Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality shows how peoples intersecting social and political identities like race, gender, sexual orientation and disability can perpetuate systems of oppression, privilege and marginalisation. Hopefully, without overgeneralising too much, these intersections can create modes of discrimination against the some of the most marginalised groups, and establish “blindspots” (for lack of a better term) and as people who inhabit multiple intersecting identities are not seen or foregrounded in an isolated review and discourse of individual identities. For example, black women being excluded from anti-racism discourse focusing on Black men and feminist discourse focusing on white women (Crenshaw, 1991). The stories and experiences of Ade Adepitan, Chay Brown, and Christine Sun Kim offers a view into how intersecting forms of oppression can reinforce exclusion when only one part of a person’s identity is seen, and how visibility of these marginalised experiences can help push back against sticky systemic discrimination.
Ade Adepitan (2020) is at the intersection of Black identity and physical disability. As a wheelchair user and a person of Nigerian heritage, he experiences exclusion both in the context of race and of disability. Drawing on the social model of disability – which holds that individuals are disabled not by their impairments but by societal barriers to access and inclusion (Oliver, 1990) – Ade argues that exclusion is not an inevitable outcome of impairment, but the product of systemic design. For him, the Paralympics show how disabled people can thrive when structural barriers are removed and access is equitably and inclusively designed. Yet he points out that similar progress is lacking of race, where systemic racism continues to limit opportunity and fairness for Black people.
Chay Brown (2023) identifies as a white, gay, trans man with invisible disabilities and mental health challenges. He benefits from being cis-passing and white in many LGBTQ+ spaces, yet experiences exclusion due to neurodivergence and disability. He describes struggling with unspoken social codes and the sensory overload of LGBTQ+ events, which often assume or default to able-bodied, neurotypical participants. Here, his marginalisation does not come from visibility, but from being overlooked. He is not always seen as disabled, and thus his access needs are often ignored. The intersection of trans identity with disability can lead to blindspots in both discourses and broader recognition of identity––trans experiences may overlook disabled (trans) bodies, while disability experiences (e.g., wheelchair users) may not fully include queer and trans lives.
Christine Sun Kim (2024), a Deaf artist, has intersecting identities of disability, womanhood, parenthood, and racial identity as an East Asian American. Her work is rooted in the need to be seen and understood in a world that routinely silences her. She has been denied access to education and art spaces due to the absence of interpreters and inclusive teaching. Her use of large-scale visual work is a deliberate strategy to “caption the city”—a form of public resistance that reclaims space and visibility for the deaf community. Christine notes that being misunderstood can have material consequences when communication failure affects access to services, education, and safety. Her experience demonstrates how systemic silencing, shaped by language and ableist assumptions, intersects with gender and race to further restrict agency and expression. She also implies how her experience raising a child in Berlin is enabling by state structures providing free daycare. In contrast, the exorbitant costs of raising a child in the US and lack of support, might be considered as disabling, especially when certain identities or experiences combine to exacerbate the ability to support or even start of family, which can impact wellbeing.
Across these accounts, recurring patterns emerge worth discussing: (1) how inclusion built around singular identities—disability without race, queerness without access—the result is partial recognition and systemic neglect. In addition, (2) visibility and platforming of these marginalised identities is a mechanism to push back against bias and systemic discrimination. The social model of disability reminds us that barriers are often built into the world around us, not the individual (Oliver, 1990). But unless these intersectional barriers are understood as layered and overlapping, inclusion of siloed identities can become another form of erasure.
In my own teaching at UAL, I work with students whose identities and responsibilities shape how they access and engage in learning. Several students over the years, who happen to be Black British women and sometimes primary carers for disabled family, commute long distances while managing their studies. They are not necessarily recognised “disabled” (some are neurodiverse) yet their life is constrained by similar barriers—limited access to space, time and rest.
My own positionality—as a white/mixed middle-class American male, now living in the UK—means I’ve had to learn to see class-based discrimination and dynamics that play a non-insignificant part in social dynamics on the course. Also, UK social and political dynamics, particularly around my own experiences of immigration, have shaped my ability to access to work and stability in ways that intersect, with broader systems of exclusion. Due to my relative privilege of where, when and how I grew up and my white identity, I hesitantly talk about my immigration struggles and frustrations, but I do find the restrictions of my status disabling (systemically) to my well-being, growth and livelihood. But this is for another conversation.
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
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
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.
Oliver, M. (1990). The Politics of Disablement. London: Macmillan Education UK.
Sun, C. (2024). Christine Sun Kim in ‘Friends & Strangers’ – Season 11 | Art21. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/2NpRaEDlLsI
Hi Jeff. I enjoyed reading your post – which articulates well how the lived experience of marginalization as described in the videos can be understood through the lens of Crenshaw’s (1990) ‘Intersectionality.’
