Intersectionality of Race, Gender, Social Class & Sexuality for Aboriginal Women in the Post-Colonial City

Understanding Intersectionality

To analyze things from an intersectional perspective means to understand that people’s lives are shaped by systemic forces which are outside their own control, because human beings find themselves at the intersection of different social forces such as race, gender, class, sexuality, geography, age, ability, religion and so on. All people live within a system which has been established long ago, with certain structures of power and privilege. In a post-colonial world, the system in North America is marked by capitalism and inherent inequality and privilege. These two situations, inequality and privilege, cannot exist independently, but are defined by powerful focuses like capitalism, colonialist, racism and patriarchy. When adding geography, particularly location within cities, factors like wealth, poverty, abuse, legal institutions and gentrification also come into play to determine people’s standard of living and well-being. Aboriginal women living in cities are a special category because their lives are marked heavily by intersectional forces.

Aboriginal Women in a Post-Colonial World

While we are technically in a post-colonial world, it is wrong to say that aboriginal people truly are living free of colonialism. In fact, colonialism and its effects are everyday realities for aboriginal women. The existence of 80,000 Residential school survivors in Canada (Pearce et al., 2015, p. 4), the reserve system still in place, the Indian Act, the land claims, are all examples of how aboriginal people have to fight against and come to terms with their colonial past on a daily basis.

Race & Geographic Location

While we are technically in a post-colonial world, it is wrong to say that aboriginal people are living free of colonialism. In fact, colonialism and its effects are everyday realities for aboriginal women. The existence of 80,000 Residential school survivors in Canada (Pearce et al., 2015, p. 4), the reserve system still in place, the Indian Act, the land claims, are all examples of how aboriginal people have to fight against and come to terms with their colonial past on a daily basis, while also working towards a better future in a settler state. Being of aboriginal descent and a woman affects the well-being of individuals living in cities. In fact, the poverty and marginalization of aboriginal women living in urban areas has been deemed a “growing Canadian public health issue,” and studies show that economic disadvantages accompany life both on reserves and in cities (Hamdullahpur et al, 2017, p. 1). Pearce et al. (2015) argue that “due to complex intersections of historical injustices, racism and social inequity, urban Aboriginal women in Canada who use drugs are among the most stigmatized and marginalized populations in Canada” (p. 4).

Racial Visibility & Socio/Economic Opportunities

Farley et al., (2005) found that, out of 100 sex workers interviewed in Vancouver, 52 were of aboriginal ancestry, which is a huge over-representation considering that Aboriginal people only make up less than 5% of Canada’s population (p. 242). Prostitution is a heavily “gendered survival strategy” and it’s actually a very risky profession, which is associated with other issues such as sexual and physical violence as everyday occurrence (Farley et al., 2005, p. 243). Prostitution is often “lethal,” as “the death rate of women in prostitution is 40 times higher than that of the general population,” and also very high rates of attempted murder (Farley et al., 2005, p. 244). Benoit et al. (2003) report that “Aboriginal Canadians are more likely to live in single-parent families and have higher rates of unemployment and lower rates of high school completion,” have a lower life expectancy, poorer health, higher rates of homelessness, higher risk or substance abuse, contracting tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS or developing diabetes, and “earn far below the median average income” (p. 822). Being of aboriginal descent and thus "visible" within the city seriously affects one's socio-economic opportunities, limiting their choices in terms of profession, housing, access to social services, and overall financial well-being.

Gender, Race & Health

Health is determined by many intersectional factors but being of aboriginal descent and a woman is shown to make one less healthy and more likely to be a victim of violence. In fact, reports show that “aboriginal women experience high levels of severe physical abuse and sexual assault,” at a rate more than 3 times higher than that of non-Aboriginal women (Hamdullahpur et al., 2017, p. 2). Violence is closely related to health because exposure to violence “fosters poor physical and mental health” as those who experience abuse are much more likely to also have “substance abuse and emotional distress (depression, suicide attempts, anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder” (Hamdullahpur et al., 2017, p. 2). Women of aboriginal descent living in cities are also more likely to be involved in sex work, to contact HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C, are more likely to become victims of sexual offenders or assault/murder victims,” and highly likely to experience repeated sexual violence (Pearce et al., 2015, p. 4). Aboriginal youth make up 90% of prostitutes and the suicide rate is also 6 times higher for aboriginal youth than for non-aboriginal youth (15-24 years old) (Farley et al., 2005, p. 245). Finally, being Aboriginal often means getting poorly treated when seeking health services, as studies show racism and discrimination are an everyday occurrence for those seeking medical help (Goodman et al., 2017).

References

Benoit, C., Carroll, D., & Chaudhry, M. (2003). In search of a healing place: Aboriginal women in Vancouver's downtown eastside. Social Science & Medicine, 56(4), 821-833.

Farley, M., Lynne, J., & Cotton, A. J. (2005). Prostitution in Vancouver: Violence and the colonization of first nations women. Transcultural Psychiatry, 42(2), 242-271.

Hamdullahpur, K., Jacobs, K. W. J., & Gill, K. J. (2017). A comparison of socioeconomic status and mental health among inner-city aboriginal and non-aboriginal women. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 76(1), 1340693-8.

Goodman, A., Fleming, K., Markwick, N., Morrison, T., Lagimodiere, L., Kerr, T., & Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society. (2017). "They treated me like crap and I know it was because I was native": The healthcare experiences of aboriginal peoples living in Vancouver’s inner city. Social Science & Medicine, 178, 87.

Pearce, M. E., Blair, A. H., Zhang, H., Pan, S. W., Thomas, V., Teegee, M., . . . Spittal, P. M. (2015). The Cedar Project : Historical trauma and vulnerability to sexual assault among young aboriginal women who use illicit drugs in two Canadian cities.