Intersectional Activism
Why Climate Activism is More than Ecology

Intersectionality as a term and concept has become politically established over the last decades. But what exactly is intersectionality, and what does it mean for activists?

By Asuka Kähler

What Is Intersectionality? 

“Intersectionality describes the intersection of different forms of discrimination – a black woman experiences different discrimination than a black man. Contrary to what right-wing and conservative narratives claim, it is not about building a new power structure based on who has experienced the most discrimination and where white, heterosexual cisgender men are the lowest category,” explains Sia, active with Fridays For Future, Ende Gelände, Amnesty International, Seebrücke and other groups.

The term was first used in 1989 by US lawyer Kimberlé Crenshaw in her essay Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex and has since been used to describe a wide range of movements around the world. “Intersectionality can be described as different, overlapping circles representing different forms of discrimination,” Sia continues.  

Why Are Intersectional Perspectives Important?  

“Different problems exist concurrently and have the same roots, so they cannot be separated from each other. Consequently, we have to fight them together,” says Bene, active in Fridays For Future and anti-fascist as well as anti-capitalist groups. Intersectional considerations are also taken into account in the team itself. “We reproduce social structures and power imbalances also in our dealings with each other. A critical examination of ourselves is important for good cooperation,” says Lucia, who is involved with Fridays For Future, Anti Kohle Kidz and Bündnis gegen Rechts. Ibo Mohamed, who is active in Fridays For Future, Seebrücke and the Mahnwache Bamberg, also makes it clear that it is also important to look at issues separately. Racism, for example, is often built on (neo)colonial structures, which is why looking at it together can be useful - but does not always have to be. “Shared perspectives are important, but each issue has its own historical background that needs to be broached individually.”

He himself fled Syria, has lived in Germany since 2015 and has experienced racism in both countries. Nevertheless, the experiences and backgrounds of discrimination are context-dependent - as a Kurd in Syria, you are in a different situation than as a refugee in Germany.  
 
It is often difficult for people affected by intersectional discrimination to isolate the specific ground of discrimination. “Different experiences trigger different emotions that merge and feel like normalcy, even though they are not and should not be, because you have not experienced it otherwise all your life,” says Ibo. Sia also tells us that she feels quite similarly, “I can't stick to one issue with my activism because I've experienced discrimination all my life, and as a queer, female PoC with a speech impediment, I often can't tell exactly what forms of discrimination come into play in a given situation.”

But What Does all this Have to Do With Climate Activism?  

Last season I embarked on different perspectives and goals of the climate justice movement. And all climate justice perspectives build on intersectionality: The ecological crisis intersects with existing social injustices. Addressing this issue and countering it together is the basic idea of every climate justice perspective, and is thus intersectional.  
 
In the climate justice movement, there are often deficits when it comes to implementing the concepts. Lucia and Bene point out that the term intersectionality is used often to be sure but just as often without any actual content. Groups and individuals also have to learn when it makes more sense not to speak out at first, and to let those affected have their say and not to deny experiences, but to listen to these people and learn from them.  

There are also positive developments in the German climate movement: Sia praises the Ende Gelände movement for its intersectional work, both internally and in external communication, and Ibo also notes that progress has been made in recent months at Fridays For Future, an organisation where many of the aforementioned criticisms applied.  
 
But what exactly do such intersectional, climate justice perspectives look like? Next week, Gabriele Magro will take a closer look at the links between anti-classism and climate activism.