Intersectionality

This is the fifth post in a series suggesting changes to the systems of scientific training that may reduce the frequency or severity of harassment and discrimination against scientific trainees. Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. 

There are two different angles at play in the discussion about colonialism and science. First is what constitutes scientific epistemology and what its origins are. As a physicist, I was taught that physics began with the Greeks and later Europeans inherited their ideas and expanded on them.

This resource is specific to the experiences of LGBTQ people living in the United States who identify as African American.

To explain just how much gay rights differ on an international scale, Business Insider created this set of maps to visualize the issue. The results show that while homosexuality is no longer outlawed in the majority of the world, there's still a long way to go in terms of acceptance and equality for LGBTQ people.

The real issue is that, while strictly true, "All Lives Matter" is a tone-deaf slogan that distracts from the real problems black people in America face.

The best explanation we've seen so far comes from Reddit, of all places. Last year, in an "Explain Like I'm 5" thread, user GeekAesthete explained, clearly and succinctly, why changing #BlackLivesMatter to #AllLivesMatter is an act of erasure that makes lots of people cringe.

Many counter-protests and die-ins have been organized at Pride festivals across the U.S. to take a stand against the erasure of multiply-marginalized members of the LGBTQ community from Pride events. Protest is an effective means of spurring change, but there are other ways to make pride more intersectional.

In this op-ed, writer Phillip Henry explores how the backlash against a more inclusive pride flag served as a reminder of racism inherent in the LGBTQ community.

Two Spirit is a contemporary term used to identify Native American Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and some Transgender individuals with traditional and cultural understandings of gender roles and identity.

Talk summary: "Now more than ever, it's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias -- and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe this phenomenon; as she says, if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both. In this moving talk, she calls on us to bear witness to this reality and speak up for victims of prejudice."