Intersectionality asks us to consider the ways in which discrimination and marginalization from one identity can compound and change when multiple identities intersect. So racial and gender discrimination can form compounding and distinct marginalization for Black women. The various ways that people’s identities intersect and others perceive them, create unique challenges for those folks.
It is valuable to consider how this theory interacts with the idea of failure being valuable for learning. Failing quickly and often creates bountiful space for learning. When students have space to explore problems, they can learn new things in their practical contexts. However, social injustice creates different dynamics around failure.
It would be important to consider bias around whose failure gets rewarded, encouraged, or used to create space for learning and whose failure does not. Students with different backgrounds, experiences, and understanding will have different failures. Is there space for unexpected failure in the classroom? Further, students’ own experiences and identities will mean they are getting lots of different ideas about acceptable and unacceptable failure outside of the classroom. How can an educator create the same failing space for a white, Christian, male student who is rarely told he is wrong and a Black, Muslim, female student who is rarely believed to be right?
Educators ought to consider intersectionality and implicit bias as they create spaces for making and failing for their students.