Abstract
Ethnicity, gender and class are the major factors of social inequality and have been studied extensively leading to a large literature pertaining to each one of them. The issue of the intersection of ethnicity, gender and class has been introduced into the social sciences by feminist critical theory. Intersection theory postulates that minority groups are discriminated against on the basis of more than one characteristic which are “inextricably tied” leading to complex forms of inequality in various social domains. This study examines the intertwined effects of these factors as they are experienced and narrated by Mizrachi women (19) who are employed in universities and colleges. Although the intersection approach is generally supported by the data it was found that under certain conditions ethnicity, gender and class may be separated. One type of decomposition is when one identity encroaches upon another or others; the second is the separation of diverse identities assigning them to different life areas. These change processes do not support stereotypical dichotomies between Ashkenazi and Mizrachi, women and men and so on, and enable the creation of new hybrid identities.
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Notes
The term intersection is borrowed from set-theory in mathematics which models how regions intersect, that is physically occupying the same space. It is useful to construct a composite field that represents several parameters at once.
The present study of ethnicity, gender and class in Israeli academia focuses on the individual level. The intersectionality approach is, nevertheless not limited to this level and can be applied to the analysis of groups, organizations, nations and global systems in which class, race and gender interact.
The interrelations among race, class and gender have been variously described as intertwined, indivisible, entangled, inextricably tied and so on. Various metaphors have been applied to the intersection perspective comparing it to looking through a multi-focal lens, or mixed flavoring of food, or playing with an octahedron. These metaphors show how difficult it is in the social sciences to define interrelationships mainly between nominal variables.
In this context I use the term ethnicity instead of race because ethnicity is used in Israel to distinguish between Oriental (Mizrachi) and Western (Ashkenazi) Jews in Israel. They are not considered to be of different races but to originate from various Jewish communities in the world.
Research universities only, not including colleges.
Such as, development towns in the south of the country.
This is in line with the official achievement ideology in most Western democracies.
An opposite process would be racialization, that is when ethnicity /race dominate other attributes; when most components of identity are looked at through a race or ethnic lens.
The same method can be used in reference to other identities as well.
Studies in the US show that migrants and minority members who adhere to certain traditional beliefs and habits and simultaneously adopt some of the host society's values and rules of behavior (most significantly the local language) are the most successful and satisfied.
Hybridization is not the same as the much criticized ‘melting pot' policy of the Israeli government in the 1950' to ‘absorb' various Jewish immigrants coming from Eastern and Western countries and create one unified nation with a strong Western bias.
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Toren, N. Intersection of Ethnicity, Gender and Class: Oriental Faculty Women in Israel. Gend. Issues 26, 152–166 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-009-9073-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-009-9073-0