Skewed Representations of Intersectionality in Art

The image above was used for an article titled "What Is Intersectionality and Why Is It Important" written by Anne Sisson Runyan for the website AAUP (American Association of University Professors). The article credits Patricia Hill Collins and her work "Learning from the Outsider Within: The Sociological Significance of Black Feminist Thought" as one of the scholars responsible for beginning discussions of intersectionality through her descriptions of "interdependent relationship between the interlocking oppression that has shaped Black women's choices and Black women's actions in the context of those choices" (s24). Despite its intentions the above image fails to properly articulate the interlocking spheres of oppression Collins worked to describe. 

The image above overlays different pieces of people together attempting to form a more unified image, this furthers a view of intersectionality that focuses on finding common spheres of oppression rather than recognizing the need for discussion on the unique experiences of women of color. By using various slices of women’s faces the image fails to recognize the complete identity of any individual woman, and instead relies on them being identified by the key trait “woman”.

Viewing intersectionality as a method to find common ground goes directly against Collins' argument for the further inclusion of Black feminist scholarship in theory. Collins explains “...while living life as Black women may produce certain commonalities of outlook, the diversity of class, region, age, and sexual orientation shaping individual Black women's lives has resulted in different expressions of these common themes”(S16). Collins argued that white feminist theory had oversimplified the experiences of other marginalized women, resulting in an incomplete and inaccurate view of the oppression being experienced by Black women (S14).