What Is Intersectionality and Why Does It Matter?

Pride Month is often a celebration of identity, visibility, and belonging. But for many LGBTQIA+ people of color, identity is rarely experienced through a single lens.

A person may navigate the world as Black and queer, Latino and transgender, Asian and bisexual, Indigenous and nonbinary, or any number of intersecting identities. These experiences cannot be separated from one another. They shape how people move through their communities, access support, and experience both discrimination and acceptance.

This is where the concept of intersectionality steps in.

What Is Intersectionality?

The term intersectionality was coined by legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 to describe how different aspects of a person's identity can overlap and create unique experiences of privilege, discrimination, and opportunity.

Think of identity as a crossroads rather than a single road. Race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, socioeconomic status, and culture all intersect to influence how someone experiences the world.

For example, a gay White man and a gay Black man may both experience homophobia. However, the gay Black man may also encounter racism, creating challenges that are distinct from those faced by either Black heterosexual individuals or White LGBTQIA+ individuals.

When It Feels Like You Don't Quite Fit Anywhere

Pride is often associated with celebration, community, and being able to show up as your authentic self. But for many LGBTQIA+ people of color, the experience can be more complicated.

Some people find themselves moving between different communities without feeling fully understood in any of them. They may encounter racism in LGBTQIA+ spaces while facing homophobia or transphobia in cultural, religious, or family settings. Others may feel pressure to hide parts of who they are depending on where they are and who they're with.

Over time, those experiences can take a toll. They may contribute to:

• Increased stress and anxiety

• Feelings of loneliness or exclusion

• Difficulty finding supportive communities

• Challenges with self-acceptance

• Depression or emotional distress

Think about how large this impact is when nearly 42% of LGBTQ+ people in the United States are also people of color.

The Mental Impact of Feeling Invisible

Most people want the same basic thing: to feel seen, understood, and accepted for who they are.

When only one part of a person's identity is recognized, it can feel isolating. An LGBTQIA+ person of color, for example, may find support for their sexual orientation in one space but feel disconnected from their cultural experiences. In another space, they may feel understood culturally but unable to talk openly about their gender identity or sexuality. Over time, constantly deciding which parts of yourself feel safe to share can be exhausting.

Feeling understood often means having all of those experiences acknowledged.

Research suggests that acceptance and connection can have a meaningful impact on mental health. A 2023 study from The Trevor Project found that LGBTQ+ young people who felt accepted by parents, teachers, or other trusted adults had one-third to nearly one-half lower odds of attempting suicide compared to peers who did not feel accepted.

Did You Know? LGBTQ+ young people who reported acceptance from parents, teachers, or other trusted adults had approximately 35%–43% lower odds of a suicide attempt than those who did not report that acceptance.

Even the CDC also identifies strong social connections and supportive relationships as protective factors for mental health, noting that feelings of connection help people feel valued, cared for, and supported.

When people feel safe showing up as their full selves — and know they don't have to leave parts of their identity at the door — they're more likely to build healthy relationships, develop confidence, and experience a stronger sense of emotional well-being.

Building More Inclusive Communities

Understanding intersectionality isn't about memorizing labels; it's about recognizing that everyone's experiences are shaped by multiple parts of their identity.

Communities become stronger when people feel safe bringing all of those parts of themselves with them. That often means:

• Listening to experiences that differ from our own

• Questioning assumptions and stereotypes we may not realize we're carrying

• Making room for voices that haven't always been heard

• Recognizing that support isn't one-size-fits-all

• Respecting the role that culture, family, faith, and community can play in a person's life

• Creating spaces where people don't feel pressured to hide parts of who they are

When communities make room for people whose experiences have historically been overlooked, they often become more welcoming and supportive for everyone.

A Reminder This Pride Month

The conversation around Pride often focuses on visibility. But for many people, the harder question is belonging.

Think about this for a moment: Where can you show up as your full self? Where do you feel understood without having to explain every part of who you are?

For LGBTQIA+ people of color, those questions can be especially complicated because race, culture, family, faith, gender, and sexuality don't exist separately from one another.

At ACR Counseling, we know that no one arrives with just one story. The experiences that shape us — our families, cultures, identities, relationships, and communities — are all connected. Creating space for those conversations is part of the work we do every day.