What Is Intersectionality in the Context of Britain?
There’s a word that’s been gaining more ground in social justice conversations across the UK: intersectionality. But like many academic terms, it’s often misunderstood, oversimplified, or ignored altogether in mainstream spaces. Yet, for those of us working in mental health, education, activism, or community spaces, understanding intersectionality isn’t optional — it’s essential.
What Does Intersectionality Mean?
At its core, intersectionality is a way of understanding how different parts of a person’s identity — like race, gender, class, sexuality, disability, age, or religion — come together and overlap. These overlapping identities can shape people’s experiences of privilege and oppression in very specific ways.
The term was coined in 1989 by U.S. legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, who said:
“Intersectionality is a lens through which you can see where power comes and collides, where it interlocks and intersects.”
Crenshaw originally used the term to highlight how Black women were being left out of both feminist and anti-racist movements. Since then, the idea has travelled far and wide — including here in Britain — and has been reshaped to reflect the unique inequalities we face on this side of the Atlantic.
Intersectionality in Britain: Not Just Imported Theory
In the UK, intersectionality takes on its own form, grounded in our histories of colonialism, class stratification, immigration, and institutional racism. It’s not just an American import — it’s a framework that speaks directly to British realities.
For example, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in its 2011 guidance:
“Individuals are not defined by one characteristic alone. Rather, they are shaped by a multitude of factors which overlap and influence each other.”
This understanding is crucial. A Black working-class woman in Birmingham is not experiencing life in the same way as a white middle-class woman in Brighton — and policies, services, and support systems need to reflect that.
Voices from Britain: Scholars and Activists
Many British thinkers and researchers have expanded the intersectional lens to reflect our local context:
- Professor Akwugo Emejulu (University of Warwick) critiques both feminism and anti-racism in the UK for sidelining the voices of Black and minority ethnic women. In her work “Minority Women and Austerity” (2017), she writes:
“Black and minority ethnic women in Britain experience marginalisation not just because of their race or gender alone but due to the simultaneous and compounding effects of both, often ignored by white feminists and male anti-racists.”
- Professor Nira Yuval-Davis adds:
“Intersectionality is not just a matter of adding up oppressions; it’s about analysing how social divisions are constructed and maintained through each other.”
This means it’s not just about ticking boxes (race? tick. gender? tick). It’s about recognising how systems of power are built in ways that disadvantage some people more severely and in more complex ways than others.
Real-Life Examples in the UK
Understanding intersectionality helps make sense of some of the biggest social injustices in Britain today:
- Black women and maternal mortality: Black women in the UK are four times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than white women (MBRRACE-UK, 2020). This isn’t just about race or gender — it’s about both, and how they intersect within the healthcare system.
- The Windrush scandal: This crisis exposed how older Caribbean migrants — many of whom had been in the UK for decades — were suddenly treated as illegal immigrants. Their age, race, migration history, and class status all intersected to leave them vulnerable.
- LGBTQ+ asylum seekers: Queer refugees in the UK often face a triple bind: racism, homophobia, and xenophobia. Their experiences can't be captured through a single lens — only an intersectional approach explains the full picture.
Why It Matters in Mental Health, Education, and Social Work
In counselling, education, or youth work, intersectionality helps us see the full person — not just their diagnosis, postcode, or presenting problem. It reminds us that a Black boy struggling in school might not only be navigating racism, but also family pressure, poverty, language barriers, or unrecognised trauma. We miss the full story if we only look at one part.
Intersectionality invites us to listen deeper, act smarter, and challenge systems that try to treat everyone the same when not everyone starts from the same place.
Why Should Men and Boys Care About Intersectionality in Therapy?
At first glance, intersectionality might seem like a concept that belongs to women’s studies, academic circles, or activist spaces. But in therapy — especially for men and boys — intersectionality can be the difference between being truly seen or being misunderstood.
Here’s why it matters.
1. It Helps Men Make Sense of Complex Feelings
A man might come into therapy feeling angry, low, disconnected, or lost — but not know why. When we apply an intersectional lens, we start looking at the full picture: not just his emotions, but what systems and identities are shaping them.
- Is he a working-class man who's been unemployed for years and feels emasculated?
- Is he a Black boy in school being labelled "aggressive" instead of "anxious"?
- Is he a gay man in a religious family, carrying shame that isn’t his?
Intersectionality helps put his pain in context — rather than treating it like a personal flaw or individual weakness.
2. It Names Invisible Pressures Men Carry
Men often carry burdens that are never spoken aloud. Intersectionality exposes these pressures and gives language to them.
For example: A young Muslim man may feel torn between honouring his faith, being accepted by Western peers, and living up to traditional male expectations. That tension creates stress — but without intersectionality, therapy might focus only on “depression” and ignore the cultural layers underneath it.
3. It Breaks the Myth of “One Size Fits All” Masculinity
Many boys grow up believing there’s only one way to be a man — strong, silent, stoic. But what if he’s also autistic? Or queer? Or grew up in care?
Intersectionality invites men to ask:
- Who told me what being a man should look like?
- What parts of me had to be hidden to survive?
- What did I have to give up to “fit in”?
By exploring those intersections — race, class, neurodiversity, gender roles — therapy can become a place of healing, not shame.
