BY KIRSTY McDONALD
PALS Family Resource Associate
I was drawn to PALS because I wholeheartedly believe in the PALS mission and fully commit to living out the PALS mission every day. At PALS, our mission is “to create inclusive camp experiences for people with and without Down syndrome. Our volunteer-led programs change attitudes, transform lives, and inspire a world of belonging.” In every facet of my life, I strive to create a place where everyone is welcome, and everyone feels safe. At PALS, this means creating a space where every single individual who is involved in our programs feels welcome, included, valued and important, and to create this space, we must work hard to learn about each individual in our community and to consider the things that make each of us unique.
We all hold unique identities and these identities interact with each other, and then interact with one another’s identities. We all hold many identities and the unique combination of identities adds up to make each of us who we are. Some identities are more obvious than others; some hold more weight than others; some impact daily life more than others, but they are all equally important.
If I think of some of the identities I hold, they include: I am Scottish. I am white. I am a dog mom. I am a woman. I am an immigrant. I am a sister. I am a daughter. I am a teacher. My first language is English. I am a friend. I am an aunt. I love to go camping. I am a lesbian. I speak Spanish. I am a horseback rider. I love to be outdoors. I speak French. I love hiking. I love to learn.
I know that I share some of these identities with other people, and some people will share some of the combinations of identities that I hold. However, no one shares exactly the same combination of identities, and it is this unique combination of identities that makes me who I am and shapes my experience with the world.
Each of these identities and combinations of identities cause people to interact with me differently. There are some things that I have to do because I am an immigrant and a woman that I would not have to do if I was not an immigrant. By the same token, I am privileged because there are some things I do not have to do because I am white and I identify as a woman that someone who is black and identifies as a man does have to do. There are some experiences that I, as someone who identifies as a woman, share with everyone else who identifies as a woman. However, there are some situations that I, as someone who identifies as a woman and who is white, experiences differently than someone who identifies as a woman and who is black.
The impact of holding certain combinations of identities and the things I have to do, or do not have to do, or experience or do not experience because of my unique combination of identities, is called intersectionality. Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality in 1989 to describe how some identities such as race, class, and gender “intersect” with one another and overlap.
Here at PALS, we are an excitingly large community and there are lots of people who hold lots of identities and it is important that we are mindful of all of these unique combinations of identities and consider how they impact our experiences both at PALS and in the wider community. If we think of outside of Camp PALS, members of our community who identify as male, as white, as heterosexual and as neurotypical have a very different lived experience in comparison to someone who identifies as female, as black, as homosexual and as having Down syndrome: not only does the female-identifying person have to contend with discrimination related to her gender, but she also has to navigate a world in which others see her being black as a threat and where her being homosexual means that medical professionals can deny her healthcare in some places, and where her having Down syndrome means people treat her differently. Her unique combination of identities intersect in such a way that she is more likely to experience discrimation and be treated differently than if she were to hold a different combination of identities.
PALS is committed to increasing access to our programs so that more people from diverse backgrounds have the opportunity to experience the magic of PALS. However, in order to do this, it is important that we consider not only one identity such as gender or race, but other identities such as age, class, religion, and combinations of these identities and other identities and their impacts as we grow. When we consider how the black community interact with PALS, we cannot assume that the experience of a black male is the same as a black female, just as we cannot assume the experience of a white male and a black male is the same; we must consider the combination of identities in order to make people feel truly welcome, included, valued and important. If we want to create a world in which all unique individuals belong, we need to create a world in which every individual’s unique combination of identities is considered and celebrated, and where assumptions are not made simply because individuals hold certain identities but where their other identities are forgotten or neglected. Thanks to PALS’ commitment to diversity and inclusion, PALS staff spend time every week considering, discussing and learning about various topics with our D&I team, that I am proud to be a part of. This month, our focus is intersectionality and we continue to work hard to grow and learn so that we can be better in order to serve our whole community better. If you ever want to discuss this with our team, or have any feedback for us, please don’t hesitate to reach out at support@palsprograms.org.