Intersectional by Necessity: Northern Irish Feminism by Georgia O’Kane
“The better we understand how identities and power work together from one context to another, the less likely our movements for change are to fracture.”
- Kimberlee Crenshaw
The new era of feminism which emerged across the Western world in the latter half of the 20th century coincided with mounting sectarian tension in Northern Ireland. This established feminist development here as parallel to our political realities; the reason for intersectional feminism taking root in Northern Ireland.
Intersectionality is a conceptual framework used to understand how aspects of one’s identity create interdependent and interlocking systems of inequality. This is to say that every part of one’s identity which may attract disadvantage (e.g., gender, race, class, religion, etc.), compounds to coproduce distinct experiences of inequality, which may be unique to individuals or groups. Coined by Kimberlee Crenshaw in 1989, intersectionality seeks to combat gender essentialism which assumes that all women have a universal struggle which is intrinsic to the group; instead seeking to recognise and address the intragroup differences women experience.
It was failure to address the intragroup differences which meant that for many years Northern Ireland was without a united women’s movement. Early attempts at cross-community feminist organising failed to account for varied opinions on Northern Ireland’s constitutional status, meaning the movement struggled to agree on the cause of women’s subjugation. Whilst Unionist and constitutionally-neutral women believed that sex/gender was the focal point of discrimination, nationalist women believed they were oppressed because of religious and national identity as well. Thus, efforts towards uniting women often fragmented under the weight of ethno-national division. The example of the Northern Ireland Women’s Rights Movement is notable here. Whilst nationalist-leaning feminisms alienated Unionist and Protestant women, the Northern Ireland Women’s Rights Movement sought to appeal to women across the divide so refused to align itself politically. However, attempts to bypass political realities were interpreted as complicity with the state and resultingly alienated nationalist/catholic women.
Despite ethno-national division, intersectional practice emerged in Northern Ireland out of sheer necessity. The issues which united Northern Irish women were far greater than those which divided them. Pervasive religious teaching on both sides of the community served to reinforce traditional gender norms and elevated men to positions of authority within the home and in society. Paramilitarism created a highly masculinised societal environment leading Cathy Harkin of Derry Women’s Aid to term Northern Ireland an ‘armed patriarchy’. Likewise, a historically masculinised political sphere meant women were largely absent from politics prior to the 1990s. Thus, cross-community organisations united in opposition to patriarchal subjugation. Examples include the Women’s Support Network which was born out of a significant moment of intersectional feminism. When the unionist-controlled Council decided to defund the Fall’s Road Women’s Centre on the on the premise that those who utilised the centre were sympathetic to the IRA, it was Protestant women from the Shankill Centre who campaigned against this injustice. Here we see intersectional recognition as Northern Irish feminists acknowledged that the women of the Fall’s Centre were being oppressed on two counts; gender, as women’s centres attracted little council support, and religion/ethno-nationalism.
The most prominent example of intersectional feminism came in answer to the Good Friday Agreement peace talks where women were set to be unrepresented. In answer, the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition formed across communities to represent all women. Whilst not immune to criticism, with some arguing the Coalition adopted essentialist interpretations of women, through their push for mixed housing, integrated education, and a culture of tolerance, it can be assumed that there was recognition of an intersectional relationship between religion and gender, even if the relationship was not given this name. Moves to bring the religions together promoted cross-community understanding and therefore funded intersectional practice.
This is by no means on exhaustive account of the early days of intersectional practice in Northern Ireland nor a detailed account of what is a complex and evermore relevant political theory. Whilst ethno-national division still looms over our politics, society, and feminism, we must make efforts to continue what was started in the last century. With the increased need for minority ethnic and LGBTQIA+ visibility, as well as the countless other movements and sources of inequality which affect women in Northern Ireland, never has there been a more pertinent time for us to push for collective feminist action, nor a greater need for intersectionality in Northern Ireland.