4. It Challenges Labels and Misdiagnoses
Without an intersectional lens, men — especially Black, Brown, disabled, and neurodivergent men — are often:
- Misdiagnosed with behavioural issues instead of trauma
- Dismissed as angry when they’re actually grieving
- Expected to “man up” when they’re breaking inside
Intersectionality protects men from being reduced to stereotypes and helps therapists dig deeper, with more empathy and accuracy.
5. It Creates Space for Honesty
Some men sit in therapy rooms saying:
“No one gets what I’ve been through. People only see my skin, my accent, my postcode, or the mistakes I’ve made.”
Intersectionality says: You’re right to feel that way. Because those layers matter.
It creates space for real conversations about:
- Racism
- Poverty
- Fatherlessness
- Sexuality
- Immigration
- Trauma
Not as side issues, but as central threads in the man’s story.
6. It Makes Therapy Feel Relevant, Not Judgemental
When therapy doesn’t acknowledge class, race, masculinity, or cultural identity, it can feel like:
- Being told to “calm down” without anyone asking why you're on edge.
- Being asked to “open up” without anyone realising you've never been safe enough to do that.
- Being expected to talk, but not about what matters to you.
Intersectionality brings therapy down to earth. It meets men where they are, not where the therapist expects them to be.
If you're a man or a boy sitting in therapy and asking, "Why do I feel like this?"
Intersectionality helps you see that your feelings aren’t random — they’re shaped by your story, your environment, and the expectations placed on you.
And when therapy takes all of that into account, it stops being about fixing you — and starts being about freeing you.
How Male Minds Counselling in Reading and Berkshire Supports Men Through an Intersectional Lens
At Male Minds Counselling, based in Reading and serving the wider Berkshire area, we specialise in working with boys and men who often feel overlooked, misunderstood, or disconnected from traditional mental health spaces. Our work is grounded in the belief that effective therapy must consider the whole person not just the symptoms, but the stories, systems, and identities that shape them. That’s where intersectionality becomes more than just a buzzword, it becomes a vital tool in helping our clients feel seen, heard, and understood.
What Makes Our Approach Different?
We recognise that men do not experience life or mental health in a vacuum. A young Black man growing up in a working-class estate in Southcote or Whitley won’t face the same challenges as a middle-aged white father navigating a divorce in Caversham Heights or Wokingham. A gay Muslim teenager dealing with anxiety in Slough or Newtown is navigating pressures from multiple directions — religion, sexuality, family, masculinity all at once.
At Male Minds Counselling, we create space for those intersections, where identity, culture, class, trauma, and gender collide. We don’t offer one-size-fits-all therapy. We offer therapy that listens closely to who you are, where you come from, and what you carry.
How We Help with Intersectionality in Practice
Culturally aware counselling
We work with clients from across Reading, Tilehurst, Earley, Woodley, Calcot, and Emmer Green, understanding how migration, racism, fatherlessness, colonial legacies, and generational trauma impact men’s mental health — especially for African, Caribbean, South Asian, and mixed-heritage backgrounds.
Working with masculinity and expectations
From boys in Theale and Burghfield to men in Coley, Katesgrove, or Lower Earley, many struggle with what they’ve been told it means to “be a man.” We help unpack those messages — particularly where they clash with queerness, neurodivergence, emotional vulnerability, or cultural duty.
Naming the invisible
Whether it’s class shame in The Meadway, religious guilt in Palmer Park, immigration trauma in Green Park, or feeling misread by systems in Caversham Park Village or Reading town centre, we help men name what they’ve never had space to say.
Supporting emotional fluency
Across Sonning, Shinfield, Spencers Wood, and Purley-on-Thames, men are carrying deep emotion with no language to express it. Whether it shows up as anger, withdrawal, or self-sabotage, we help translate it into something meaningful and healing.
Why This Matters in Reading and Berkshire
The Reading and Berkshire area is home to incredible cultural, economic, and social diversity. From the student communities near the University of Reading and Cemetery Junction, to the working-class estates of Whitley Wood, to the business parks of Thames Valley Park and Forbury. Yet many mental health services here still rely on a narrow, mainstream model that leaves many men, especially men of colour, LGBTQ+ men, working-class men, and neurodiverse men feeling excluded.
At Male Minds Counselling, we’re working to change that. We bring the intersections into the room — not as barriers, but as bridges to understanding, healing, and self-acceptance.
Final Words
Intersectionality isn’t just about theory — it’s about real life. It’s about the pressure of living in a council flat in Coley or Calcot while pretending everything’s okay. It’s about carrying shame for things that were never your fault. It’s about being told you’re “too aggressive” when really, you’ve just never been safe enough to soften.
At Male Minds Counselling, we believe therapy should do more than diagnose. It should dignify. It should hold space for the full weight of who you are — and walk with you toward who you could become.
Further Reading
If you’re interested in digging deeper, here are some UK-focused resources:
- “Minority Women and Austerity” – Akwugo Emejulu & Leah Bassel
- “Feminism and the Politics of Difference” – Nira Yuval-Davis
- “Policing the Crisis” – Stuart Hall et al. (classic work on race, class, and British policing)
- EHRC Equality Duty Guidance (2011)
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