ABSTRACT
Women’s Studies began with other unifying themes, and one of them was the common idea that women share an identity as women. A common denominator of the women’s movement was that all have some special quality that unites them as women. The concept of intersectionality proposed that aspects of difference intersected and needed to be considered in tandem with one another. Women’s Studies scholars take class seriously though they blend various definitions of class and have many opinions about what class means. The intersection of race with class and gender occurs across the Western Hemisphere and around the world, escalating with global migration. Recognition of difference and intersectionality breaks the pattern of women as all being the same and having a common “essence” that defines them. Such recognition also allows for the creation of more functional alliances among groups after differences and common interests have been struggled with and sorted out.
