On Friday at lunch, interested Parker faculty gathered in the Harris Center to see a presentation from Ileana Jiménez, a teacher at the Little Red Schoolhouse and Elisabeth Irwin High School in New York. She discussed her work in intersectional feminism–the study of how different forms of oppression such as racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia are related and influence each other–particularly within her English classroom.

At the presentation Jiménez, who founded a blog, www.feministteacher.com, which displays her profile in intersectional feminism, first passed out an article she had written for “Education Week” about how we can end global violence by teaching feminism.  The article looks at that notion through a multigenerational and academically integrative lens.

Jiménez discussed the meaning of intersectionality, mentioning its beginnings and its movement from theory to action to combat violence, referencing in particular the need of each individual to speak from her or his own point of view. “My whole thing, because I’m in the feminism of schools movement, is to speak from an intersectional feminist lens,” Jiménez said.  “That’s the language that I use. Some people like to use social justice, some people like to use other language.”

Jiménez also touched on intersectionality in social media and shared an essay from Jessica, one of her students, about how sexuality connects to race.

“We cannot do this work without looking at what is happening to our young people right now,”  Jiménez said.  “Our students are facing this every single day.”