A sometimes forgotten aspect of being LGBTQ+, or any minority group, is how it intersects with all other aspects of a person. Intersectionality is an abstract concept that’s played out almost day to day. What is it like to be LGBTQ+ and also be religious, a person of color or from another country? How does it interact with one’s socioeconomic status, how does it affect their work environment? Inevitably, all of these seemingly separate identities get tangled into a web that is an entire identity.

Usually the discourse within a minority group is focused on being in that specific minority group, inadvertently or purposely excluding people who are also in other minority groups. Azasi Robinson, senior, explains how she sometimes feels excluded from minority groups because of different aspects of herself, “Truly, you do have those types of identity issues . . . feeling like you’re not enough.”

This is a problem that intersectionality aids in revealing, the feelings of not belonging and isolation that can often come from exclusion like this. In actuality, it’s very hard to exclude everyone in a group if they don’t fit a certain standard, because that would end up being most of the people. It would be a greater thing to just accept people for the way they are. Grace Fowler, senior, talked about how easy it is to accept people for the way they are, stating, “It takes very little effort to accept people.”

Intersectionality is an interesting concept to think about, yet sometimes it can be a difficult part of life. The only way to truly stop any issues that can come from intersectionality is to just accept and celebrate people for their many layers that make them unique. Intersectionality isn’t something that hurts people, but rather it serves as the lenses that aids in seeing the real issues that exclusion causes.