A person’s identity is made of multiple categories such as white, female, female, skin color, class, attractiveness, speaking English as a first language, speaking English as a second language, to name a few. Intersectionality looks at these different parts that make up someone’s identity and view the ways that they are oppressed or privileged within each category. For example, someone may be light-skinned (privileged) but also be a poor woman ( oppressed by class status and gender). Someone could have multiple aspects of their identity that are oppressed or multiple ways that they are privileged or a combination of both,
The ecofeminist interconnected ”Web” perspective takes this idea of identity/intersectionality and applies to ecofeminism (the environment and feminism). For example, someone who may be female (oppressed) may be privileged because of whiteness, class, education, etc may have greater accessibility, support and perspective regarding abortion than a woman who is oppressed not only by being female but also by being poor (limited access to healthcare) and being uneducated (unaware of the options, unaware of the larger toll on the planet of having multiple children).
Another example could be access to quality, organic/all-natural, cruelty-free products. There is a huge difference between beauty products available at Target vs. Walmart. Target has more options for all-natural, healthy products than Walmart. An investment advising/news website, Business Insider mentions that “Walmart has always been the home of the cost-conscious low-to middle-income consumer, but Placer-ai found that Target sees 18% more of its customers earning $100,000 a year or more than Walmart does.” In this perspective of class oppression, Walmart which has lower-income consumers don’t have readily available access to many higher quality beauty products that may be, 1 – better for the environment and 2 – better for the body. One example of a product is organic or all-natural pads or tampons. Target offers three or four healthier brands while Walmart does not offer any in-store. We know that pads and tampon waste are detrimental to the environment, (oppression) and that because Walmart’s customer generally makes less money, their customers do not have access to the same quality of feminine hygiene products that Target does because of their class oppression or education about the products available. Also according to a business insider the majority of people who shop at both Walmart and Target are white, however, more Black people shop at Walmart than Target and more Hispanic people shop at Target than Walmart at both Retail stores 75% of the shoppers are women. With that said, having these products NOT available at places like Walmart is a clear result of gender, class, and racial oppression. According to the blog Black Feminist Thought 2016, black women are at the “front lines” of environmental degradation.
Bibliography:
- Stats on race, gender, age, and the income of shoppers at Target and Walmart. https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-shopper-demographics-2016-10
2. Average shoppers that go to Target vs. Walmart. https://reviews.cheapism.com/target-vs-walmart/