‘Intersectionality’ was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in a 1989 essay focussing on the discrimination of Black Women. The term was introduced to address how “the interconnected nature of social categorisations such as race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage”(Oxford Dictionary, 2023).
In an interview with Paralympic medallist and presenter Ade Adepitan, he recollects about publicly receiving abuse regarding his race and disability during the 80’s. He later answers the question ‘how do you feel the Paralympic movement can help show that… discrimination is not tolerated?’, by explaining how society has an opportunity to learn from the parallel struggles of Black and Disabled peoples by giving “people opportunities to shine” (Adepitan, 2020).Through the Paralympics, disabled athletes can advance their careers without wider society imposing barriers, as Adepitan states, “society is what holds us back… it’s that systemic discrimination and oppression” (Adepitan, 2020).
Chay Brown, a trans, gay man with mental health difficulties and potential neurodivergence, works at TransActualUK, an organisation focussing on supporting trans adults in the UK. Chay describes in this interview, how his intersecting identities impact his sense of belonging in the wider LGBTQ+ community and how being a white, trans, man and cis passing, combined with the fact his disability is hidden, gives him a privileged position. Brown’s sense of privilege led me to reconsider my own positionality and privilege. I’m a white, British, cis woman who received an ADHD diagnosis at the age of 28 and admittedly, I hadn’t registered how my invisible disability effects my privilege. Other than being a woman, having an invisible disability is the only challenging part of my identity and so no other challenging identity aspects to measure against. I’m also aware that due to a late diagnosis, I have limited experience of the effects of living with a label and therefore have a degree of naivety regarding stigmas surrounding neurodivergent conditions.
Interviewer Nick Webben references the segregations black people faced on public transport when talking about how, whilst there is progress regarding accessibility, disabled people are ‘segregated by design’ (Webben, 2020), through designated areas, instead of adopting universal design in public spaces. In the context of the Cheslea stitch workshop, wheelchair users would also be segregated by design due to the size of the space and capacity of machines in the room. The building itself has only one lift and the main entrance has no ‘Push to Open’ button. Students who require accessible entry are required to travel around the building to the Lower Ground Floor. However, the ‘Push to Open’ button has been out of working order for significant periods of time in the past.
Brown describes how a lack of accessibility requirements, such as accessible bathrooms, means that LGBTQ+ friends find integration and socialisation arduous at venues, causing them to not attend. “The proportion of disabled people (13.3%) who report feeling lonely “often or always” is almost four times that of non-disabled people (3.4%).” (Office for national Statistics, 2019) These barriers prevent disabled people from supporting their wellbeing, which will impact their personal and professional lives.
In another interview, Christine Sun Kim, an American visual artist from California, who was born deaf, to parents of South Korean origin, similarly faces a lack of accessibility requirements, she describes how throughout her education she was excluded from creative classes due to a lack of signing interpreters.
In the video Kim references a tweet :‘I can one hundred percent promise that you learning sign language is easier than a deaf person learning to hear.’ (Novic in Sun Kim, 2023) Kims own work also highlights the ignorance that hearing people have around communicating with deaf and hard of hearing people.
Christine Sun Kim, Shit Hearing People Say To Me, 2019.
Visibility and accessibility are intrinsically linked and to further standards of accessibility disabled people need to be in the minds of those who can make change. Adepitan explains that discrimination is created when “they don’t have accessible transport, they don’t have accessible buildings, and people don’t seeother people with disabilities around” (Adepitan, 2020). Christine Sun Kim says, “scale equals visibility, and that has the ability to shape social norms… if you don’t see us then we have no place to be” (Sun Kim, 2023).
Data taken from UAL’s latest Student Equality, Diversity and Inclusion report showed that 5% of international students were declared as disabled in the data, compared to the 25% of home students that declared. This raised questions regarding stigmas around disabilities, and the possible apprehension around students wishing to study abroad disclosing diagnosed disabilities. Looking further into student demographics and potential intersectionalities will help frame issues that need solving, as “without frames that allow us to see how social problems impact all the members of a targeted group, many will fall through the cracks of our movements.” (Crenshaw, 2016)
References:
Adepitan, A. and Webborn, N. (2020). Nick Webborn interviews
Ade Adepitan. ParalympicsGB Legends [Online]. Youtube. 27 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnRjdol_j0c (Accessed: 24/04/2024).
Art21 (2023) Christine Sun Kim in “Friends & Strangers”. 1 November. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NpRaEDlLsI (Accessed: 24/04/2024).
Brown, C. (2023) Interview with ParaPride. Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month [Online]. Youtube. 13 December. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc (Accessed: 24/04/2024).
Kim, C.S. (2022) ‘ How I became an artist: Christine Sun Kim’. Interviewed By Emily McDermott for Art Basel, 2022. Available at: https://www.artbasel.com/stories/how-i-became-an-artist–christine-sun-kim?lang=en (Accessed: 22/05/2024).
Office For National Statistics (2019) Disability, well-being and loneliness, UK: 2019 Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/disability/bulletins/disabilitywellbeingandlonelinessuk/2019 (Accessed: 22/05/2024).
Oxford English Dictionary (2023) Intersectionality. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/8904687553.(Accessed: 24/04/2024).
TED (2016) The urgency of intersectionality | Kimberlé Crenshaw. 7 December. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akOe5-UsQ2o (Accessed: 24/04/2024).
TransActual(2024) Available at: https://transactual.org.uk/ (Accessed: 22/05/2024).
UAL (2023) Equality objectives and reports. Public information: Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/public-information/equality-objectives-and-reports (Accessed: 24/04/2024).
Like you I was really moved by the video interviews, and most especially the running theme throughout that the word disabled is in itself disabling – from listeneing to lived experience of 3 people intersecting different characteristics it really allowed me to think about how society excludes difference on so many levels – The idea that toilet facilities would be an issue or safety issue for trans people, is not something, that I had actually considered. I feel the toilets at UAL are quite progressive, private spaces with wash basins and with no gender hierarchy. I have been in meeting where a woman was lodging a strong complaint about sharing facilities at the new EB campus, with male colleagues, I found this very uncomfortable to listen to, as her point was derogatory to those who identified as men, as well as cisgender males. I did not at the time call thgis out, I think I would do so in future. As you point out Accessibility and visibility are key and watching and learning from these films was life changing for me. Great post Thanks GG x