Surviving Intersectionality

Life’s journey can be long and consuming.  We are too focused on reaching the endpoint in our adventure, so we miss the finer detail of life that is scattered along our footpath.  Take, for instance, the web of a person’s identity; only when we look closely can we see the many interconnections woven together.  It is a thing of beauty, but it can also become a trap.
 
We do not just carry a Male Label.  Our Male Label has been given to us with certain conditions, and if we look carefully, we see that these conditions differ greatly, depending on how our Male Label intersects with other aspects of our identity - 

• Our true Gender Identity
• Our Sexuality, and
• Our Ethnicity

 
In 2018 the APA published a report that highlighted the critical health disparities facing Male Labelled Persons of Color and Male Labelled members of the LGBTQ+ community (because of their Sexuality). I have attached the full report to this article.  
 
In their report, the APA identified four critical issues that impact these health disparities –

• Depression
• Substance Abuse
• Trauma, and
• Violence

 
A clear message from the report was that if we are to Survive the Male Label, we need to focus on the intersection of Gender with other aspects of a person’s identity, including Sexuality and Ethnicity (APA Report 2018). In another article, I argue that we also need to understand how the Male Label intersects with a person's true Gender Identity.
 
An intersection, not a cul-de-sac
As a psychotherapist, I help people work through Depression, Substance Abuse, Trauma and Violence.  To truly tackle these life-changing issues, I cannot just view my client with blue-tinted lenses of their Male Label.  To view them as simply the binary opposite of the Pink Female Label would be to cul-de-sac my understanding of them to borrow a phrase from Dr Zac Seidler, (Seidler 2018).
 
Instead, I need to meet this client at the intersection of various aspects of their identity.  I need to understand how their Male Label intersects with their true Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Ethnicity.  And I need to understand how all of this impacts on the experiences of Depression, Substance Abuse, Trauma or Violence.
 
If we are to go Beyond the Blue of the Male Label, Beyond the over-simplistic view of the Male Labelled as simply a binary opposite of the Pink Female Labelled, we need to take a closer look at identity, and to the critical issues that impact a person's life (Depression, Substance Abuse, Trauma and Violence). 

If we are to Survive the Male Label, we need to learn about

• What unites us; for example, the power and privilege implied by the Male Label,
• But also what distinguishes us; for example, our unique experiences of that Male Label, depending on the intersection of that Male Label with other parts of our identity.

 
So what do you think?
Does any of this resonate with you?  Get in touch by sending me a message privately via the Contact Page, or add a public comment below, and engage in the debate
 
Chris Warren-Dickins LLB MA LPC 
Therapist, writer, educator, and LGBTQ+ advocate
https://www.chriswarrendickins.com/
#beyondtheblue #beyondthebluebook

References

1. APA’s Guidelines for Psychological Practice With Boys and Men, 2018 (APA Guidelines, 2018)
2. American Psychological Association, APA Working Group on Health Disparities in Boys and Men. (2018) (APA Report 2018)
3. Engaging Men in Psychological Treatment: A Scoping Review, Zac E.Seidler MCP, Simon M Rice, PhD, John S. Ogrodniczuk PhD, John L. Oliffe Phd RN, Haryana M Dhillon, Phd, American Journal of Men’s Health, vol 12, 6: pp. 1882-1900 (Seidler, 2018).

 

Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.