Intersectionality’ has taken on a complex position in the field of
feminist scholarship over the last decade. Debate on the concept has
swung back and forth, from buzzword to harsh critique. Amid these
discussions, many feminist scholars have thought about Audre Lorde and
the role of her writings in the debates over intersectionality. Lorde’s
radical literary feminism has often been seen both as reflecting a
politics of identity, on the one hand, and as shifting and situational,
on the other. Intersectionality has also been claimed either to be
recycling the ideas of identity politics or to be forging new ways to
grasp decentered identity positions and power structures. This article
aims to tell a story about the roots of intersectionality through – and
alongside – the legacy of Lorde’s feminism, by revisiting certain
identity-political ideas. The radical nature of Lorde’s thinking is in
many ways connected to politicized writing styles and rebellious
literary forms. The main focus in this article is therefore extended to
cover the role and implications of radical writing styles for
intersectionality. The article argues that the oeuvre of telling the
story of intersectionality through Lorde’s feminism opens up a new
perspective on the genealogy of intersectionality.