Intersectionality as a Useful Tool

Abstract

This article introduces intersectionality as a usable tool for critical reflection, which as a part of the critical social work tradition aims to challenge oppression and inequality. It is argued that in critical reflection, oppression and injustice are often understood in general terms and that oppression and inequalities related to gender, sexuality, class, and race therefore risk being neutralized and undetected. The suggestion is made that by using an intersectional approach, which focuses the interplay and complexity between gender, sexuality, class, and race, critical reflection gets the capacity to keep central power relations in urgent focus.