Intersectional Invisibility Revisited: the Erasure and Exclusion of Black Women

"Intersectionality theory allows us to examine how systems of power and oppression (e.g., racism, sexism) co-construct each other to create complex and unique forms of systemic harm and injustice."

Originally coined by Valerie Purdie-Vaughns & Richard P. Eibach, intersectional invisibility refers to the general failure to fully recognize people with intersecting identities as members of their constituent groups. According to their model, ethnic minority gay men, ethnic minority women, and white lesbian women are examples of people with intersecting subordinate identities.

You can download the Coles & Pasek (2020) article here, as well as the first paper on intersectional invisibility by Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach (2008)!