The Intersecting Invisible Experiences of Gypsy/Traveller Girls in Scotland
Citation
Marcus, G. (2016) The Intersecting Invisible Experiences of Gypsy/Traveller Girls in Scotland. In: Black Feminism, Womanism and the Politics of Women of Colour in Europe, University of Edinburgh, 3 September 2016.
Abstract
There has long been interest both politically and
theoretically in exploring the complex relations between
identity, hierarchical power and subordination. Intersectional
approaches to social locations have stressed the
interdependence between different kinds of divisions as well
as the tensions and contradictions within and across these
social categories. In this paper, I will argue that
traditional unidimensional approaches to investigating
experiences of oppression and subordination, particularly
within marginalized communities, are inadequate. Critically
exploring the complexity of such issues through a single lens
– race, gender or class, for example, is likely to produce
simplistic and skewed findings. Intersectionality is not just
good research practice or a necessary heuristic device for
understanding issues of power and inequality, but is
increasingly viewed as a research paradigm in its own right.
Drawing on the work of several key proponents of this
methodological approach (Anthias, 2013; Brah & Phoenix, 2004;
Collins, 2000; Crenshaw, 1991; Davis, 2008; Yuval-Davis,
2006), I propose that an intersectional framework is ideally placed to critically explore such experiences, using empirical
examples from a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews
with Scottish Gypsy/Traveller girls. Their stories are
highlighted and juxtaposed alongside the general problems
encountered by Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland and reveal an
intricate, convoluted narrative. The paper also problematizes
what it means to be ‘white’, and to be a ‘white woman’ living
within ‘simultaneously interlocking oppressions’ that
collectively serve to marginalise and silence lives (Brah and
Phoenix, 2004; Combahee River Collective, 1977; hooks, 1981).
Equally, discrepancies in levels of empowerment, public
participation, media representations and respect for ethnicity
are experienced at these intersections.