Chapter 1: Intersectionality and Eating Disorders

The exact term “intersectionality” is credited to Kimberlé Crenshaw, a United States civil rights advocate and critical race theorist (Crenshaw, 1993). Though some erroneously consider this the beginning of intersectionality, it was only the introduction of the term, which also spurred discourse in the academic realm (Collins & Bilge, 2020). Though there are myriad ways scholars, practitioners, and activists may define intersectionality, the following definition captures the intricacies of the construct:

As such, intersectionality acknowledges mutually dependent social categories operating within the context of larger political, economic, and cultural structures that differentially predict experiences and outcomes. Importantly, the ethos of intersectionality involves social justice advocacy. Intersectionality has existed—even if not named as such—since at least the 19th century. Examples of intersectionality at work in the 1800s include Savitribai and Jyotirao Phule’s political activism in India confronting casteism, classism, sexism, and religious inequalities and Sojourner Truth’s civil and women’s rights activism confronting slavery at the crossroads of race and sex in the United States (Collins & Bilge, 2020).