Samantha - "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker is set in the early 20th century South. The novel follows the life of Celie, an African American woman who faces oppression not only because of her race but also because of her gender and socio-economic status. Celie endures abuse at the hands of her father and later her husband, but she finds solace and strength in her relationships with other women, particularly Shug Avery and Sofia. Through these connections, Celie begins to discover her own worth and agency, defying the expectations placed upon her as a black woman in a patriarchal society. Alice Walker weaves themes of race, gender, sexuality, and class throughout the narrative, illustrating how these intersecting identities shape Celie's experiences and the experiences of those around her.
The Color Purple by Zachary - An article exploring the stories of African American lesbians and queer people and how it intersects with their experiences as black people.
Dr. Ryan-Bryant - A clip from the film Moxie in which Vivian, who started an anonymous feminist group at her high school, confronts her best friend Claudia, who was suspended for registering their group as an official club.
Cadence - Henrietta, better known by her nickname "Hen", is a Black, lesbian woman who works for LAFD Station 118 in the show 9-1-1. Throughout the show, she has faced discrimination and hardship due to the intersection of her identities. The most famous example is when she first started at the 118, being one of two people of color in the entire station, and the only woman, which unfortunately came with a lot of hardship. She also experienced homophobia from her own mother, who didn't show up to her wedding. Her character serves as a great example for the complexities of how having an intersectional identity can affect someone, especially how they are treated, in both their family, at work, and in society.
Daniya - This was a film that i found very interesting because not only did i found this in one of my recent classes that had something to do with people who live with disability. But it also connects to this class that i am taking now. This film explores the intersection of queerness but with people with a disability. This film showed that intersections can be with anybody no matter the race or gender or other things that comes with you in life like if you have a different way of living compare to others. But this film it was obvious that they are people of a different race so one top of dealing with their race and there religions they comes with they also dealing with other things like how different their life is. So i thought it was very important to spread light to this
Marz - This Poem depicts the everyday struggles of many different communities. This poem can be an example of intersectionality in itself, because these struggles can apply to queer people, trans people, POC etc. I think that illustrating these difficulties can help connect different people of different backgrounds/communities because it can help them relate to each other better.
Molly - Until this point the character, Eric Effiong, struggles with his Christian and Nigerian identity because he doesn't understand how they could coincide with one another. On a trip back home to Nigeria, he is introduced to a community of gay Nigerians.
Samantha - This is the last scene from the movie "Moonlight" which won best picture at the Oscars in 2017. This movie is essentially a coming of age story about a boy who falls in love. There are intersections with race, seeing as a majority of the characters in the movie are Black, class, and sexuality. Both main characters come from lower socio-economic backgrounds and they both are gay. We also see the intersection of gender with how these boys who become men are expected to act. Society expects them to exert their masculinity in ways that contrast how they want to or how they do when they are together.
Kyle - This video doesn't exactly lay out an intersectional experience or story, but in turn shows the different levels of intersectionality that can occur and what exactly makes it more difficult for people to achieve their goals in life and society. This video gained extreme attention when it was first released and still falls into hot water when it's highlighted in social media. While there are a few parts within the video that are controversial. I believe it lays out a simple version of what intersectionality is and how each person has a unique intersectional experience that shapes how they're treated in society and what levels they can actually achieve.
Eric - An unused chapter from Wainaina‘s memoir, “One Day, I Will Write About This Place.” In which, he tells the story of how he might’ve confessed his homosexuality to his dying mother back home in Kenya, and then how that day really went. And an overview of his life in the aftermath of her death.
Kiara - This clip is from the tv show "Sex Education" and Eric comes from a Ghanian/Nigerian household but lives in a British countryside. When he visits Nigeria for a wedding he has to act straight because his family in Nigeria would not approve of him being gay. His mom knows and supports but knows that he will most likely get shunned if is out to their family so she makes him hide who he is to prevent that. This scene is when the photographer took Eric to a hidden underground gay club and this is the first time in a long time where Eric felt like he can be himself. He was surrounded by so many lesbian, gays and allies that it felt so surreal and nostalgic. Being a gay, black man with a family that you know would disapprove is hard, but in this scene he was just able to be himself in a place where there is little to no acceptance.
Alexandra - This is a clip from Moonlight (2016), which follows the life of Chiron from childhood to adulthood, and highlights the intersectionality of the struggles as a gay black man in a rough neighborhood in Miami. For context this clip shows Chiron's friend, Kevin (who had an intimate, sexual moment together prior) was coerced into beating him by a Terrel, Chiron's high school bully and a group of boys. Throughout the film, Chiron is verbally and physically abused by people, primarily due to his sexuality. This film touches on subjects dealing with drug addiction, family dynamics, race, violence and sexuality and how they all tie together, creating the unique experience that is Chiron's life.
Devin - This is a video from the Australian news station SBS showing the experiences of queer people with autism. The people highlighted explain the ways in which they feel disconnected from the larger queer community and a counselor explains how they need love just like everybody else, even if in different ways, and how events aren't well-suited to autistic people. I'm both bisexual and undiagnosed autistic and, even though I don't get out much, I completely understand why someone who may be both of those things wouldn't feel completely connected to the community as a whole.
Destinee - "The Fosters" is a dramatic drama series that revolves around the Foster family, a blended, multi-ethnic household located in San Diego. A mixed group of kids, including birth, adopted, and foster children, are looked after and loved by police officer Stef Adams Foster and vice principal Lena Adams Foster. Many topics, including family dynamics, love, identity, social issues, and the difficulties of adolescence, are explored in the program. Throughout the course of the show, the Foster family deals with more serious topics including racism, LGBTQ+ rights, and the foster care system in addition to ordinary family disputes and hardships.
Bee - Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a musical about gay, gender-nonconforming, East German rock singer named Hedwig. She is an identity that can't be defined in simple words. Part of her identity is that her sex reassignment surgery was botched and she has a "barbie doll crotch" and doesn't consider herself as either a man or a woman. A part of the song Tear Me Down states "Listen, there ain't much of a difference between a bridge and a wall. Without me right in the middle, babe, oh, you would be nothing at all!"
Throughout the show, she goes between different feminine drag personas, especially in the song Wig in a Box. She goes through multiple lovers, non of which can accept her as is or as a performance of either man or woman. At the end of the show, Hedwig transforms her identity into a blank slate, dressed in nothing but black shorts, wearing no wigs or makeup, she appears as a plain, vulnerable male and sings her lament of how her different experiences as a German immigrant with botch genitals, never having found proper love or acceptance. Finally, in the end, she accepts herself as is and leaves the stage. It isn't depressing or shameful, but accepting of all her aspects as a whole.
Canyon - (Spoilers Ahead) This clip is from the multiple-season hit TV show, The Fosters. We see in the clip some of the struggles these women have being in a multi-racial relationship as lesbians trying to adopt and grow a family. The show is very deep into drama and action, alongside adult topics (TV-MA). This clip only does a slight amount of justice, but it is very well worth the long seasons to see how the story plays out. A few of their adopted children come out as gay, and the only is on the autistic spectrum. This show proves a lot of intersectionality and I remember many episodes genuinely educating me on topics I was not familiar with.
Ahmari - In this scene, you can see Jamal gaining enough strength and courage to come out as an openly gay man to his family, friends and the world through the art of music. Even though he faced backlash when he was a child for trying to be himself, he found enough power to live in his truth and be free to be his authentic self.
