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Intersectionality and the cultural relativist lens

1/26/2020

5 Comments

 
PicturePhoto by Creative Commons/Flickr. Permission for non-commercial use.



​After viewing, Kimberlé Crenshaw’s presentation on “The urgency of Intersectionality,” it was abundantly clear that actualizing the added layers of our identity is needed in order to thoroughly address systems of inequality. It should also be apparent that when we address health and human rights, to generalize broad groups dismisses subgroups that have varying experiences and outcomes. Making distinctions in women’s health is helpful to address disparities, as not every woman has the same experience, outcome or resources. For instance, black women, immigrant women or white women will have differing encounters with the world around them, institutions they engage with, services offered to them that ultimately play into their health and wellbeing. As Kimberle Crenshaw reiterates on the concept of intersectionality that “without frames that allow us to see how social problems impact all the members of the targeted group, many will fall through the cracks of the movement, left to suffer in isolation.” It is for this reason that the widening of our lens is critical to the enforcement of human rights. My personal experiences in relation to inequality, state violence and oppression as a cis white woman in the US are incomparable to that of black women. For this reason, human rights discussions must acknowledge systemic power dynamics that allow for blatant abuses to occur. Therefore, when we pull back the different layers to our identity, we can make sense of societal treatment and overlapping inconsistencies more effectively. 
​
In relation to the prompt on a cultural relativist view on a particular women’s health issue, I began brainstorming different topics that apply and one in particular that I find to be incredibly complex and multidimensional is that of vaccines. With the recent uptake of vaccine hesitancy in the US which is specifically visible in our local region partnered with recent outbreaks and poor vaccination rates has created immense challenges. On one hand, you have individuals granted the ability to opt-out of immunization through protections denoted within ‘personal exemptions’ which involves its own context. Overall, many different people may view immunization interventions in a cultural relativist lens.

​A large frame of reasoning focuses on the historical context of vaccination campaigns and the questionable motives and intentions displayed by those in positions of power across many different groups. In a global landscape, a belief on immunization held across areas of Asia and Africa traces mistrust of Western campaigns with the intention of “sterilizing and infecting non-Western countries” (“Cultural Perspectives on Vaccination,” 2018). For example, in the fight against polio, the introduction of federally sponsored polio vaccination campaigns in Northern Nigerian states were forbidden due to linkages made that “the polio vaccine was contaminated with anti-fertility drugs intended to sterilize young Muslim girls” (Le Blanc, 2016). Thus, as is the case in many different examples, vaccine suspicions are fueled by historically poor encounters with groups that involve themselves in locals cultural practices.

​ As the video, titled “Human Rights and Culture” demonstrates, tensions can arise when an organization with ties to colonialism assert their agenda onto a country that has historically been colonized and may align closer to the relative perspective.  Alternatively, a universalist view may elicit a view that reflects the ability to live a safe and healthy life that includes receiving adequate immunization to preventable diseases. As beneficial this is for the overall health and well-being of the global community, it does not deconstruct or acknowledge historical discontent as a result of questionable conduct. In keeping this in mind, this topic follows a difficult debate over personal protections and the general wellness of the public that ultimately points toward “continued communication and collaboration between medical and public health officials and the public regarding acceptable and effective immunization policies” (“Cultural Perspectives on Vaccination,” 2018). 

References
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Crenshaw, Kimberlé. (2016). The urgency of intersectionality [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?language=en

Cultural Perspectives on Vaccination. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/cultural-perspectives-vaccination

Le Blanc, Justin M. (2016). Medical Autonomy and Vaccines: A Kantian Imperative. Retrieved from https://hekint.org/2017/01/30/medical-autonomy-and-vaccines-a-kantian-imperative/ 

By: Hannah Berg

5 Comments
Danielle Lee
1/26/2020 05:00:02 pm

Hi Hannah!
I liked how you explained the importance of intersectionality as added layers to our identity. I thought that was a perfect way to explain it because as you dig deeper into an individual, you see the differencing characteristics.

Your argument and explanation on vaccines, brought up a point that I hadn't thought of before. Typically the argument I hear surrounding vaccines are the "dangers" that are involved with childhood diagnosis of disabilities and what not, but had never had my attention on the affects of Western Colonization.

Reply
Savannah Compton
1/26/2020 09:38:33 pm

Hello Hannah,

I enjoyed reading your post and really liked where you talk about intersectionality and how you talk about how every women has different experiences and so on. No women has the same life or disparities or experiences as one another. Looking at all the different layers to someones identity is very important.

I like the information you included about vaccines and how cultures thought that they were contaminated with an anti-fertility drug. I was not aware of this point of view and it is very interesting to know about. I work in a pharmacy and hear many peoples opinions on vaccinations.

Reply
Kathy Luangrath
1/26/2020 10:32:45 pm

Hi Hannah! I really enjoyed reading your blog post! I really liked how you described intersectionality and the need for intersectionality to address the systems of inequality. I agree that making distinctions within women's health especially in terms of race, socio-economic status, and so on is essential, after all, as you mentioned, not every women has the same experience, outcome or experience. I also really liked the example (both your experience and the other example) you included as it gave me a better understanding of the term.

Additionally, like others have mentioned, I like that your post brought up vaccination especially as you viewed it in a cultural relativist perspective. While I am aware of the anti-vax vs. vax debate, I am very unaware of how other cultures view vaccines. It was very eye-opening to see how other cultures view vaccines. I also thought it was interesting that you brought up how vaccine suspicions are fueled through historical encounters. In my perspective, I think cultural imperialism may also play a large role in the backlash of vaccination campaigns throughout Africa and Asia. As cultural imperialism and colonialism go hand in hand (in some ways), I found it interesting to read how certain cultures viewed western instruments.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading your blog post, Hannah!

Reply
Aliyah Sop
3/10/2020 01:16:55 pm

Hannah,

Thanks for sharing. I really like that you've decided to focus your blog post on intersectionality. I would have to agree that intersectionality is very important. In thinking about feminism, I believe considering intersectionality goes hand in hand with that idea. Kimberle’s Crenshaw’s TEDTalk on “The Urgency of Intersectionality” allowed me to understand that intersectionality examines the interconnected structure of society that includes race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other defining characteristics. This is really important because the idea of feminism is different for every single person because of the multitude of experiences each person has in relation to these many categories. Intersectionality looks at how the different experiences of intersecting identities affects how one is treated by society. If we are to challenge all the norms that are set by the society, celebrating intersectionality is key and can be helpful to feminism.

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Joo Kang
3/19/2020 03:12:40 pm

Hello! I really enjoyed your post on the topic of intersectionality. I do believe intersectionality is important term to understand many discrimination that comes together with sex, sexuality, race, and class. I think it was nice to have information about vaccination and how they connects to others perspective. Thank you for sharing such a great information!

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