Structural and Political Intersectionality in Passing (2021): Race and Gender Oppression Experienced by Irene Redfield
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59011/austronesian.5.3.2026.800-810Keywords:
Intersectional Oppression, Structural Intersectionality, Political IntersectionalityAbstract
Black women in America have experienced racial discrimination and gender oppression simultaneously, with these systems interacting to shape marginalization that cannot be fully understood separately. This study examines intersectional oppression in Rebecca Hall’s 2021 film Passing through the experiences of its main character, Irene Redfield. It addresses research question: what types of intersectional oppression does Irene experience in the film? The study employed a qualitative descriptive method. Data were collected through viewing, transcription of dialogue, and selection of scenes depicting intersectional oppression. The analysis was guided by Kimberlé Crenshaw’s (1991) intersectionality theory, focusing on structural and political intersectionality. Nine scenes were identified and analyzed: five illustrating structural intersectionality and four illustrating political intersectionality. The findings indicate that structural intersectionality shapes Irene’s experiences in public spaces, motherhood, and the household. Racial discrimination intersects with patriarchal expectations to constrain her responses to racist remarks, her authority in decisions concerning her children, and her position within domestic life. Political intersectionality is evident in the limited recognition of her experiences by anti-racist and feminist perspectives. Anti-racist discourse does not adequately address the gendered dimensions of her experiences, while feminist frameworks fail to account for the racial risks faced by Black women. Consequently, Irene has limited opportunities to express her experiences or obtain meaningful support within either framework. The study concludes that her oppression is systemic and multilayered, produced through the simultaneous interaction of race and gender. The findings demonstrate the value of an intersectional perspective for understanding the distinct marginalization experienced by Black women.
References
Baker, C. R., Scott, E. C., & Reich, E. (2024). Introduction: Black Film Feminisms. Film Criticism, 48(2), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.3998/fc.6860
Barthold, C., Krawczyk, V., Berti, M., & Priola, V. (2022). Intersectionality on Screen. A Coloniality Perspective to Understand Popular Culture Representations of Intersecting Oppressions at Work. Gender, Work & Organization, 29(6), 1890–1909. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12886
Butler, J. (2002). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Taylor & Francis.
Collins, P. H. (2019). Intersectionality as Critical Social Theory. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478007098
Collins, P. H., & Bilge, S. (2020). Intersectionality (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 8(1), 139–167.
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Standford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publication, Inc.
Donald, W. C. (2021). No TitleWalk a Mile in My Shoes: The Disadvantage that Lies at the Intersection of Race and Gender through the lens of Kamala Harris [Louisiana State University]. https://repository.lsu.edu/honors_etd/424
Hankivsky, O., & Jordan-Zachery, J. S. (Eds.). (2019). The Palgrave Handbook of Intersectionality in Public Policy. Palgrave macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98473-5
Haynes, C., Joseph, N. M., Patton, L. D., Stewart, S., & Allen, E. L. (2020). Toward an understanding of intersectionality methodology: A 30-year literature synthesis of Black women’s experiences in higher education. Review of Educational Research, 90(6), 751–787. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654320946822
Keuchenius, A. (2021). Intersectionality on the go: The diffusion of Black feminist knowledge across disciplinary and geographical borders. The British Journal of Sociology, 72(2), 360–378. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12816
Krug, M. G., & Schlüter, J. (2013). Research Methods in Language Variation and Change. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107415324.004
LaPan, C., & Sadler, J. (2025). Black women’s travel: Intersectionality and representation in American film. Tourist Studies, 25(1), 6–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687976241302784
Lee, I., & Han, E. (2023). Black Women in the Ivory Tower: Institutional Oppression and Intersectionality. Journal of African American Studies, 27(4), 416–432. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-024-09645-w
Luna, Z., Brown, M. C., Johnson, M. S., & Pirtle, W. N. L. (2024). On joy and war: Black feminism/intersectionality. Annual Review of Sociology, 50, 61–83. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-090123-032434
Mayring, P. (2015). Qualitative Content Analysis: Theoretical Background and Procedures. In A. Bikner-Ahsbahs, C. Knipping, & N. Presmeg (Eds.), Approaches to Qualitative Research in Mathematics Education: Examples of Methodology and Methods (pp. 365–380). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9181-6_13
Muñoz-Puig, M. (2024). Intersectional power struggles in feminist movements: An analysis of resistance and counter-resistance to intersectionality. Gender, Work & Organization, 31(3), 1133–1147. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12995
Nash, J. C. (2008). Re-thinking Intersectionality. Feminist Review, 89(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1057/fr.2008.4
Neuendorf, K. A. (2019). The Content Analysis Guidebook. SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071802878
Nur, S. (2022). Intersectionality of gender and race by rebecca Hall’s passing [UIN Syarif HIdayatullah Jakarta]. https://repository.uinjkt.ac.id/dspace/handle/123456789/78174
Pinto, R., Douglas, T.-R. M. O., Lane-Bonds, D., & McMillian, R. (2024). Yes She Can: Examining the Career Pathways of Black Women in Higher Education Senior Leadership Position. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 26(2–3), 73–107. https://doi.org/10.1177/15234223241254574
Smith, S. L., Pieper, K., & Wheeler, S. (2024). Inequality in 1,700 Popular Films: Examining Portrayals of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, LGBTQ+ & Disability from 2007 to 2023. USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Linda Linda, Ketut Santi Indriani, Ni Luh Putu Krisnawati
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
