Distinct Identities ─ Minority Women in U.S. Politics

Distinct Identities is a timely and relevant edited collection about minority women in American politics. Differences in rates of participation and representation of electoral politics have been observed among groups – between men and women, and among different racial/ ethnic groups. While scholars have demonstrated differences in representation and participation based on gender as well as race and ethnicity, there has been relatively little scholarly attention to the particular behavior of women of color in American politics. As such, generalizations based on the effects of race/ethnicity and gender on representation paint an incomplete picture for women of color. This collection of work incorporates intersectionality theory to assert that one cannot privilege only one aspect of identity at the exclusion of another by focusing on either race or gender. Instead, this approach begins with the assumption that minority women exist within racial and ethnic and gender categories concurrently. Rooted in the rich intellectual history of Black feminism, Brown and Gershon argue that minority women experience their race and gender simultaneously.

Nadia E. Brown is Assistant Professor of Political Science and African American Studies at Purdue University.

Sarah Allen Gershon is Associate Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University.