connections that we are able to form are nice.”
The student body at South consists of various groups of people that come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. As a school that is so diverse, intersectionality can be viewed as vital to incorporate into students’ lives not just in their own personal lives, but in school as well.
In order to do so, one must be able to have the awareness of the types of privileges one might have access to as a result of their identity, and how it can impact the way one experiences the world around them.
It’s ultimately up to students to determine how their identities and background affect the way they move and live through the world. Being aware of social issues can lead to less ignorance on behalf of others, but also being educated on how our own privileges in life benefit us.
