ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights core tenets and assumptions of intersectionality and presents examples of how they enhance, complicate, and challenge concepts within student development theory. Intersectionality links identity to interlocking systems of oppression and foregrounds the impact of social systems and power on how individuals experience the world, interact with other people, and are treated in society. Intersectionality offers a broader understanding of identity, intergroup dynamics, systems of oppression, and efforts to address social inequality. Intersectionality frames identity as a complex intertwining of socially constructed categories such as race, gender, age, gender identity, economic status, sexual orientation, ability, and nationality. The historical underpinnings and tenets of intersectionality are deeply rooted in the lived experiences of Women of Color and movements to remedy complex disparities affecting them based on institutionalized social systems related to race, class, and gender.
