Intersectionality is a theory explains how the categories: race , gender , gender identity , class sexuality and disability is intertwines in the practices and policies implied to create subordination and privileges. As Kimberly Crenshaw (1989) explains it in the metaphor of the roads ( the structures of race, gender…) , traffic ( discriminating policies) . The cause of any accident would be coming from multiple structures(roads) e.g race/ class sexuality and sometimes all of them.
Intersectionality opens a door for debates and synthesizing when applied in media and gender studies. It discusses how gender is radicalized and shaped by the prevalence of perceptions and stereotypes of race. Davis (2008) argues that the success of the intersectionality theory is due to its “vagueness” and “open-endedness”. According to Murray S. Davis , a successful theory has 4 characteristics. (1) it speaks to a primary audience and concern (2) provide a novel twist to an old problem (3) bridges the gap between theory generalists and specialists (4) ambiguous and incomplete . All applies to intersectionality , As Davis noted (2008) it can be used by addressing questions by acknowledging the differences among women.
As one cannot study one gender without studying the other , the role women play affects the interplay of femininity and masculinity. According to Connell & Messerschmidt (2005) Masculinity is defined by the practices that are defined by society and time period. Global hegemonic masculinity are related to the emergance of regional and global protest , as capitalism and colonialsm shapes masculinities. As Hasso(2018 ) explains the definition of masculinity in the Mena region as ” to own an control” while femininity is ” to be owned and controlled”.
Masculinities is crucial in the study of gender and media, as it could be used to locate the emergence of the masculine role , whether from culture , society interactions , film actors , athletes and politicians. As suggested by Connell & Messerschmidt (2005) the 3 ways to analyze emirically existing hegemonic masculiniities by local, regional and global. Hegemonic masculinity , is the application of hierarchy and domination based on force.
Davis, K. (2008). Intersectionality as buzzword: A sociology of science perspective on what makes a feminist theory successful. Feminist Theory, Retrieved from:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1464700108086364
Connell, R. W., & Messerschmidt, J. W. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept Retrieved from:
https://www.etnologia.uw.edu.pl/sites/default/files/hegemonic_masculinity_connell_and_messerschmidt.pdf
Hasso, F.S. (2018, October 22). Decolonizing Middle East Men and Masculinities Scholarship: An Axiomatic Approach. Jadaliyya. Retrieved from: https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/38079
Media and People 