ABSTRACT
Identity politics came to prominence in the 1960s and has remained influential. The term refers to an intersection of group identity and politics, which can lead to social change. Identity politics arises when oppression becomes the focus of a strong separate group identity around which support, political analysis, and action are developed, and it has thus been associated particularly with less powerful groups such as women, lesbians, gay men, people of color, other ethnic minorities, and religious minorities. Identity politics has been a subject of debate within and beyond feminism, as in the consciousness-raising discussion groups of the 1960s and 1970s, which focused on personal experience and personal identity and reflected the slogan "The personal is political."
