PHL232H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Intersectionality, Old Age, Iyer
Thursday, December 3, 2015
PHL271 Lecture 11
Nitya Iyer, “Categorical Denials”
Main Point:
-A grounds-based approach obscures the complexity of social identity
•questions any approach that requires claimant to pick a single trait
•they can point to an intersection of lots of different traits by which they were
discriminated under
•why not just ask on a contextual basis whether the claimants were facing unfair
discrimination?
-It forces claimants to mischaracterise themselves
-It thereby makes it harder for some claimants’ problems to be seen as real problem
2 claims about the prohibited “grounds” as categories:
1) Placing an item in a category suggests similarities between it and other items in that
category: e.g. Shauna is black
-but categorization is also a process of differentiating these items from something
they are not: i.e. not white
2) All of the prohibited grounds simplicity reflect a hierarchy. e.g. white/black, male/
female, competent adult/frail senior citizen
-Usually the dominant group is the one that is treated as “normal” and that gets to
define both itself and the other group
A. Two problems with any list of grounds
1) Choice of grounds reflects dominant group’s views about how it is appropriate to
distinguish between people
E.g. poverty, physical appearance are not on the list
*List is socially contingent, but appears i) natural and ii) permanent
2) Content or meaning of each category is determined by the dominant group, in
relation to who they are. The minorities are “other”. I.e. Black is “not white”. Women
are “not men”.
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Document Summary
It thereby makes it harder for some claimants" problems to be seen as real problem. 2 claims about the prohibited grounds as categories: placing an item in a category suggests similarities between it and other items in that category: e. g. shauna is black. But categorization is also a process of differentiating these items from something they are not: i. e. not white: all of the prohibited grounds simplicity re ect a hierarchy. e. g. white/black, male/ female, competent adult/frail senior citizen. E. g. poverty, physical appearance are not on the list. *list is socially contingent, but appears i) natural and ii) permanent: content or meaning of each category is determined by the dominant group, in relation to who they are. All minorities would be deemed other here. Trying to protect minorities is accomplished by separating them from us and preventing them from de ning themselves.
