Intersectionality and Diversity: A Visual Research Analysis

Visual Culture

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5
APPENDIX......................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
The modern world comprises of people which belong to separate social and cultural
backgrounds and can be differentiated on the basis of their unique identities which is made up
through their personal upbringing, their interaction with their surroundings and the societal
exposure provided to them. These ranges of people with various racial, sexual and
socioeconomically background is also known as diversity and it has a major presence in today’s
world as representation of such people in all walks of life is very important but has been hardly
followed due to rampant discrimination on society by people and races which hold majority
population and power (Collins, 2019). The main topic which this essay will be based on is
diversity and this topic has been specifically chosen by me due to my personal inclination and
values regarding discrimination and bigotry and I would like to closely analyse the factors which
influence diversity in society and the reasons as to why minorities and people from divers
backgrounds suffer through so much difficulties. When it comes to diversity, intersectionality is
a relative concept of quite some importance as it refers to the detailed societal framework which
affects and shapes up the unique identities of people along with listing the various ways in which
privilege affects their well-being and the amount and type of discrimination they encounter in
daily life. The main theme of this essay is intersectionality as I would like to learn more about
the ways in which various diverse social classes are discriminated against and this essay will
revolve around a visual research analysis based on 10 separate images which will link to the
chosen theme of intersectionality. The main aim behind this research is to study the way in
which diversity has been upheld by the standards of modern society with the help of
intersectional theories.
MAIN BODY
Despite making numerous progresses in terms of becoming more modern, woke and
progressive towards people belonging to minority groups and marginalized identities, the current
society has failed such people in almost every regard (Grzanka, 2018). From people belonging to
different racial background and culture being subject to constant forms of systemically
originating racism even from established bodies such as the police system to people belonging to
the broad LGBTQ+ spectrum being discriminated against in every possible fashion, there are a
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myriad of instances where people have been treated in an unjust manner. One of the major
reason as to why such things keep on happening in both lesser known and prominent social
structures is because the reasons and forms that such discrimination takes is numerous and
intersectional as a concept aims to highlight the reasons involved in a comprehensive manner.
The theory of intersectionality refers to the compilation and broad study of the various forms of
unjust oppression faced by marginalized people in society on the basis of factors which form
their identity (Gill, McNally and Berman, 2018). This theory proposes that the same group of
people can face discrimination from two separate entities in a different manner, for example a
black woman can face misogynistic form of discrimination from a white female and a black man
in entirely different ways. This makes the completes study of all societal factors involved in
developing such situations very important to ensure the condition of marginalized people
improves in society and they get represented in a diverse manner (Nayak, 2022). This research
will be done through primary means of data collection using a visual research analysis
comprising of 10 images taken by me which will relate to the chosen topic of intersectionality
and theme of diversity. The main questions which will be answered through this research will
include “what is the role and importance of diversity in modern society?”, “what are the major
issues related to diversity that marginalized people face” and “what the ways in which diversity
and inclusion can be increased at the workplaces?”. The main hypothesis which this research will
be based upon is “Diversity without inclusion is meaningless and most of the diversity
related issues originate from a lack of adjusting to different beliefs and backgrounds”. The
chosen topic of diversity relates directly to the theory of intersectionality introduced in this
research as intersectionality helps understand the reasons as to why diversity is still a major issue
and it also helps separate inclusion from diversity as a concept and diversity along does not help
boost inclusion.
The main areas of investigation which this report will help address is the main areas of
diversity which pose as key problems for businesses, the main reasons due to which diversity
issues occur along with the relation between diversity and inclusion. The methodology which
this research essay will involve includes primary research based on 10 images, use of visual
element analysis to describe these pictures along with the use of personal reflections and
opinions based on auto-ethnographic research methodology. The 10 images have been displayed
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