Contextualizing Intersectionality—Notes on the Centrality of Context for Intersectional Analysis, Illustrated Through the Case of Ethnic Minority Men in Denmark

Intersectionality has been at the centre of intense debate among feminist scholars. In this article, we revisit selected dimensions of this debate and argue that it is characterized by inadequate reflexivity regarding the centrality of context to intersectional analysis. Context here should be understood in its more radical meaning, implying that contextualization always implies adaption, rethinking and retheorization. Intersectional mechanisms and processes should thus be expected to unfold in ways that depend on the societal context. Thinking from this contextual perspective, we discuss men as intersectional subjects and the long-standing debate on the relevance of the concepts of race and ethnicity in Europe. We then move on to illustrate the centrality of context to intersectionality through an analysis of ethnic minority men in Denmark. We focus on three political and discursive constructions of ethnic minority men: The patriarchal adult ethnic minority man, the criminal young ethnic minority man and the male Islamist terrorist. We demonstrate that these constructions condition and shape the level of identities and social practice and that this plays out in a way that is dependent on context.