I find the concept and theory behind intersectionality to be incredibly comforting. Personally, I really struggle with imagining that human beings belong in specific, rigid categories. I believe very strongly that every human being has deep connections with others regardless of their differences.
I am neurodiverse and I personally feel like the symptoms of my condition are not noticeable in everyday life. This is not because they don’t affect my everyday life, but because I have learned to hide them so well that people just tend to think that I’m a bit “odd”. Hidden disabilities are becoming more and more spoken about and acknowledged, which is certainly a step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go, particularly in an educational setting.
Ade Adepitan, Christine Sun Kim, and Chay Brown are three people who are all disabled in different ways yet describe generally the same idea – that it is society that disables people by creating boundaries, and that those boundaries can be compounded by other marginalising factors such as race, gender, and sexuality.
Ade Adepitan spoke of being a Paralympian, and how the Paralympics is a brilliant example that what disables people is not their disability, but society, and that when oppressive and discriminatory barriers are removed, people can succeed and achieve incredible things.
Christine Sun Kim is a deaf artist whose work revolves around sound. Due to the nature of their work and how that intersects with their disability, Kim spoke about having to rely on other people, specifically interpreters, to be able to work as an artist outside of the Deaf community. Instead of viewing this as a hindrance or barrier, Kim views other people as being necessary and a part of her art.
Chay Brown is a neurodivergent, trans gay man who spoke about the how diversity and inclusion effects the LGBTQ+ community. He acknowledges that being white has afforded him privilege in the community, despite being a minority, because he knows that his disabilities are “hidden”, or not physical, and that he is cis passing (in his own words).
All three of these people spoke of the realities of hidden barriers and their impacts on their personal and professional lives. Interestingly, Brown mentioned how minimal adhesion to the Equality Act 2010 does not create an accessible world – this lead me down a rabbit hole of how weak the legislature is, specifically for disability inclusion. The discrimination and oppression of disabled people has been historically built over time, just like discrimination toward race, gender and sexuality (Rieser, 2012).
As a disabled and queer person working in higher education, I can personally see how the structures of disability are baked into the institution of higher education and how being marginalised in multiple ways can create even more barriers. It’s important to me as an educator to be as inclusive as I can be, and these three accounts show how the best way to achieve that is by positioning disabled people’s input front and center when making decisions or having conversations about accessibility. “Nothing about us without us”!
Art21 (2023). Christine Sun Kim in ‘Friends & Strangers’ – Season 11 | Art21. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NpRaEDlLsI. [Accessed 18 January 2026].
Carbado, D.W. et al. (2013) ‘INTERSECTIONALITY: Mapping the Movements of a Theory’, Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 10(2), pp. 303–312.
ParalympicsGB (2020). Ade Adepitan gives amazing explanation of systemic racism. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAsxndpgagU. [Accessed 18 January 2026].
ParaPride (2023). Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month 2023. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc [Accessed 18 January 2026].
Rieser, R. (2012). The struggle for disability equality. Education, Equality and Human Rights: Issues of Gender,‘Race’, Sexuality, Disability and Social Class, pp.159-189.