Crenshaw (1991, p.1245) highlights the ‘need to account for multiple grounds for identity’ in understanding the construction of the social world and asserts that individuals with ‘multiple targeted identities’ are disempowered through hegemony and systemic inequality. These identities are tied to social group membership (Lukkien, Chauhan and Otaye-Ebede, 2024. p.3), one such group identity being disability. The Social Model of Disability suggests that disability is constructed by barriers in the hegemonic social world and that this world can be (re)designed to include the needs and differences of all individuals (UAL, no date).
What ‘makes people disabled is not their disability,’ rather it is barriers constructed in society; the Paralympics being evidence of an opportunity for ‘people to shine’ when these barriers are removed (Adeptian and Webborn, 2020). Whilst street level discrimination against both race and disability has reduced, the more difficult progress remains in tackling dominant social systems, and although Ade acknowledges his own empowered position as a sports and media personality, he represents both black and disabled identities and articulates the parallel struggle against systemic inequality (Ibid). It was Stoke Mandeville hospital and the disability community where he found his ‘tribe’ (Ibid), this ultimately mitigating the disempowerment of being a Nigerian immigrant with polio in East London.
Chay Brown (2023) explores complex intersectional identities as a trans, gay man, not neuro typical, and having experienced mental health difficulties, whilst acknowledging potential privilege within the trans community, as a white man. He identifies that for trans people, struggling with social situations and anxiety can present significant challenges specific to navigating the codes that exist within the LGBTQ+ community (Ibid). This highlights the complexity of intersecting identities within the membership of a wider disenfranchised group. Brown (2023) asserts that ‘If we’re not working for disabled trans people we’re not working for the trans community because we’re missing people out.’
Christine Sun Kim (2024), in her context as Asian American deaf artist, is driven to force the voice of the deaf community into the everyday lives of the hearing world. This is realized through her insistence on communicating through sign language, signs, symbols, infographics and scaled up captioning of the city – the sky; through creating a greater visibility of useful communications for deaf people she seeks to put deaf lives into the minds of the hearing, and challenge social norms (Ibid).
The common theme of these narratives is that the hegemonic (ableist) world, where the intersection of disability is made invisible, can be reconstructed at both the micro and macro level and provide access through making disabled people visible and included. If the world can be designed to accommodate differences, then it will work in optimizing opportunities for everyone.
In the context of UAL, data suggests that there are improving opportunities for attainment: students with declared disabilities (see fig.1), achieving an overall 3pp higher than those without (Campos-Barbi, 2025a, p14), although completion rates for disabled students are significantly lower (Campos-Barbi, 2025b, p.12), and crucially this data does not take into account the intersection of other multiple identities of disempowerment (Crenshaw, 1991). This lack of an intersectional lens points to positionality (Bayeck, 2022) in the data design, interpretation, and potential impact.
Figure 1. Attainment Rates by Disability (6 way) 1st– 2:1 (Campos-Barbi, 2025a, p.15)
Bayeck (2022, p.7) suggests it is the ‘complex interplay of identity, space and context’ that informs positionality. I consider the accessibility to learning spaces as afforded by the design of the university, and the design of my lessons in meeting the needs of complex student identities. However, I also consider this from the perspective of my own context as Language Development tutor. Crenshaw (1991, p.1249) identifies language barriers as a source of intersectional subordination which limit opportunity; language remains invisible in the UAL data. For example, a student asked me whether we could hold a tutorial online, they had disclosed to me that they had some mental health issues which prevented them from being able to attend in person; it was a small adjustment that I was happy to make. However, on reflection, did other aspects of privilege provide the agency for this solicitation? This student was female, white, British and speaks English as a first language. Would a more disenfranchising intersectionality have prevented this request from being made, resulting in a lack of participation? Would this have led to sub optimal attainment?
References
Adepitan, A. and Webborn, N. (2020). Nick Webborn interviews Ade Adepitan. ParalympicsGB Legends [Online]. Youtube. 27 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnRjdol_j0c (Accessed on 23.04.25)
Bayeck, R.Y. (2022) Positionality: ‘The Interplay of Space, Context and Identity,’ International Journal of Qualitative Methods Volume 21: 1–9: DOI: 10.1177/16094069221114745
Brown, C. (2023) Interview with ParaPride. Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month [Online]. Youtube. 13 December. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc (Accessed on 15.04.25)
Campos- Barbi, T. (2025a) UAL Undergraduate Attainment Report 2023-24 Available at: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/documents/sppreview/1cdc0ff4-8830-4787-b187-f7db576ab259 (Accessed on 23.04.25)
Campos-Barbi, T. (2025b) UAL Undergraduate Completion Report 2023-24. Available at: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/documents/sppreview/99c0212e-0eb0-47c0-97e9-2038d9d407cf (Accessed on 23.04.25)
Crenshaw, K. (1990) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color.’ Stanford Law Review 43 (6), pp.1241-1299
Lukkien, T., Chauhan, T. and Otaye‐Ebede, L. (2024) ‘Addressing the diversity principle–practice gap in Western higher education institutions: A systematic review on intersectionality.’ British Educational Research Journal. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4096., pp2-7 and pp17-20
Sun, C. (2024). Christine Sun Kim in ‘Friends & Strangers’ – Season 11 | Art21. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://youtu.be/2NpRaEDlLsI (Accessed on 23.04.25)
UAL (no date) ‘The Social Model of Disability at UAL.’ Available at: https://youtu.be/mNdnjmcrzgw (Accessed on 19.04.25).