There are more than 7 billion people on this planet. Each individual has their own unique personality, physical characteristics, cultures, and lifestyles. Why then, does society classify individuals based on one of these traits and stereotype them based on one feature of their unique, one-of-a-kind self?
So many people nowadays look at one part of a person and form a stereotype around them based on that one characteristic. For example, people will stereotype all women based on their gender. They stereotype African Americans based on their skin color. They stereotype homosexuals based on their sexuality. So many people pigeonhole individuals into one part of their being without looking at their whole self.
This is a major problem in today’s society. People need to look at the whole individual rather than one specific trait of their being. This is when intersectionality comes in.
Intersectionality is essentially the “…interconnected nature of social categorizations…” (source). Intersectionality showcases the fact that individuals are unique in their own way, and that they are in no way exact to the person next to them. Women cannot all be stereotyped into one group. All women are unique. Those of a lower socioeconomic class cannot be stereotyped into one group. They are all unique. No person can be stereotyped into one specific group because every individual is unique in their own way. Intersectionality is so vital to understand, and to know that no person is defined by one part of themselves.
It is 2017 people. Human beings have been on this Earth for so long, yet we deal with these issues of not recognizing intersectionality on a daily basis. Wake up and realize that people are made up of so many different characteristics and traits. They are not defined by one part of their being. Each individual is unique with their own characteristics, their own cultures, their own personalities, and their own selves. Open your eyes to the beauty of intersectionality and understand how important it is to recognize it. If people begin to recognize the importance of intersectionality, then people will begin to realize how truly unique, special, and different each individual is. People will begin to realize that you cannot stereotype individuals of a specific “social categorization” as each individual is made up of their own version of intertwined social categorizations.
Intersectionality is so important, and it will always be important. Everyone is unique; everyone is special; everyone is irreplaceable.
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