Intersectionality in Religious Feminism
Building on theorist bell hooks' work, intersectional religious feminism recognizes that gender oppression intersects with race, class, sexuality, and colonialism. It critiques mainstream feminism for centering white, middle-class women while marginalizing women of color and LGBTQ+ believers.
Real World
bell hooks's Ain't I a Woman (1981) challenged Betty Friedan's second-wave feminism for ignoring Black women's experience; this same critique was applied theologically by Katie Geneva Cannon, who argued that white feminist theology's universalising claims erased the distinct spirituality of African American women.
Exam Focus
Use the term 'intersectionality' precisely — define it as overlapping systems of oppression — rather than treating it as a synonym for 'diversity' to achieve higher-band AO2 marks.
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