Urban and cross cultural psychology
Introduction: intersectionality
• Framework for the take home assignment
1. Why this framework?
• Culture is
o A complex, multi-layered concept
o Strongly linked to identity
o But also strongly ‘contextualized’: culture ‘happens’ between people > dealing with
diversity and power relations are important underlying mechanisms
• Intersectionality is a framework for understanding power, identity and inequality > basic layer
for dealing with insights from cross-cultural psychology
o Exists alongside other visions, frameworks or approaches
o Often, one vision or approach is developed in response to another
1.1 Intersectionality is about diversity and inclusion
• Diversity =
o The realization that every individual is unique
o There are differences between certain groups of people
• How to deal with diversity?
o Exclusion: 'normal people' vs. 'non-normal people'
o Segregation (separation): separating certain groups
o Assimilation: those who (can) adapt are considered to be part of society
o Integration: minorities take over characteristics of the majority culture, to be part of the
society while preserving their identity
o Inclusion: engagement – openness to differences, without a dominant voice / role that
determines who does or does not belong
▪ STARTING POINT: equality and equal rights (<>normality)
1.2 Openness to differences: how to do that?
• Putting on a different lens (developing awareness of one’s own stereotypes and prejudices)
• Categorizing (~ creating order in complexity) = ‘mental shortcuts’
o A natural cognitive process
o Also used in social interactions
• However, categorizing can lead to
o Stereotyping
▪ Attributing a specific characteristic to an entire group
▪ Assuming that all individuals within that group share the same trait
▪ Overlooking individual variation and unique characteristics
o Prejudices
▪ A negative attitude towards someone without sufficient evidence
▪ An evaluation based solely on group membership
1
, • Everyone engages in stereotypical thinking and holds prejudices at times
o We are often unaware of our implicit biases
o Prejudices can distort or obstruct rational and critical thinking
• Example:
• How do stereotypes and prejudices develop?
o Through repeated exposure (books, media, education, socialization, institutional
practices)
o Through cultural narratives that define what is considered “normal”
o Through processes of categorization that simplify social complexity
• Stereotypes can strengthen in-group cohesion, but they also reinforce hierarchies between
groups
• The structural risk
o When stereotypes and prejudices are treated as objective truth:
▪ Discrimination
▪ Exclusion
▪ Racism and other forms of structural inequality
▪ “us versus them” thinking (polarization)
o → Importantly, these processes are not only individual — they can become embedded in
institutions, policies and professional practices
• What can we do about this?
o 1. Reflexive awareness
▪ Identify blind spots
▪ Recognize how your own position shapes perception
o 2. Structural consciousness
▪ Question dominant norms
▪ Ask: Who benefits? Who is disadvantaged?
o 3. Practice intersectional thinking
▪ Move beyond single categories
▪ Think in terms of intersecting partial identities
▪ Analyze power relations, not just differences
1.3 Axes of identity
• In every society, there are social ordering principles (“assen” / axes of meaning)
• They structure:
o How society is organized
o How we see ourselves
o How others see us
o Our access to opportunities
• We are all positioned on these axes
o → these axes are also identity axes
2
, • 14 axes of identity (Helma Lutz, 2002)
o Gender
o Sexual orientation
o Skin color
o Ethnicity
o Nationality
o Class
o Culture
o Religion
o Health situation
o Age
o Legal residence status
o Material resources / wealth / socio-economic status
o North-South/East-West
o Societal development
• Axes are power-laden
o HOW we look at each of these axes is therefore not neutral, but
▪ context-dependent (changes across time, place, demographic composition,
institutional setting,…)
▪ (Inevitably) normative, i.e., linked to dominant norms (what is considered “normal,”
“non-deviant,” or “desirable”)
▪ (Inevitably) – consequential, i.e. it structures advantage and disadvantage
o Some positions are:
▪ Privileged
▪ Invisible: the norm often is invisible (implicit)
▪ Structurally supported by institutions
o The dominant position is also a positions
▪ Example: photo with all male ministers in the front and the woman barely visible in the
back
1.4 From diversity thinking to intersectionality
• Flat diversity thinking” assumes:
o Categories are dichotomous (man/woman)
o Categories are power-neutral
o Categories are independent
o Differences are purely descriptive
• Intersectionality challenges this. It asks:
o Who benefits?
o Who is disadvantaged?
o In which context?
• The core of intersectionality
o People are not defined by one axis (~ partial
identity).
o Axes intersect!
▪ Your gender
• X your class
• X your ethnicity
3
, • X your migration status
• X your health
• X your age…
▪ Together shape your social position
o This intersection determines:
▪ Exposure to privilege
▪ Exposure to discrimination
▪ Lived experience
• Privilege and discrimination: two sides of the same coin
o If someone is structurally disadvantaged, someone else is structurally advantaged.
o Privilege often remains invisible.
o Intersectionality makes:
▪ Norms visible
▪ Power visible
▪ Structural inequality visible
1.5 Reflexive positioning
• Before analysing others, you must analyse your own position.
• Ask yourself:
o Where am I positioned on key axes?
o Which positions are normative?
o Which institutions work in my favor?
o Where might I have blind spots?
• This is not confession or self-disclosure. This is structural positioning.
