Nadia, Fran, and Eugene are all social workers in the UK who host The Social Matters Podcast. All three have extensive backgrounds with impressive graduate degrees and together they represent diversity with Nadia of mixed heritage, Fran among the LGBTQ community, and Eugene of Nigerian descent. They launched Social Matters around their shared passion for DEIB, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.
In this episode, they interview Professor Claudia Bernard about her recent book, “Intersectionality in Social Work: A Practical Introduction to Theory and Practice.” Bernard talks about ‘invisible experience’ or how we all feel uniquely and according to different social contexts. Prompted by hosts, Professor Bernard defines Intersectionality to start the conversation, “Intersectionality is a lens for understanding how gender, how race, how class, disability, age sexual orientation, how all those dimensions of our identity, our social identity, how they intersect to influence our lived experiences.” She expounds on the importance of appreciation for these intersections, to better understand power dynamics and social inequalities. She also provides some history dating back a century to African American Feminist activism, with an intersectional emphasis on gender and race. The hosts and Bernard echo expressions of homage to African American civil rights advocate and scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw who conceived the term Intersectionality to name the concept. Listeners are invited to reflect on the inspiration that led to an admission of Intersectionality, from the oppression endured by Black women. Bernard enlightens us to use an Intersectional perspective to discover the humanity in people, especially those marginalized by systemic racism and structural violence. Inequalities persist by our history of pathologizing people for their circumstances, and for their intergenerational trauma. Only certain sectors of the population undergo severe psychological scrutiny in their daily routines. Bernard points out the ‘legacy of colonialization’ prevalent like a cancer within societal norms. Application of Intersectionality in practice enables social workers to see cases from multiple angles and shape a more accurate view. It might be interesting to consider that Intersectionality is another form of diversity, specific within an individual. Bernard speaks on her own contradictory experience as a Black woman who undergoes gender and race oppression, but also benefits from ‘power and agency’ with privileges from a good salary in academia. By her own example, she shows that anyone, regardless of social classifications, can develop practical skills for clearer seeing. I believe that in this way, Bernard’s insights will help people overcome the ignorance of superficial stereotyping assumptions. She intrigues listeners to find out how this concept will help us understand ourselves and then be curious about others. The discussion reminds me of friction, an innovative tool to prevent police brutality on African American men. At the end, she critically exposes a patriarchal hierarchy, steadfast even in the field of social work.
For the sake of honesty, the only criticism I have for this episode is the length of the introductory pin and bin sharing at the beginning. This section takes us about 13 minutes in before we get to the interview content. I’d prefer it a bit shorter or moved toward the end, however, I should add that I was under time constraints for an assignment so this might just be a problem of impatience on my end.
