Why Intersectionality will fail, and drag everyone down with it.

Featured image by Simon Jowett. Follow the link for more of this artist’s work.

Intersectionality is a powerful tool that is being used in today’s politics. By breaking down the immutable characteristics of an individual into the various intersections of race, sex, perceived gender, ethnic origin, sexual preference/orientation, etc., one can completely reshuffle the existing hierarchy of influence and power in today’s society. As society shifts away from its traditional foundations and values, it is being replaced by a house of straw, shifting and unsettled, shaking from the breath of the wolves trying to get in and devour the soft and succulent innards of the new structure’s inhabitants.

What I am noticing, as an outside observer with the lowest amount of power in this new structure, and little power in the existing one, is that the rules of the game aren’t settled yet. The new hierarchy isn’t established yet, and so, like when the alpha of the pack dies, the rest of the pack now has to re-establish the pecking order. Of course, this leads to fairly disastrous consequences and routine examples of either corruption or hypocrisy, and from what I’m seeing now, the same types of groups that were “oppressed” before in the previous hierarchy, are going to be “oppressed” in the new one. Georgia Senate candidate Raphael Warnock was alleged to have run over his ex-wife’s foot, as per this article. His ex-wife calls him a “great actor,” and cries to the police. Certainly there is context for this incident, and the truth certainly lies in the middle, but this is another example of where women find themselves in the new hierarchy. Jacob Blake, earlier this year, victimized a woman and returned to her house, stealing her keys. He had a warrant for third degree sexual assault, trespassing, and disorderly conduct in connection with domestic abuse. Blake was shot in the back seven times by. Tara Reade accused the president-elect of sexual assault, and her story was disputed, with crickets from the #MeToo movement.

Women, Blacks, Hispanics, any particular group, or members of these intersectional groups, will at some point find themselves at odds with the collective opinion and values of the group. And it is when this divergence occurs, they will see that their collective identity means little. The only intersection that is going to matter in this brave, new world, is money.