4
Introduction: intersectionality
• Framework for the take home assignment
1. Why this framework?
• Culture is
o A complex, multi-layered concept
o Strongly linked to identity
o But also strongly ‘contextualized’: culture ‘happens’ between people > dealing with
diversity and power relations are important underlying mechanisms
• Intersectionality is a framework for understanding power, identity and inequality > basic layer
for dealing with insights from cross-cultural psychology
o Exists alongside other visions, frameworks or approaches
o Often, one vision or approach is developed in response to another
1.1 Intersectionality is about diversity and inclusion
• Diversity =
o The realization that every individual is unique
o There are differences between certain groups of people
• How to deal with diversity?
o Exclusion: 'normal people' vs. 'non-normal people'
o Segregation (separation): separating certain groups
o Assimilation: those who (can) adapt are considered to be part of society
o Integration: minorities take over characteristics of the majority culture, to be part of the
society while preserving their identity
o Inclusion: engagement – openness to differences, without a dominant voice / role that
determines who does or does not belong
▪ STARTING POINT: equality and equal rights (<>normality)
1.2 Openness to differences: how to do that?
• Putting on a different lens (developing awareness of one’s own stereotypes and prejudices)
• Categorizing (~ creating order in complexity) = ‘mental shortcuts’
o A natural cognitive process
o Also used in social interactions
• However, categorizing can lead to
o Stereotyping
▪ Attributing a specific characteristic to an entire group
▪ Assuming that all individuals within that group share the same trait
▪ Overlooking individual variation and unique characteristics
o Prejudices
▪ A negative attitude towards someone without sufficient evidence
▪ An evaluation based solely on group membership
1
, • Everyone engages in stereotypical thinking and holds prejudices at times
o We are often unaware of our implicit biases
o Prejudices can distort or obstruct rational and critical thinking
• Example:
• How do stereotypes and prejudices develop?
o Through repeated exposure (books, media, education, socialization, institutional
practices)
o Through cultural narratives that define what is considered “normal”
o Through processes of categorization that simplify social complexity
• Stereotypes can strengthen in-group cohesion, but they also reinforce hierarchies between
groups
• The structural risk
o When stereotypes and prejudices are treated as objective truth:
▪ Discrimination
▪ Exclusion
▪ Racism and other forms of structural inequality
▪ “us versus them” thinking (polarization)
o → Importantly, these processes are not only individual — they can become embedded in
institutions, policies and professional practices
• What can we do about this?
o 1. Reflexive awareness
▪ Identify blind spots
▪ Recognize how your own position shapes perception
o 2. Structural consciousness
▪ Question dominant norms
▪ Ask: Who benefits? Who is disadvantaged?
o 3. Practice intersectional thinking
▪ Move beyond single categories
▪ Think in terms of intersecting partial identities
▪ Analyze power relations, not just differences
1.3 Axes of identity
• In every society, there are social ordering principles (“assen” / axes of meaning)
• They structure:
o How society is organized
o How we see ourselves
o How others see us
o Our access to opportunities
• We are all positioned on these axes
o → these axes are also identity axes
2
, • 14 axes of identity (Helma Lutz, 2002)
o Gender
o Sexual orientation
o Skin color
o Ethnicity
o Nationality
o Class
o Culture
o Religion
o Health situation
o Age
o Legal residence status
o Material resources / wealth / socio-economic status
o North-South/East-West
o Societal development
• Axes are power-laden
o HOW we look at each of these axes is therefore not neutral, but
▪ context-dependent (changes across time, place, demographic composition,
institutional setting,…)
▪ (Inevitably) normative, i.e., linked to dominant norms (what is considered “normal,”
“non-deviant,” or “desirable”)
▪ (Inevitably) – consequential, i.e. it structures advantage and disadvantage
o Some positions are:
▪ Privileged
▪ Invisible: the norm often is invisible (implicit)
▪ Structurally supported by institutions
o The dominant position is also a positions
▪ Example: photo with all male ministers in the front and the woman barely visible in the
back
1.4 From diversity thinking to intersectionality
• Flat diversity thinking” assumes:
o Categories are dichotomous (man/woman)
o Categories are power-neutral
o Categories are independent
o Differences are purely descriptive
• Intersectionality challenges this. It asks:
o Who benefits?
o Who is disadvantaged?
o In which context?
• The core of intersectionality
o People are not defined by one axis (~ partial
identity).
o Axes intersect!
▪ Your gender
• X your class
• X your ethnicity
3
, • X your migration status
• X your health
• X your age…
▪ Together shape your social position
o This intersection determines:
▪ Exposure to privilege
▪ Exposure to discrimination
▪ Lived experience
• Privilege and discrimination: two sides of the same coin
o If someone is structurally disadvantaged, someone else is structurally advantaged.
o Privilege often remains invisible.
o Intersectionality makes:
▪ Norms visible
▪ Power visible
▪ Structural inequality visible
1.5 Reflexive positioning
• Before analysing others, you must analyse your own position.
• Ask yourself:
o Where am I positioned on key axes?
o Which positions are normative?
o Which institutions work in my favor?
o Where might I have blind spots?
• This is not confession or self-disclosure. This is structural positioning.
4
