Beyond the Cake Model: Critical Intersectionality and the Relative Advantage of Disadvantage

Epiphany, 7 (2): 35-54.

20 Pages Posted: 3 Jan 2015 Last revised: 26 Jan 2015

See all articles by Robert Oprisko

Robert Oprisko

Indiana University, Center for the Study of Global Change

Joshua Caplan

Independent

Date Written: December 1, 2014

Abstract

Intersectionality came about as a critique of traditional, uniaxial studies of oppression. The initial wave argued that the intersection(s) of multiple axes of social construction create uniquely experienced forms of domination and oppression that can only be studied within the context of said intersections. Methodologically, intersectional research has been used primarily as a tool of studying dichotomous intersections of race, gender, and class. However, theoretically focused literature articulates the importance of operating in a more complex understanding of intersectional axes by adding both breadth and depth. Current intersectional studies, therefore, are locked in tradeoff between precision and generalizability in any quantitative research and intersect thus far, the power of intersectionality remains unrealized.

This paper argues for a large-scale expansion of the number of variables studied in order to gain the most precise understandings of social construction. This creates a tradeoff between precision and generalizability. The power of intersectionality however is not in its generalizability, but rather in its precision for the study of small-n groups. We suggest moving beyond the cake model and into a critical intersectionality model that embraces the agential realism of quantum politics.

Keywords: Intersectionality, variable operationalization, social string theory, quantum politics, feminist theory and methodology

Suggested Citation

Oprisko, Robert and Caplan, Joshua, Beyond the Cake Model: Critical Intersectionality and the Relative Advantage of Disadvantage (December 1, 2014). Epiphany, 7 (2): 35-54., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2539942

Robert Oprisko (Contact Author)

Indiana University, Center for the Study of Global Change ( email )

201 North Indiana Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47408
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.indiana.edu/~global/staff/facultyProfile.php?id=76

Joshua Caplan

Independent ( email )

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