I think the point that you touch on regarding your own positionality and lived experience of being am immigrant is not insignificant in highlighting how structural disablement can be considered as a further intersection of disempowerment. This is something that Christine Sun Kim implies – as you mention – in her experiences of raising a child in a context (Germany) where the state provides structures that enable her to raise a child and to have the space to be an artists – as opposed to the US in which the cultural-political apparatus of the state does not. This points towards the disablement on the basis of social class in the US context, where it would seem that in order to have the space to be an artist and to raise a child requires membership of a certain degree of socio- economic status. The examples of your own students disablement also point towards issues of social class – intersecting with race. I have begun to reflect on how much social class (not a protected characteristic of the 2021 Equality Act) plays as a factor in (intersectional) disempowerment.
I share part of your relative privilege as a white male (without any disability currently – although 20 years ago – I would have certainly been in the mental health category) and so I am also cognizant of my lack of lived experience of intersectionality and therefore authority to talk about personal ‘struggle’ as example. However, the context of being an immigrant per se helps to make the barriers (which compound intersectionalities) visible to privileged (hegemonic) groups. This also aligns with the theme that all three speakers in the videos allude to – and the model of Social Disability – that being that removing structural barriers can improve opportunity for everybody in a society. Reflecting on my own (albeit limited) experience of being an immigrant (theatre actor) in Italy in the early 2000s (with acute mental health issues for some of this time) I was made more aware of the cultural and structural barriers that exist. That said – my key observation about this experience – was that despite being a foreign worker – the key structural and cultural barriers that I became aware of where those presented to my black British colleagues – in our interactions with private individuals – and the state (in the form of the police and other arms). This was an injustice which confirmed my belief in the existence of systemic racism and how this provides greater barriers than I have or am ever likely to face.
Thanks for sharing your personal experience and information. Your time in Italy also shows how being an immigrant can expose hidden barriers, even if you still benefit from other forms of privilege. The harsher treatment experienced by your Black British colleagues is a reminder that systemic racism compounds other forms of disadvantage. I also agree that the social model of disability is helpful here, in that it pushes us to think less about individual “deficits” and more about the barriers built into institutions, workplaces and society as disabling, if not outright discriminatory.
“His marginalisation does not come from visibility, but from being overlooked. He is not always seen as disabled, and thus his access needs are often ignored.” – when speaking about venues and spaces usually design to bring queer people together and celebrate is an interesting observation. With queer venues scarce in other cities other than the hub of London, it can be a lot to put on the venue and staff to account for all levels of needs while they struggle to stay open. Or other spaces, non-alcohol centred socialising spaces for Chay, and UAL students / graduates, is important to consider. The wellbeing of queer and disabled people is paramount.
I like your use of the term ‘blindspots’ as it highlights a potential hinderance linked with an impairment that anyone can experience. Blindspots are not intentional, and so any oversights can be rectified or adapted for, much like disabilities. It’s that simple!
A focus on how the welfare and strong support of a country’s government for parents can positively impact artistic expression and exploration of line of enquiry, for Sun Kim, brings up the debate on accessibility and support going beyond just disabilities. People can thrive if adequately supported, and not penalised for having children / caring responsibilities.
“unless these intersectional barriers are understood as layered and overlapping, inclusion of siloed identities can become another form of erasure.” nicely encapsulates the notion that we are only doing the minimum if we provide surface-level support and awareness.
Your observation of black british female students of yours having to travel longer distances if they are also carers, and therefore have layers of added burdens in the learning space, makes me think of the data I found about how disabled people travel less. You may want to have a look at too, if it is something that interests you, about how modes of travel/mobility and wellbeing are linked, and travel can be a positive, but also an added burden, too.
“UK social and political dynamics, particularly around my own experiences of immigration, have shaped my ability to access to work and stability in ways that intersect, with broader systems of exclusion” – whilst acknowledging your perceived privilege, there is a positionality of compounded hardships and therefore also hardships in your experience of immigration, and teaching, which is important to hear and also see how that plays out on the course(s) you are involved with. Thank you for sharing this stance for better awareness.
House of Commons Library (2023) UK disability statistics: Prevalence and life experiences. Briefing Paper No. CBP-9602. Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9602/CBP-9602.pdf
I appreciate you expanding on how mobility is often treated as a neutral or purely logistical issue, but as you suggest, it has direct implications for access, wellbeing, and inclusion. For students who are disabled, caring for others, or navigating multiple systemic pressures, the commute to and time at campus can be a significant logistical and emotional challenge, especially when you factor things like familial needs that might be on students’ minds when they’re away from home.
The link to travel data is helpful in expanding this conversation beyond the institution. It’s easy to overlook how assumptions about presence, punctuality, or engagement are tied to normative ideas about mobility and independence. If the starting point is unequal – e.g., longer commutes, fewer accessible routes, higher travel costs – then the system isn’t neutral. This also raises practical questions: What kinds of support do or could institutions offer around travel? How can we better account for these pressures when designing participation expectations or timetables?