Theory
The focus of this blog post is the journey that I have experienced interjecting a broader understanding of intersectionality as a concept and how it can be a useful tool to further comprehend disability as lived experiences. The seminal piece ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color’ was instrumental in understanding intersectionality as a concept, considerate of structural (legal), political (ideology) and representational (cultural) variants of intersectionality (Crenshaw K, 1980).
The videos featuring Para-Olympian Ade Adepitan, artist Christine Sun Kim and Chay Brown, the director of operations and healthcare at Transactual, effectively illustrate how the ‘single axis’ approach is not supportive of identifying the diversity in the intersectionality of these other-abled people. Instead, the metaphor of the traffic intersection provides a more useful tool for mapping out the complexities of all identities (Crenshaw K, 1980).
In her video clip, Christine Sun Kim says ‘if you don’t see us then we have no place to be’ and this is a concept that I’d like to explore further. Both her and Chay’s disabilities are invisible which plays a key role in their potential invisibility with regards to their intersectionality. ‘A future without disability is no future at all’ (Keefer, 2013) is a quote from Alison Keefer’s text where she coins the term ‘crip theory’ exploring how feminist and queer theory often assumed able-bodiedness rendering disabled queer people invisible. She argues further that disability is not just another identity but intertwined with other structures of oppression, racism, cis-normality and colonialism (Keefer, 2013).
It’s on the grounds of invisibility and disability that I’d like to further discuss intersectionality in academic practice.
Practice
A good place to start further inquiry is my first case study from the TPP unit. In this study I investigated the dramatic rise in neurodivergent students with learning differences such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or AD(H)D, and mental health issues such as depression and schizophrenia (Hesa, 2023) resulting in a record rise in ISAs (Individual Support Agreements) issued by the Disability officers at UAL. In these agreements the teaching team are not informed of neurodiverse diagnosis but made aware of no-go situations that may impact the students negatively in classroom activities. The case study further illustrates how I have aimed at providing an inclusive environment through my methods of delivery. Here’s a link to the case study:
Whilst recognising the shift from a society of conformity and norms to one of difference and individuality (Young, 2023), and the impact of BLM and the #Me Too movements, I feel that this should have broader implications on how intersectionality is made part of the curriculum of academic institutions. Especially as these and as many of its elements are invisible. Jennifer C. Nash argues:
‘Intersectionality has become a kind of academic currency – something departments claim, scholars cite, and institutions promote – often without enacting its deeper political commitments.’ (Nash, 2019)
The danger, she claims, is that the radical potential of the practice becomes flattened by institutionalisation, reducing it to an ‘identity check list’ or a ‘diversity branding exercise’ (Nash, 2019).
I am recognising the potential of intersectionality practice but also aware of how poorly it has been embedded in the curriculum. My concern is that it becomes virtue signalling of its own complex kind, or diminished by responses to powerful political currents. An example of such failing could be the current response of UAL to take down its trans and non-binary inclusive policies in response to the OfS fining the University of Sussex for not upholding ‘freedom of speech’ (Jeffreys, 2025).
Perhaps more work could be actioned, in a more deeply reaching way than the ‘The Social Model of Disability at UAL’ video.
Bibliography
Crenshaw, K. (1990) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color’, Stanford Law Review, Stanford Law School
HESA, www.hesa.ac.uk, CC BY 4.0
Kafer, A (2013) ‘Feminist, Queer, Crip’, Indiana University Press
Young, E. (22nd February 2023) ‘People conform to emotion norms more in individualist than collectivist cultures’ (article) The British Psychological Society
Jeffreys, B. (2025) ‘University of Sussex fined £585.000 in Transgender Free Speech Row’ BBC
Your blog is clearly laid out and easy to follow. The separation between theory and practice gives context to how and why you would incorporate intersectionality into your practice.
The key take away for me is the need to move from Intersectionality as a concept to using it as a tool to promote inclusion. Not just as another aspiration in a policy document or model of practice. It needs to be embedded in the curriculum.
Your use of references evidence intersectionality as a vehicle for change to your own practice. Your target audience being, students with an ‘invisible disability’, quoting Christine Sun Kim ‘being seen’. Kafer’s assertion that feminist and queer theory often ignore disability (2013). People are not one dimensional.
Your argument for this particular change to practice is reinforced by the increased number of students presenting with an ISA.
I’ve already made a note to read Kafer’s paper so thank you for the recommendation.
Thank you for the compliments on the structure and the context I aimed at mapping out, Fran.
I entirely agree that Intersectionality needs to be embedded in the curriculum but how this process is implemented is key. It has been a rewarding process to examine counterarguments to like Kafer’s ‘diversity branding exercise’ perspective, which I’m glad you found interesting.
Still much work ahead!
Hi Mikolai,
I really enjoyed reading this blog post. Thank you for mentioning UAL’s
current response of UAL to its trans and non-binary inclusive policies.
I though this piece was writing was well rounded and with a wide range of references. I don’t have any suggestions or recommendations, apart from that I can’t see Nash in the references 🙂
Thank you Emilia, glad to hear. Yes, I came across the non-binary inclusive practices response and was quite shaken by it. I wanted to include it in the post but hope that it didn’t confuse what I was aiming to convey.
Also, thanks for pointing out the missing Nash reference, I really appreciate that!
Hello Micolai, thank you for sharing your brilliant article, which is very clear and articulated with excellent references.
In relation to the topic, where you would like a deeper entanglement between disability and invisibility, there is something very nice that the Paralympian Ade Adepitan emphasises by asserting that: “if we give people the opportunity to shine, the sky is the limit” and I think that very often we are so blind to not recognise disabled people as a vehicle to make our society a better place for everyone.
I have also noticed that you have cited the artist Christine Sun Kim, and in virtue of this, I recommend you visit her exhibition at the Wellcome Gallery (https://wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/1880-that).
Thank you Giuseppe for the kind words on the clarity and references of the post, glad to hear that.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your Disability post and will definitely make some time to visit the Wellcome Collection exhibition. I really appreciate your approach to champion art as a key tool for communication to establish broader inclusivity in the classroom!