Crossroads or Categories? Intersectionality Theory and the Case of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Equalities Initiatives in UK Local Government

Abstract

The last 40 years have seen major transformations in the theorization of sexuality, with wide-ranging implications for the fields of social theory and policy. Intersectionality theory has emerged during this period, as a means of addressing the complex ways in which social characteristics are routed through each other. The origins and development of intersectionality theory has been well documented by authors such as Brah and Pheonix (2004), Walby (2007), Nash (2008), Shields (2008), and Grabham et al. (2009). Intersectionality theory contributes to our understandings of sexuality in that it can be used to bridge two seemingly disparate approaches to understanding of sexuality: those that take a foundational approach, framing sexuality and gender— or other forces, such as the material—as fundamental to the ways in which individual and social identities are shaped, and those that seek to deconstruct foundational categories (Davis, 2008). Intersectionality studies have focused primarily on gender, class, and race; where included, sexuality is often placed in a marginal position (see Crenshaw, 1997; Shields, 2008; Hurtado and Sinha, 2008). There have been some exceptions, including Beckett’s (2004) study of the operation of heterosexuality in the lives of lesbian and disabled women, and Fish’s (2008) research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) identities and health care.

It is not at all clear whether intersectionality should be limited to understanding individual experiences, to theorizing identity, or whether it should be taken as a property of social structures and cultural discourses.

(Davis, 2008, 68).