Compartmentalizing Intersectionality: Feminist Translations in Anti-Racist and Anti-Rape Activism in Japan

Abstract

Feminists scholars based in the United States have long struggled with applying intersectionality to a transnational lens. This article explores intersectionality’s translations, drawing on two cases in Japan: the first, an anti-racism movement, and the second, a coalitional anti-rape campaign. We offer the concept of compartmentalizing intersectionality to describe the practices of prioritizing and deprioritizing certain social issues within social movement agendas, as they maneuver how to recognize multiple vectors of inequality. By providing insights into the structural and logistical constraints underpinning multidimensional social justice strategies, our article contributes to a richer understanding of intersectionality in theory and praxis at the transnational scale.

Plain Language Summary

Compartmentalizing Intersectionality: Feminist Translations in Anti-racist and Anti-Rape Activism in Japan

Feminists scholars based in the United States have long struggled with applying intersectionality to a transnational lens. This article explores intersectionality’s translations, drawing on two cases in Japan—the first, an anti-racism movement, and the second, a coalitional anti-rape campaign. We offer the concept of compartmentalizing intersectionality to describe the practices of prioritizing and deprioritizing certain social issues within movement agendas that otherwise recognize multiple vectors of inequality. By providing insights into the structural and logistical constraints underpinning multidimensional social justice strategies, our article contributes to a richer understanding of intersectionality in theory and praxis at the transnational scale.