Use of an Intersectional Framework to Understand Black Women's Racial and Gender Identities

Sex Roles (2006) 54: 589601 DOI 10.1007/s11199-006-9029-8

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Use of an Intersectional Framework to Understand Black Womens Racial and Gender Identities

Isis H. Settles

Published online: 12 October 2006 # Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2006

Abstract Eighty-nine black womens racial and gender identities were examined within an intersectional framework that emphasized their unique integration of these identities. Quantitative analyses indicated that the intersected black-woman identity was more important than the individual identities of woman and black person. Further, interference in the black identity (but not interference in the woman identity) was related to lower self-esteem and depression. Qualitative analyses of rewards and difficulties experienced as black women identified four themes: stereotyping and discrimination, personal esteem, isolation from others, and opportunities and resources. Black women who mentioned any reward reported higher self-esteem than those who did not. The value of an intersectional framework for thinking about black womens identities is discussed.

Keywords Black women . Identity interference . Identity conflict . Well-being . Identity importance . Social identity . Race . Gender

Introduction

Although race and gender have become popular topics within psychology, most studies have examined these identities singly rather than focusing on their intersection (Patterson, Cameron, & Lalonde, 1996). An intersectional approach to understanding race and gender is one in which consideration is given to the unique positions that exist for people on the basis of the combination of their race/

ethnicity and gender (e.g., black women, white men, Latina women; Crenshaw, 1993; Hurtado, 1989); it recognizes that gender and race/ethnicity can only be experienced simultaneously within an individual (West & Fenstermaker, 1996). Further, the focus is on the particular experiences of the members of the combined race/ethnicity and gender group (Hurtado & Stewart, 1997). The intersection of race and gender is particularly important for black women because of the complex political and social context in which they live in the US (Reid & Comas-Diaz, 1990).

Although black women hold other identities that may impact their daily lives (e.g., social class, age, sexual orientation), their unique experiences in the US may lead them to be especially conscious of their racial and gender identities. Identities are groups to which one belongs that are meaningful aspects of ones self-concept (Deaux, 1993). Black womens...