Straighten Up and Fly Right: Rethinking Intersectionality in HCI Research

摘要

Intersectionality is currently gaining traction in the context of human-computer interaction (HCI) research [1,2], creating a status-quo-challenging undercurrent for how we design technology-based solutions for marginalized, underserved, and vulnerable populations. These populations have historically faced injustices such as overpolicing, lack of economic investment, and lack of accessible healthcare (e.g., areas with concentrated poverty and food deserts that contribute to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease) [3,4]. Those of us who are socially conscious or "woke"—defined by Merriam Webster as "aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues related to racial and social justice"—espouse a moral obligation to conduct this research in an attempt to correct the injustices that shape the lived experiences of these same populations. For us, the work we do is more than just research; it is our attempt to illuminate-issues that affect these populations by not only exposing the morally decrepit and systemic, organized, interlocking matrices of oppression, but also uncovering how the structure of social inequality "is simultaneously racialized and gendered for women of color" [5]. These systems and structures negatively impact the everyday lives of real people, and as such, the work we do aims to inspire the design and use of technology that produces positive change in the lives of those deemed marginalized, underserved, or vulnerable [6,7].