Queer experiences of marginalization can be understood as the ways in which individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, asexual, agender, pansexual, nonbinary, genderqueer, polyamorous, kinky, or otherwise outside of dominant cultural norms have been excluded from social, political, economic, and institutional power structures due to their identity or behavior related to sexuality and/or gender. This marginalization has led to a wide range of challenges for queer people, including discrimination, harassment, violence, poverty, unemployment, homelessness, lack of access to healthcare, criminalization, and more. These experiences have also given rise to a number of ethical theories of justice and societal responsibility that aim to address these issues and ensure fair treatment for all members of society. In this article, we will explore some of these theories and how they are informed by queer experiences of marginalization.
One such theory is intersectionality, which was developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw in the 1980s as a way to understand how multiple forms of oppression intersect with each other to create unique and compounded disadvantages for certain groups. Intersectionality recognizes that different identities (such as race, class, gender, ability, and sexual orientation) can interact in complex ways to produce social inequality and suggests that any solution must take into account all of these factors.
Black women experience both racism and sexism, and so their experiences cannot be reduced to either one alone. Queer people who also belong to other marginalized groups may face additional barriers due to their intersections of identities, making them particularly vulnerable to poverty and violence. Intersectionality helps us understand why it is important to advocate for policies and programs that address the needs of all individuals within a community, rather than simply those most visible or vocal.
Another theory is critical race theory, which emerged from the civil rights movement in the United States and focuses on the ways in
How do queer experiences of marginalization inform ethical theories of justice and societal responsibility?
Queer people face marginalization and discrimination due to their nonconformity with traditional gender norms and sexual orientations. This experience of oppression has led some scholars to argue that there is an inherent social obligation for those who benefit from systems of power to actively work towards correcting these imbalances through acts of redistribution and reparation.